Genesis 27:22

Posted on January 27, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 27:22 Accessit ille ad patrem, et palpato eo, dixit Isaac: Vox quidem, vox Iacob est: sed manus, manus sunt Esau.

And he came near to his father, and when he had touched him, Isaac said: “The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Accessit he came near 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ille he NOM.SG.M.DEM.PRON
3 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
4 patrem father ACC.SG.M
5 et and CONJ
6 palpato having been touched ABL.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP (ABL.ABS)
7 eo him ABL.SG.M.3RD.PRON
8 dixit he said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 Isaac Isaac NOM.SG.M.PROP.NOUN
10 Vox voice NOM.SG.F
11 quidem indeed ADV
12 vox voice NOM.SG.F
13 Iacob of Jacob GEN.SG.M.PROP.NOUN
14 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
15 sed but CONJ
16 manus hands NOM.PL.F
17 manus hands NOM.PL.F
18 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
19 Esau of Esau GEN.SG.M.PROP.NOUN

Syntax

Introductory Clause: Accessit ille ad patrem — “And he came near to his father.” The perfect accessit narrates Jacob’s physical approach.
Ablative Absolute: palpato eo — “when he had touched him.” Expresses temporal circumstance, describing the moment before Isaac’s realization.
Main Clause: dixit Isaac — “Isaac said.” The speaker is explicitly named after the ablative absolute for narrative clarity.
Direct Speech: Vox quidem, vox Iacob est: sed manus, manus sunt Esau.
The first clause uses repetition and quidem for emphasis: “The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob.” The second clause with sed contrasts: “but the hands are the hands of Esau.” The parallel structure highlights Isaac’s internal conflict between auditory and tactile evidence.

Morphology

  1. Accessit — Lemma: accedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he came near”; Notes: Describes Jacob’s movement toward Isaac for examination.
  2. ille — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “he”; Notes: Refers to Jacob, continuing the narrative focus.
  3. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates direction; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Marks motion toward Isaac.
  4. patrem — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “ad”; Translation: “father”; Notes: Refers to Isaac as the destination of Jacob’s approach.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the sequential narrative actions.
  6. palpato — Lemma: palpo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle ablative singular masculine; Function: part of ablative absolute; Translation: “having been touched”; Notes: Temporal ablative expressing when the speech occurs.
  7. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: agent or object in ablative absolute; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Jacob being felt by Isaac.
  8. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of speaking; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
  9. Isaac — Lemma: Isaac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “dixit”; Translation: “Isaac”; Notes: Identifies the speaker.
  10. Vox — Lemma: vox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “voice”; Notes: Repeated for rhetorical emphasis in the statement.
  11. quidem — Lemma: quidem; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariant; Function: adds emphasis or concession; Translation: “indeed”; Notes: Reinforces the certainty of auditory recognition.
  12. vox — Lemma: vox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “voice”; Notes: Parallel repetition strengthens the contrast with “manus.”
  13. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of Jacob”; Notes: Marks identity by sound.
  14. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: Links the subject and predicate nominative.
  15. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: introduces contrast; Translation: “but”; Notes: Marks the opposition between auditory and tactile perception.
  16. manus — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “hands”; Notes: Repeated twice for rhetorical and emphatic balance with “vox.”
  17. manus — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “hands”; Notes: Completes the contrastive clause “manus sunt Esau.”
  18. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative active 3rd person plural; Function: copula; Translation: “are”; Notes: Links plural subject and predicate nominative.
  19. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: “of Esau”; Notes: Identifies the tactile deception through the hairy hands of Jacob disguised as Esau.

 

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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