Genesis 27:31

Posted on January 27, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

31 coctosque de venatione cibos intulit patri, dicens: Surge pater mi, et comede de venatione filii tui: ut benedicat mihi anima tua.

and he brought to his father the cooked foods from the hunt, saying: “Rise, my father, and eat from your son’s hunt, so that your soul may bless me.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 coctosque and the cooked ACC.PL.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP + ENCLITIC
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 venatione hunt ABL.SG.F
4 cibos foods ACC.PL.M
5 intulit brought in 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 patri to (his) father DAT.SG.M
7 dicens saying PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
8 Surge rise 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
9 pater father VOC.SG.M
10 mi my VOC.SG.M.POSS.ADJ
11 et and CONJ
12 comede eat 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
13 de from PREP+ABL
14 venatione hunt ABL.SG.F
15 filii of (your) son GEN.SG.M
16 tui your GEN.SG.M.POSS.ADJ
17 ut so that CONJ
18 benedicat may bless 3SG.PRES.SUBJ.ACT
19 mihi me / to me DAT.SG.1ST.PRON
20 anima soul NOM.SG.F
21 tua your NOM.SG.F.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause: coctosque de venatione cibos intulit patri — “And he brought to his father the cooked foods from the hunt.” The direct object is cibos modified by coctosque and the ablative of source de venatione.
Participle Clause: dicens introduces the direct speech, marking Esau’s respectful appeal.
Imperative Clauses: Surge pater mi, et comede de venatione filii tui — “Rise, my father, and eat from your son’s hunt.” Imperatives express urgency and reverence.
Final Clause: ut benedicat mihi anima tua — “so that your soul may bless me.” A purpose clause with the subjunctive benedicat, showing Esau’s expectation of blessing through ritual meal fellowship.

Morphology

  1. coctosque — Lemma: coquo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: accusative plural masculine perfect passive participle + enclitic -que; Function: modifies “cibos”; Translation: “and the cooked”; Notes: The participle describes the prepared food Esau brings; -que connects to the following action.
  2. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates origin of the cooked meat, the result of Esau’s hunting.
  3. venatione — Lemma: venatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “hunt”; Notes: Source of the meat; symbolic of Esau’s skill and livelihood.
  4. cibos — Lemma: cibus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “foods”; Notes: Object of “intulit,” referring to the prepared meal intended for Isaac.
  5. intulit — Lemma: infero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “brought in”; Notes: Describes Esau’s physical act of presentation to his father.
  6. patri — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to (his) father”; Notes: Recipient of Esau’s offering, indicating filial respect.
  7. dicens — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine present active; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Marks transition from narration to quotation.
  8. Surge — Lemma: surgo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present imperative active 2nd person singular; Function: command; Translation: “rise”; Notes: Respectful imperative addressed to Isaac to begin the meal ritual.
  9. pater — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: vocative singular masculine; Function: direct address; Translation: “father”; Notes: Indicates affection and reverence.
  10. mi — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: vocative singular masculine; Function: modifies “pater”; Translation: “my”; Notes: Shows filial devotion and emotional tone.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: connects imperatives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins successive polite imperatives.
  12. comede — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present imperative active 2nd person singular; Function: command; Translation: “eat”; Notes: Invitation to partake of the offering; echoes ritual hospitality.
  13. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Introduces ablative of source describing the meal’s origin.
  14. venatione — Lemma: venatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “hunt”; Notes: Refers again to Esau’s successful hunt as proof of filial duty.
  15. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of (your) son”; Notes: Expresses relationship of the provider to the recipient.
  16. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies “filii”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Reinforces personal bond and respect in Esau’s address.
  17. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: introduces purpose clause; Function: indicates intention; Translation: “so that”; Notes: Links Esau’s request to the desired blessing outcome.
  18. benedicat — Lemma: benedico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present subjunctive active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of purpose; Translation: “may bless”; Notes: Expresses desired result of Isaac’s meal — the bestowal of blessing.
  19. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular first person; Function: indirect object; Translation: “me / to me”; Notes: Esau seeks blessing personally directed to him.
  20. anima — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of “benedicat”; Translation: “soul”; Notes: Denotes Isaac’s inner self, the seat of the blessing.
  21. tua — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies “anima”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Indicates that the blessing proceeds from Isaac’s own being and will.

 

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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