ADAM IN PSALM 81.7 (=82.7) IN THE PSALTER ACCORDING TO THE HEBREW BIBLE OF THE VULGATE

The translations of the Hebrew word ם ד א (ʼɔdɔm) in Ps.81.7 differ between the two versions by Jerome (c.345‒420), namely, the Psalter according to the Septuagint and the Psalter according to the Hebrew Bible. The former version was translated by Jerome from the Hexaplaric Greek text of the Septuagint in approximately 386. The latter is the version directly translated from the Hebrew text available between circa 390 and 392. He translated םדא as homines (“human beings”) in the Psalter according to the Septuagint but as Adam in the Psalter according to the Hebrew Bible. What was his reason for changing the translation? Cameron remarks, “The patristic tradition of interpreting verses 6‒7 in relation to Adam is almost certainly the explanation for Jeromeʼs translation of 7a as ergo quasi Adam moriemini in the IH [sc. Iuxta Hebraeos (the Psalter “according to the Hebrew Bible”)] ...when his usual practice is to translate םדא as homo,” and refers us to Mosser, who traced the history of early patristic exegesis of Psalm 81. Cameronʼs remark is indeed plausible, but he did not consider the problem any further. In fact, Jerome left some remarks on Ps.81.7 in his writings, namely, the Commentarioli in Psalmos (“Notes on the Psalms”) and the Tractatus in Psalmos (“Tractates on the Psalms”). By examining what he said in these writings, we will explore the issue in more detail and provide a brief account of the process of his translation based on the Hebrew original. We will start by checking what Christian writers before Jerome said concerning the words ἄνθρωποι (the translation in the Septuagint) or homines. Then, we will consider Jeromeʼs thoughts on the difference between the two translations in his writings. Hitotsubashi Journal of Arts and Sciences 56 (2015), pp.43-48. C Hitotsubashi University