Genesis 29:14

Posted on January 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

14 respondit: Os meum es, et caro mea. Et postquam impleti sunt dies mensis unius,

he answered: “You are my bone and my flesh.” And after the days of one month were completed,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 respondit he answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Os bone NOM.SG.N
3 meum my NOM.SG.N.POSS.ADJ
4 es you are 2SG.PRES.ACT.IND
5 et and CONJ
6 caro flesh NOM.SG.F
7 mea my NOM.SG.F.POSS.ADJ
8 Et and CONJ
9 postquam after CONJ
10 impleti were completed NOM.PL.M.PERF.PART.PASS
11 sunt were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND (AUX)
12 dies days NOM.PL.M
13 mensis of month GEN.SG.M
14 unius one GEN.SG.M.NUM

Syntax

Main Clause 1: respondit: Os meum es, et caro mea — The verb respondit governs direct speech introduced by a colon. Within the quotation, Os meum and caro mea form nominative predicates identifying Jacob as Laban’s close kin (“You are my bone and my flesh”).
Main Clause 2: Et postquam impleti sunt dies mensis unius — Introduced by postquam with a perfect passive construction impleti sunt (“were completed”), describing the passage of time. dies mensis unius forms a temporal expression (“the days of one month”).

Morphology

  1. respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he answered”; Notes: Introduces direct quotation from Laban.
  2. Os — Lemma: os; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “bone”; Notes: Used metaphorically with caro for kinship.
  3. meum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective (possessive); Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: modifies os; Translation: “my”; Notes: Indicates possession.
  4. es — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 2nd singular; Function: linking verb; Translation: “you are”; Notes: Direct address to Jacob.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: coordinates predicate nominatives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the two kinship metaphors.
  6. caro — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “flesh”; Notes: Parallel with os in poetic balance.
  7. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective (possessive); Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies caro; Translation: “my”; Notes: Gender agreement with caro.
  8. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: joins the following temporal clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Shifts narrative after the dialogue.
  9. postquam — Lemma: postquam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “after”; Notes: Followed by perfect indicative or perfect passive.
  10. impleti — Lemma: impleo; Part of Speech: participle (perfect passive); Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate with sunt; Translation: “were completed”; Notes: Part of passive periphrastic construction.
  11. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd plural; Function: auxiliary for impleti; Translation: “were”; Notes: Finite verb in passive periphrastic phrase.
  12. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of impleti sunt; Translation: “days”; Notes: Subject of the temporal clause.
  13. mensis — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: “of month”; Notes: Specifies time period.
  14. unius — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies mensis; Translation: “one”; Notes: Quantifies the month duration.

 

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.