There are some who assert that in
almost all citations (testimoniis) taken from the Old Testament some
sort of error has been made; either the order is changed, or the words and
where the meaning itself is different, that the Apostles or the Evangelists
have not taken their testimonies after direct consultation with the book itself
that they relied on memory which is always subject to error. (Commentary on
Micah 2.5.2, c. A.D. 391, The Faith of the Early Fathers, 3 vols.
[trans. William A. Jurgens; Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1979],
2:197)
Jerome is pointing out that the
quotation of Michaes 5:2 (5:1 in the Hebrew and in the Septuagint) as found in
Matthew 2:6 differs considerably in its actual wording from what is found in the
Hebrew, and neither does it correspond to the Septuagint reading, which also
differs from the Hebrew. While verbally the differences are considerable,
however, there is really very little difference in their actual meaning; and
this in spite of the fact that both the Hebrew and the Septuagint agree that
Bethlehem is the least place among the thousands of Juda, while the text in
Matthew says that Bethlehem is in no way the least among these thousands. Even
in those direct contradictions the meaning is really the same, to wit:
Bethlehem is now a place of no importance; but she shall be known everywhere
because the great leader of Israel is to come forth from her. (Ibid., 197 n. 2)
