Jerome de Prado facts for kids
Jerome de Prado (born 1547 – died January 13, 1595) was a Spanish Jesuit scholar. He was an expert on the Bible, especially known for his work on the Book of Ezekiel.
Life and Important Works
Jerome de Prado was born in Baeza, Spain. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1572. He first taught literature, then became a professor of scripture (Bible studies) at Cordoba, Spain for sixteen years.
His most important work was a large book called Tomus Primus in Ezechiel. He spent sixteen years working on this book. Sadly, he died in Rome in 1595 while looking for pictures to add to it. He had only finished up to the twenty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel.
Another Jesuit, John Baptist Villalpando, finished Prado's work. Villalpando added two more volumes to the commentary on Ezekiel. The second volume had two parts. One part explained the next thirteen chapters of Ezekiel. The other part, De postrema Ezechielis prophetæ visione, was a very detailed study of the Temple of Jerusalem from ancient times.
The third volume, Appartus urbis ac templi Hierosolymitani, was a joint effort by both Prado and Villalpando. It included a deep scientific study of old Jewish coins, weights, and measurements. They also tried to rebuild how the Temple and the City of Jerusalem might have looked, using the few clues they had.
Prado also left behind many handwritten works. These included commentaries on other books of the Bible like Isaiah, Zachary, Micah, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. He also wrote a book about the timeline of events in the Bible. Many of these writings are now kept in the National Library of Madrid.
The volumes published by Villalpando were dedicated to Philip II of Spain. King Philip II actually asked for and paid for the completion of the work that Prado had started.
Experts praised Prado's work. Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman said it was "still the greatest repertory" for understanding the difficult parts of the Book of Ezekiel. Another scholar, Rosenmüller, called the volumes "a work full of varied knowledge, and very useful for studying ancient times." Jerome de Prado's careful and enthusiastic way of studying the Bible inspired his students, including John Pineda and Luis de Alcazar.
See also
- Jerónimo de Prado para niños (in Spanish)
