Letter 26. To Marcella.

An explanation of certain Hebrew words which have been left untranslated in the versions. The words are Alleluia, Amen, Maran atha. Written at Rome 384 a.d. The below translation made by ChatGPT 3.5 from this Latin text.

1. Recently when we were together, not through a letter as you used to do before, but you asked me in person, what those words mean in their own language which we do not have translated into Latin from Hebrew; and why they are put down without being interpreted, as is the case with Alleluia, Amen, Maran atha, Ephod, and others that you mentioned scattered throughout the Scriptures.

2. To which we briefly respond, because we are limited by the narrowness of dictation, that either the Seventy Interpreters or the Apostles took care that, since the first Church had been gathered from the Jews, they would not introduce anything new to the scandal of believers: but they would pass on what they had imbibed from the beginning. Later, when the preaching of the Gospel had spread to all nations, what had been once received could not be changed. Although even this, as Origen calls them in his explanatory books, cannot be pronounced among others as it was spoken among one's own people, because of the vernacular of each language, and that it is much better to leave it untranslated than to diminish their power through interpretation.

3. Therefore, Alleluia is expressed, "Praise the Lord," since it is one of the ten names of God amongst the Hebrews. And in that psalm, where we read, "Praise the Lord, for a psalm is good" (Ps. 146:1), it is read among the Hebrews, "Alleluia, Chi Tob Zammer."

4. But Amen, Aquila renders πεπιστωμένως, that which we, faithfully, can say, the adverb comes from the name of faith Amen of the Septuagint, that is, let it be done. Therefore, at the end of the books (since the Psalter is divided into five volumes among the Hebrews), they have translated it as "let it be done." In Hebrew, it is read as "Amen Amen," to confirm what has been said above. Hence, Paul asserts that no one can say "Amen" (i.e., confirm what has been preached) unless they understand the preaching. Maranatha is more Syriac than Hebrew, although it sounds somewhat Hebrew and is interpreted as "Our Lord has come"; the sense is, "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema" (1 Cor. 16:22), and with that accomplished, it follows: "Our Lord has come," which is unnecessary to argue against those who are stubbornly hostile, given that it is already clear that He has come.

5. I would like to write something to you about the Diapsalm, which is written among the Hebrews as Sela: and about the Ephod, and about that which is said in the title of a certain Psalm: For Aieleth, and other similar things; if I did not exceed the style of an epistle, and did not cause you to have an even greater desire for extended inquiries. For it is a well-known proverb: To think that rewards are self-obtained. Therefore, we intentionally keep silent about such things to make you more eager to hear what is not spoken.