Genesis 29:8

Posted on January 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 29:8 Qui responderunt: Non possumus, donec omnia pecora congregentur, et amoveamus lapidem de ore putei, ut adaquemus greges.

They answered: “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered together, and we remove the stone from the mouth of the well, that we may water the flocks.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui who NOM.PL.M.REL
2 responderunt answered 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Non not ADV
4 possumus we can 1PL.PRES.ACT.IND
5 donec until CONJ
6 omnia all ACC.PL.N.ADJ
7 pecora flocks ACC.PL.N
8 congregentur are gathered 3PL.PRES.PASS.SUBJ
9 et and CONJ
10 amoveamus we remove 1PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
11 lapidem stone ACC.SG.M
12 de from PREP+ABL
13 ore mouth ABL.SG.N
14 putei of the well GEN.SG.M
15 ut that CONJ
16 adaquemus we may water 1PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
17 greges flocks ACC.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Qui responderunt — a relative clause referring to the shepherds; Qui is the subject, responderunt the main verb in the perfect indicative.
Subordinate Clause 1: Non possumus donec omnia pecora congregentur — Non possumus expresses inability; donec introduces a temporal clause with the subjunctive congregentur (“until the flocks are gathered”).
Subordinate Clause 2: et amoveamus lapidem de ore putei — et joins the next subjunctive clause expressing sequence or condition (“and we remove the stone”). lapidem is the object, de ore putei is a prepositional phrase expressing source.
Purpose Clause: ut adaquemus greges — introduced by ut with subjunctive adaquemus expressing purpose (“that we may water the flocks”).

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of responderunt; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to the shepherds previously mentioned.
  2. responderunt — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd plural; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “answered”; Notes: Perfect tense denotes completed speech response.
  3. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: —; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the verb possumus.
  4. possumus — Lemma: possum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 1st plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “we can”; Notes: Expresses ability, here negated.
  5. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: introduces a temporal clause; Translation: “until”; Notes: Governs subjunctive expressing future condition.
  6. omnia — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: modifies pecora; Translation: “all”; Notes: Totality of flocks.
  7. pecora — Lemma: pecus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: subject of congregentur; Translation: “flocks”; Notes: Refers to livestock collectively.
  8. congregentur — Lemma: congrego; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present passive subjunctive 3rd plural; Function: verb in temporal clause; Translation: “are gathered”; Notes: Subjunctive expresses temporal anticipation (“until they be gathered”).
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connective.
  10. amoveamus — Lemma: amoveo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive 1st plural; Function: verb coordinated with congregentur; Translation: “we remove”; Notes: Subjunctive marks dependency on donec.
  11. lapidem — Lemma: lapis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of amoveamus; Translation: “stone”; Notes: Refers to the large covering stone of the well.
  12. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation/source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates origin of removal.
  13. ore — Lemma: os; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of de; Translation: “mouth”; Notes: Figuratively refers to the opening of the well.
  14. putei — Lemma: puteus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of the well”; Notes: Describes ownership of the “mouth.”
  15. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: Marks intent or desired result.
  16. adaquemus — Lemma: adaquo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive 1st plural; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “we may water”; Notes: Subjunctive expresses intention.
  17. greges — Lemma: grex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of adaquemus; Translation: “flocks”; Notes: Refers to the gathered sheep to be watered.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.