Pope Damasus I commissioned Jerome in 382 AD to revise the Old Latin translations of the Bible. Jerome moved to Bethlehem, learned Hebrew, and over 23 years translated the entire Bible from the original languages into Latin. His translation became the standard Bible of the Western church for over a thousand years and was the basis for every European vernacular Bible until the 16th century.
Why this matters
The Bible the Western church read for the next millennium and the foundation of European Christian thought, art, music, and literature. When Wycliffe, Tyndale, and Luther translated the Bible into English and German, they were translating Jerome's text.
Scripture references
GenesisPsalmsIsaiahMatthewRomans
Location
Bethlehem