Giovanni Battista Iona's Hebrew translation of the four Gospels

Abstract

In this article, I examine the Hebrew translation of the four Gospels published in 1668 by Giovanni Battista Iona, a convert from Judaism employed as a professional Hebraist in several Catholic institutions in Rome. I focus, first, on Iona's aims in undertaking this work: to come closer to a presumed Hebrew original of the Gospels; to rebut Jewish polemics against Christianity; to bring about the conversion of Jews by showing that the Gospels are akin to the Hebrew Bible. Second, I analyse Iona's translation technique and shed light on the sources he used (both Latin and Hebrew), on the kind of Hebrew he employed and on some specific choices he made. Finally, I tie Iona's thinking and method of work to his particular status as a 'convert Christian Hebraist'.