Genesis 28:9

Posted on January 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 28:9 ivit ad Ismaelem, et duxit uxorem absque iis, quas prius habebat, Maheleth filiam Ismael filii Abraham, sororem Nabaioth.

he went to Ismael, and took as a wife, besides those whom he already had, Maheleth, the daughter of Ismael, son of Abraham, the sister of Nabaioth.

# Latin Gloss GRAMMAR TAG
1 ivit he went 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 Ismaelem Ishmael ACC.SG.M
4 et and CONJ
5 duxit he took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 uxorem wife ACC.SG.F
7 absque besides / apart from PREP+ABL
8 iis those ABL.PL.F.PRON
9 quas whom ACC.PL.F.REL.PRON
10 prius before / previously ADV
11 habebat he had 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
12 Maheleth Mahalath ACC.SG.F
13 filiam daughter ACC.SG.F
14 Ismael Ishmael GEN.SG.M
15 filii son GEN.SG.M
16 Abraham Abraham GEN.SG.M
17 sororem sister ACC.SG.F
18 Nabaioth Nebaioth GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: ivit ad Ismaelem — “He went to Ishmael.” The verb ivit is perfect active indicative of eo, denoting completed motion.
Coordinated Action: et duxit uxorem — “and took a wife,” a second main clause connected by et.
Prepositional Phrase: absque iis, quas prius habebat — “besides those whom he had before.” The relative clause quas prius habebat modifies iis, indicating exclusion of Esau’s earlier wives.
Apposition: Maheleth filiam Ismael filii Abraham — a chain of appositive genitives describing Maheleth’s lineage.
Additional Apposition: sororem Nabaioth — further defines Maheleth as Nabaioth’s sister, emphasizing the genealogical connection to Abraham through Ishmael.

Morphology

  1. ivit — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: main verb of the first clause; Translation: “he went”; Notes: Indicates Esau’s deliberate action to approach Ishmael, suggesting strategic alignment with Abraham’s lineage.
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Marks destination of motion.
  3. Ismaelem — Lemma: Ismael; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “ad”; Translation: “Ishmael”; Notes: Son of Abraham, father of Arab tribes; Esau’s marriage into this line was likely an attempt to please Isaac.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: coordinates clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links two sequential actions: journey and marriage.
  5. duxit — Lemma: duco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he took”; Notes: In idiom “uxorem ducere,” it means “to marry.”
  6. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “duxit”; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Direct object completing the idiomatic marriage expression.
  7. absque — Lemma: absque; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses exclusion; Translation: “besides / apart from”; Notes: Introduces contrast with Esau’s previous wives.
  8. iis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of “absque”; Translation: “those”; Notes: Refers to earlier Canaanite wives disapproved by Isaac and Rebekah.
  9. quas — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: introduces relative clause modifying “iis”; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Refers to Esau’s prior wives, linking the clause “quas prius habebat.”
  10. prius — Lemma: prior; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariant; Function: modifies “habebat”; Translation: “before / previously”; Notes: Temporal adverb situating Esau’s earlier marriages before his union with Maheleth.
  11. habebat — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “he had”; Notes: Describes a continuing state in the past — Esau’s previous wives were still living when he took another.
  12. Maheleth — Lemma: Maheleth; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: apposition to “uxorem”; Translation: “Maheleth”; Notes: New wife of Esau, directly tied to Ishmael’s line; represents an attempt to rejoin Abrahamic covenant lineage.
  13. filiam — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: apposition to “Maheleth”; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: Clarifies Maheleth’s relationship to Ishmael, emphasizing descent.
  14. Ismael — Lemma: Ismael; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of possession modifying “filiam”; Translation: “of Ishmael”; Notes: Establishes lineage connecting back to Abraham’s first son by Hagar.
  15. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of apposition modifying “Ismael”; Translation: “son”; Notes: Describes Ishmael’s own descent from Abraham.
  16. Abraham — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of Abraham”; Notes: Reaffirms covenant ancestry through the patriarch, providing theological continuity.
  17. sororem — Lemma: soror; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: apposition to “Maheleth”; Translation: “sister”; Notes: Indicates sibling relationship to Nabaioth, strengthening genealogical context.
  18. Nabaioth — Lemma: Nabaioth; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of relation modifying “sororem”; Translation: “of Nabaioth”; Notes: Names Ishmael’s firstborn son (Genesis 25:13); reinforces the link between Esau’s line and Ishmael’s descendants.

 

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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