Jerome, in his Letter 108, describes how Paula travelled through Palestine in 385/6 and visited (at Mamre) 'the cells' of *Sarah (Old Testament matriarch, wife of Abraham, S00278), the oak tree of *Abraham (Old Testament patriarch, S00275), and the birthplace of *Isaac (Old Testament patriarch, S00276). Written in Latin in Bethlehem (Palestine), 404.
Evidence ID
E06518
Type of Evidence
Literary - Letters
Major author/Major anonymous work
Jerome of Stridon
Jerome of Stridon, Letter 108.11 ('Epitaphium Sanctae Paulae')
A Bethsur venit Eschol, quae in 'botruum' vertitur. Unde in testimonium terrae fertilissimae et typum eius qui dicit 'torcular calcavi solus et de gentibus vir non fuit mecum', exploratores botruum mirae magnitudinis portaverunt. Nec post longum spatium intravit Sarae cellulas videns incunabula Isaac et vestigia quercus Abraham, sub qua vidit diem Christi et laetatus est.
'From Beth Zur she came to Eshcol, meaning 'cluster of grapes', because spies brought back a cluster of grapes which proved the land was fertile and foreshadowed him who says: 'I have trodden the winepress alone and not a single man was with me'. Shortly thereafter she entered Sarah's cells and saw Isaac's birthplace and the remains of the oak tree beneath which Abraham foresaw the day that Christ would come and rejoiced.'
Text: Hilberg 1996 (1912).
Translation: Cain 2013.
Cult PlacesHoly cave
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Holy cave
Other (mountain, wood, tree, pillar)
Place associated with saint's life
Cult building - monastic
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesWomen
Source
In the second half of 404 Jerome composed an Epitaph for his late friend and patron, Paula, which was transmitted to us as letter 108. The work depicts Paula as an example for ascetic women and bears features of hagiography.Paula died on 26 January 404 in Bethlehem. She was the descendant of a Roman aristocratic family, who traced their lineage back to the Gracchi and Scipiones. She was dedicated to the western ascetic movement and had spent more than twenty years by the side of Jerome of Stridon, whom she had followed with her daughter Eustochium to the Holy Land in 385, where they founded a monastery and a convent in Bethlehem. Paula was not only Jerome's most faithful companion, but also his biggest sponsor.
Jerome's Letter 108.8-13 describes Paula's pilgrimage through the Holy Land, which lasted from late winter 385 to late spring 386. It is, however, only a partial account, intended to show off Jerome's knowledge of biblical topography as much as to illustrate Paula's piety. Jerome specifically tells us that, at the beginning of his account of Paula's travels in the Holy Land, that he will only mention the places she visited which feature in the Bible: 'I say nothing of her journey through Syria Coele and Phoenicia, for it is not my intention to write a complete description of her travels; I will mention only those stops mentioned in the sacred books' (Omitto Syriae Coeles et Phoenices iter, neque enim odoeporicum eius disposui scribere; ea tantum loca nominabo quae sacris voluminibus continentur. Ep. 108, 8.1, trans. Cain). It is very possible that Paula also visited the shrines of post-biblical saints (as she had earlier done on Ponza - see E06524), but, if so, these visits were passed over by Jerome.
Discussion
According to the Old Testament, the Israelites sent spies into their 'promised land' before invading it. The valley in which the spies obtained a cluster of grapes was called Eshcol (see Num. 13:23-24; 32:9; Deu. 1:24). It appears as a site on Paula's pilgrimage.The other site mentioned is Mamre, north of Hebron, where Abraham entertained three angels under a tree and was told that Sarah would bear him a son, Isaac. It is interesting that Paula saw only 'the remains' of the oak - it had probably already been whittled away by pilgrims seeking holy souvenirs - by the late seventh century, when the pilgrim Arculf saw it, it had been reduced to a stump (E06088).
When Jerome writes that Paula saw the incunabula of Isaac, it is not certain what he means. The word literally means 'things pertaining to a cradle' (a cunabula in Latin), hence swaddling-bands or indeed a cradle itself; but figuratively it also meant 'place of birth/origin'. Did Paula just see the place to which Isaac owed his origin; or was she perhaps shown more intimate relics of the patriarch?
Bibliography
Edition:Hilberg, I., Hieronymus, Epistulae 71-120 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 55; Vienna, 1996).
Translation and commentary:
Cain, A., Jerome's Epitaph on Paula: A Commentary on the Epitaphium Sanctae Paulae (Oxford, 2013).
Record Created By
Philip Polcar
Date of Entry
12/09/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00275 | Abraham, Old Testament patriarch | Abraham | Certain | S00276 | Isaac, Old Testament patriarch | Isaac | Certain | S00278 | Sarah, Old Testament matriarch, wife of Abraham | Sarra | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Philip Polcar, Cult of Saints, E06518 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E06518