Genesis 28:6

Posted on January 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 28:6 Videns autem Esau quod benedixisset pater suus Iacob, et misisset eum in Mesopotamiam Syriæ, ut inde uxorem duceret; et quod post benedictionem præcepisset ei, dicens: Non accipies uxorem de filiabus Chanaan:

And Esau, seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria to take a wife from there, and that after the blessing he had instructed him, saying: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Chanaan”;

# Latin Gloss GRAMMAR TAG
1 Videns seeing PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.M
2 autem but / moreover CONJ.ADV
3 Esau Esau NOM.SG.M
4 quod that CONJ
5 benedixisset had blessed 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
6 pater father NOM.SG.M
7 suus his NOM.SG.M.POSS.ADJ
8 Iacob Jacob ACC.SG.M
9 et and CONJ
10 misisset had sent 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
11 eum him ACC.SG.M.PRON
12 in into PREP+ACC
13 Mesopotamiam Mesopotamia ACC.SG.F
14 Syriæ of Syria GEN.SG.F
15 ut so that / to SUB.CONJ
16 inde from there ADV
17 uxorem wife ACC.SG.F
18 duceret might take / lead 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.SUBJ
19 et and CONJ
20 quod that CONJ
21 post after PREP+ACC
22 benedictionem blessing ACC.SG.F
23 præcepisset had commanded 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
24 ei to him DAT.SG.M.PRON
25 dicens saying PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.M
26 Non not NEG.PART
27 accipies you shall take 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
28 uxorem wife ACC.SG.F
29 de from PREP+ABL
30 filiabus daughters ABL.PL.F
31 Chanaan Kenaʾan / Canaan GEN.SG.PROPER.NAME

Syntax

Introductory Phrase: Videns autem Esau — The nominative absolute phrase “and Esau, seeing…” introduces Esau’s reaction to Isaac’s blessing of Jacob, leading to subsequent action.
Indirect Statement (Accusative + Subjunctive): quod benedixisset pater suus Iacob — “that his father had blessed Jacob.” The conjunction quod introduces indirect discourse depending on videns.
Additional Subordinate Clauses: et misisset eum in Mesopotamiam Syriæ ut inde uxorem duceret — a temporal and purpose sequence, “and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria to take a wife from there.”
Further Indirect Statement: et quod post benedictionem præcepisset ei, dicens: Non accipies uxorem de filiabus Chanaan — “and that after the blessing he had commanded him, saying: You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Kenaʾan.”
Each quod-clause depends on the perception verb videns, building layers of reported information within Esau’s realization.

Morphology

  1. Videns — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial participle; Translation: “seeing”; Notes: Denotes Esau’s realization leading to reaction; modifies the implied main clause.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction/adverb; Form: invariant; Function: transitional particle; Translation: “but / moreover”; Notes: Connects narrative progression; contrasts Esau’s perception with previous context.
  3. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Esau”; Notes: The actor perceiving the events concerning Jacob’s blessing.
  4. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: introduces indirect discourse; Translation: “that”; Notes: Subordinates a statement of fact to the participle “videns.”
  5. benedixisset — Lemma: benedico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect subjunctive active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of indirect statement; Translation: “had blessed”; Notes: Subjunctive expresses indirect discourse following “videns.”
  6. pater — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “benedixisset”; Translation: “father”; Notes: Refers to Isaac as the one giving the blessing.
  7. suus — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies “pater”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflects reflexive possession referring back to Esau.
  8. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of “benedixisset”; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Recipient of Isaac’s blessing, central to Esau’s jealousy.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: coordinates subordinate clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links successive perceptions by Esau.
  10. misisset — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect subjunctive active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “had sent”; Notes: Indicates completed prior action within reported perception.
  11. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “misisset”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Jacob being sent by Isaac.
  12. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “into”; Notes: Introduces destination.
  13. Mesopotamiam — Lemma: Mesopotamia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “Mesopotamia”; Notes: The region of Aram-Naharaim, destination of Jacob’s journey.
  14. Syriæ — Lemma: Syria; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: “of Syria”; Notes: Specifies which Mesopotamia, corresponding to Aramean territory.
  15. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “so that / to”; Notes: Marks the purpose of sending Jacob away.
  16. inde — Lemma: inde; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariant; Function: expresses origin; Translation: “from there”; Notes: Refers to Mesopotamia as the place of intended marriage.
  17. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of “duceret”; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Object of the purpose clause — the goal of Jacob’s journey.
  18. duceret — Lemma: duco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect subjunctive active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “might take / lead”; Notes: Common idiom “uxorem ducere” meaning “to marry.”
  19. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: coordinates another clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links multiple perceived facts by Esau.
  20. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: introduces another indirect statement; Translation: “that”; Notes: Begins the third subordinate clause of perception.
  21. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses time; Translation: “after”; Notes: Introduces temporal expression “after the blessing.”
  22. benedictionem — Lemma: benedictio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “post”; Translation: “blessing”; Notes: Refers to Isaac’s blessing of Jacob.
  23. præcepisset — Lemma: praecipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect subjunctive active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of indirect statement; Translation: “had commanded”; Notes: Indicates instruction following the blessing.
  24. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers again to Jacob as recipient of Isaac’s command.
  25. dicens — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Provides transition to quoted command.
  26. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: particle; Form: invariant; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the imperative-like future “accipies.”
  27. accipies — Lemma: accipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future indicative active 2nd person singular; Function: main verb of direct command; Translation: “you shall take”; Notes: Expresses prohibition or future action within direct discourse.
  28. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of “accipies”; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Object of the prohibition — forbidding intermarriage.
  29. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source or origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates the family stock from which Jacob must not take a wife — the daughters of Kenaʾan.
  30. filiabus — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of the preposition “de”; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Refers collectively to the women of Kenaʾanite tribes, who are excluded from the covenant line.
  31. Chanaan — Lemma: Chanaan; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular; Function: dependent genitive modifying “filiabus”; Translation: “of Kenaʾan”; Notes: Marks ethnic descent and region. The prohibition against intermarriage with the daughters of Kenaʾan reflects covenant purity and separation from idolatrous nations.

 

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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