Concordantiæ Sacrorum Bibliorum 1684 Latin Vulgate

6B Holy Bible, Concordantiæ Sacrorum Bibliorum. Benedictine Hubert Phalesius revision. Coloniæ Agrippiæ: Apud Balthasarum ab Edmond & Socios, 1684.

Notes

The Latin Vulgate Bible emerged as that standard text largely through the work of Jerome in the late 4th and early 5th centuries, who translated the Old Testament primarily from Hebrew and revised existing Latin versions of the New Testament. By the Middle Ages, the Vulgate had become the official Bible of Western Christianity, used in universities, monasteries, preaching, and liturgy. Its widespread use also created a need for scholarly tools to navigate the text more effectively.

Around 1230, the first true Bible concordance was compiled by Hugh of Saint-Cher (Hugo de Sancto Caro), a Dominican friar and theologian. Working with fellow Dominicans, Hugo produced a massive reference work keyed to the Latin Vulgate, organizing biblical words alphabetically and listing their occurrences. This innovation revolutionized biblical study and preaching, making systematic textual analysis possible for the first time and reflecting the growing scholarly culture of medieval universities.

In the early modern period, efforts were made to correct and standardize the Vulgate text. One important revision was carried out by the Benedictine scholar Hubert Phalesius in the 16th century, who produced a carefully edited edition of the Latin Vulgate based on manuscript comparison and scholarly principles. His work contributed to the broader movement toward textual accuracy that culminated in the Clementine Vulgate (1592), the officially authorized Catholic edition. Together, the concordance of Hugo and the revisions of scholars like Phalesius illustrate how the Vulgate was not only a sacred text but also a subject of continuous intellectual refinement.

Description

Red Morocco leather, raised bands, gold tooling and titling on spine as well as around edges of covers, marbled paste downs/endpapers, gold edged pages, blue and white sewn endbands, woodcut of Dominican friars. Leather reasonably worn and stained, a few shallow gouges on front cover, wearing on edges minimal with one corner exposed, endbands intact with a few minor torn threads, textblock in great condition with minimal foxing & stains.

Dimensions: 8 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches