Genesis 27:44

Posted on January 27, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 27:44 habitabisque cum eo dies paucos, donec requiescat furor fratris tui,

and you shall stay with him for a few days, until your brother’s anger subsides,

# Latin Gloss GRAMMAR TAG
1 habitabisque and you shall dwell 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 cum with PREP+ABL
3 eo him ABL.SG.M.PRON
4 dies days ACC.PL.M
5 paucos few ACC.PL.M.ADJ
6 donec until SUB.CONJ
7 requiescat he may subside / rest 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
8 furor anger NOM.SG.M
9 fratris of (your) brother GEN.SG.M
10 tui your GEN.SG.M.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause: habitabisque cum eo dies paucos — “And you shall dwell with him for a few days.” The enclitic “-que” joins this clause with the preceding command, forming a continuation of Rebekah’s instruction.
Temporal Subordinate Clause: donec requiescat furor fratris tui — “until your brother’s anger subsides.” The conjunction “donec” introduces a temporal limit, with the subjunctive “requiescat” expressing anticipated or expected future time.
The construction presents a soothing sequence: temporary exile (“for a few days”) followed by reconciliation (“until his anger subsides”).

Morphology

  1. habitabisque — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future indicative active 2nd person singular + enclitic “-que”; Function: main verb; Translation: “and you shall dwell”; Notes: Predictive future; “-que” joins it to previous imperatives, implying continuity of Rebekah’s instructions.
  2. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: Indicates association — Jacob’s temporary dwelling with Laban.
  3. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “cum”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Laban, the host and refuge for Jacob.
  4. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: accusative of duration; Translation: “days”; Notes: Accusative expresses how long Jacob will stay — “for a few days.”
  5. paucos — Lemma: paucus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies “dies”; Translation: “few”; Notes: Rebekah minimizes the expected time away, though later events show it lasted many years.
  6. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: subordinating conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: introduces a temporal clause; Translation: “until”; Notes: With subjunctive here, it expresses anticipated future circumstance — a hope that Esau’s rage will cool.
  7. requiescat — Lemma: quiesco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present subjunctive active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of subordinate temporal clause; Translation: “he may subside / rest”; Notes: Subjunctive used because the rest or calming of Esau’s anger is not yet realized but anticipated.
  8. furor — Lemma: furor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “requiescat”; Translation: “anger / rage”; Notes: The noun denotes violent passion or fury — Esau’s emotional state against Jacob.
  9. fratris — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of (your) brother”; Notes: Identifies the source of anger; part of possessive phrase modifying “furor.”
  10. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies “fratris”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Personalizes the relationship — the anger comes from Jacob’s own brother, reinforcing the emotional and familial tension.

 

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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