Genesis 26:31

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 26:31 surgentes mane, iuraverunt sibi mutuo: dimisitque eos Isaac pacifice in locum suum.

rising early in the morning, they swore to one another; and Isaac sent them away peacefully to their own place.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 surgentes rising NOM.PL.M.PRES.ACT.PTCP
2 mane early in the morning ADV
3 iuraverunt they swore 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
4 sibi to one another DAT.PL.REFL.PRON
5 mutuo mutually ADV
6 dimisitque and he sent away 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + CONJ
7 eos them ACC.PL.M.PRON
8 Isaac Isaac NOM.SG.M (proper noun)
9 pacifice peacefully ADV
10 in to PREP+ACC
11 locum place ACC.SG.M
12 suum their own ACC.SG.M.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Temporal Clause: surgentes mane — “rising early in the morning.” The participle surgentes functions temporally, describing the time of the subsequent action.
Main Clause 1: iuraverunt sibi mutuo — “they swore to one another.” sibi is a reciprocal dative, and mutuo reinforces mutual action, indicating a covenant oath between Isaac and Abimelech’s group.
Main Clause 2: dimisitque eos Isaac pacifice in locum suum — “and Isaac sent them away peacefully to their own place.” The conjunction enclitic -que joins the clause to the previous one; Isaac is the subject; eos is the direct object; pacifice modifies the verb, expressing manner, while in locum suum marks direction.

Morphology

  1. surgentes — Lemma: surgo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine present active participle; Function: temporal participle; Translation: “rising”; Notes: Denotes simultaneous action preceding the oath-taking.
  2. mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariant; Function: temporal adverb; Translation: “early in the morning”; Notes: Common biblical idiom marking diligence or solemn action.
  3. iuraverunt — Lemma: iuro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active 3rd person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “they swore”; Notes: Marks formal oath-taking confirming peace treaty.
  4. sibi — Lemma: sui; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to one another”; Notes: Reciprocal construction with “mutuo.”
  5. mutuo — Lemma: mutuo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariant; Function: modifies “iuraverunt”; Translation: “mutually”; Notes: Reinforces bilateral nature of covenant.
  6. dimisitque — Lemma: dimitto; Part of Speech: verb + enclitic conjunction; Form: perfect indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “and he sent away”; Notes: Enclitic “-que” links the act of sending with oath-taking.
  7. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to Abimelech and his companions.
  8. Isaac — Lemma: Isaac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Isaac”; Notes: Central figure of the narrative.
  9. pacifice — Lemma: pacifice; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariant; Function: adverb of manner; Translation: “peacefully”; Notes: Expresses amicable intent following the covenant.
  10. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces destination phrase.
  11. locum — Lemma: locus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of preposition; Translation: “place”; Notes: Denotes their home territory.
  12. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies “locum”; Translation: “their own”; Notes: Indicates that they returned to their own land in peace.

 

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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