St. Jerome was responsible for translating the Bible to one of its most-read versions. This translation was completed in a singular location that would later become known by the name St. Jerome's Cave. It is also marked as a holy site.
St Jerome’s Cave is said to be where the longest enduring version of the Bible was translated. It is a cave that is found beneath the Church of the Nativity and is an underground study that is cool in the summer and cold in the winter. St. Jerome spent more than 30 years translating the various Scriptures from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. The priest began his task in this cave around 386 AD, and in the end, had produced the first official vernacular version of the Holy Bible. It was known as the Vulgate and maintained its status as the authoritative version of the Bible for Catholics up to the 20th century. It is considered to be the most-read version of the Bible until modern times.
The cave can be accessed through a maze of chambers by way of the Saint Catherine Church that is located next to the Church of the Nativity. St. Jerome is commemorated in the courtyard of the church, where next to his cave are the crypts that commemorate the Grotto of the Nativity, considered to be one of the holiest sites in Christianity and the Massacre of the Innocents.