ABSTRACT
Jerome surely had greater control of Hebrew than has been denied him by his severest detractors, but less than that attributed him by his more ardent admirers from his own day till the present. Most scholars would concede as much. But while, for reasons which should become clearer below, precision must ultimately elude us, it is possible nonetheless to refine our methodology and improve our results by learning to frame our questions properly and would like to recommend, with the aid of a few examples, several principles for how one should and should not go about measuring Jerome's Hebrew competence. It is unnecessary to recount all the passages in Jerome's writings in which he cultivates his own reputation as a vir trilinguis, nor need we dwell on those rare expressions of self-deprecation concerning his command of Hebrew, statements which Adkin has encouraged us to view as more than mere rhetorical conceits.
