Genesis 26:19

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 26:19 Foderuntque in Torrente, et repererunt aquam vivam.

And they dug in the valley, and they found living water.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Foderuntque and they dug 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC-QUE
2 in in PREP+ABL
3 Torrente valley / wadi NOUN.ABL.SG.M
4 et and CONJ
5 repererunt they found 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
6 aquam water NOUN.ACC.SG.F
7 vivam living ADJ.ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Foderuntque in Torrente, et repererunt aquam vivam — a compound sentence joined by coordination (-que and et).
The subject (implied “they,” i.e., Isaac’s servants) performs two sequential actions: digging and discovering.
Prepositional Phrase: in Torrente — indicates the place of action (“in the valley”).
Object Phrase: aquam vivam — direct object of “repererunt,” with adjective “vivam” modifying “aquam,” meaning “living” or “flowing,” signifying fresh spring water.

Morphology

  1. Foderuntque — Lemma: fodio; Part of Speech: verb (+ enclitic conjunction); Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “and they dug”; Notes: The enclitic -que joins this action to the following clause.
  2. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Used with ablative to indicate place where.
  3. Torrente — Lemma: torrens; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of the preposition “in”; Translation: “valley / wadi”; Notes: Refers to a dry riverbed that may fill seasonally with water.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the second clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links sequential actions.
  5. repererunt — Lemma: reperio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd person plural; Function: second main verb; Translation: “they found”; Notes: Perfect tense emphasizes completed discovery.
  6. aquam — Lemma: aqua; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “water”; Notes: Object of “repererunt.”
  7. vivam — Lemma: vivus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: agrees with “aquam”; Translation: “living / flowing”; Notes: In Biblical idiom, “living water” denotes fresh, moving water, not stagnant — symbolically associated with divine blessing.

 

About Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Born around 346 A.D. in Stridon, St. Jerome was a scholar fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew whose ascetic discipline and deep engagement with Scripture prepared him for a monumental task: translating the Bible into Latin. Commissioned by Pope Damasus I around 382 A.D., Jerome began by revising the flawed Old Latin Gospels, then expanded his work to the entire Bible. For the New Testament, he corrected Latin texts using Greek manuscripts; for the Old Testament, he translated most books directly from Hebrew—a controversial but principled choice. His final Psalter, however, followed the Greek Septuagint tradition for liturgical use. This composite translation, later known as the Vulgate (editio vulgata), became the authoritative biblical text of the Western Church, formally endorsed at the Council of Trent in 1546. The Vulgate’s influence extends beyond theology into textual criticism and Latin education. As one of the earliest translations grounded in original-language scholarship, it offers a vital witness to the state of biblical texts in late antiquity. Jerome’s lexical and syntactic decisions are studied to trace manuscript history and assess variant readings. Its elegant Latin, consistent in grammar and rich in vocabulary, became a model for medieval and Renaissance learning, bridging classical and ecclesiastical Latin. More than a translation, the Vulgate helped define Christian doctrine, preserved the Latin language, and laid essential groundwork for the critical study of Scripture—remaining indispensable to students of Latin, theology, and textual history.
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