Genesis 30:16

Posted on January 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 30:16 Redeuntique ad vesperam Iacob de agro, egressa est in occursum eius Lia, et ad me, inquit, intrabis: quia mercede conduxi te pro mandragoris filii mei. Dormivitque cum ea nocte illa.

And when Jacob came back in the evening from the field, Leah went out to meet him and said: “You shall come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Redeuntique and when returning DAT.SG.M.PRES.ACT.PART + ENCL.CONJ
2 ad to / toward PREP + ACC
3 vesperam evening ACC.SG.F
4 Iacob Jacob DAT.SG.M.PROPN
5 de from PREP + ABL
6 agro field ABL.SG.M
7 egressa having gone out NOM.SG.F.PERF.PASS.PART
8 est is / was 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 in to / toward PREP + ACC
10 occursum meeting ACC.SG.M
11 eius him GEN.SG.M.PRON
12 Lia Leah NOM.SG.F.PROPN
13 et and CONJ
14 ad to PREP + ACC
15 me me ACC.SG.1P.PRON
16 inquit said (she) 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
17 intrabis you shall come in 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
18 quia because CONJ
19 mercede with a price ABL.SG.F
20 conduxi I have hired 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
21 te you ACC.SG.2P.PRON
22 pro for / in exchange for PREP + ABL
23 mandragoris mandrakes ABL.PL.F
24 filii of (my) son GEN.SG.M
25 mei my GEN.SG.M.POSS.ADJ
26 Dormivitque and he slept 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCL.CONJ
27 cum with PREP + ABL
28 ea her ABL.SG.F.PRON
29 nocte night ABL.SG.F
30 illa that ABL.SG.F.DEMONSTR.ADJ

Syntax

Temporal Clause: Redeuntique ad vesperam Iacob de agro — The dative absolute construction with Redeunti Iacob (“when Jacob was returning”) and temporal phrase ad vesperam (“toward evening”) sets the time. The prepositional phrase de agro specifies origin (“from the field”).
Main Clause: egressa est in occursum eius Lia — The perfect egressa est (“went out”) describes Leah’s initiative, followed by in occursum eius (“to meet him”).
Direct Speech: et ad me, inquit, intrabis — Leah’s statement begins with the prepositional phrase ad me (“to me”), and intrabis (“you shall come in”) expresses assertion or command.
Reason Clause: quia mercede conduxi te pro mandragoris filii mei — quia introduces Leah’s rationale: she has “hired” Jacob for the night, using the ablative of price mercede (“with a payment”) and ablative of exchange pro mandragoris (“in exchange for the mandrakes”).
Final Clause: Dormivitque cum ea nocte illa — Simple perfect narrative action: “and he slept with her that night.”

Morphology

  1. Redeuntique — Lemma: redeo + que; Part of Speech: participle + enclitic conjunction; Form: dative singular masculine present active participle; Function: dative absolute; Translation: “and when returning”; Notes: Refers to Jacob as he was returning from the field, linking temporal context to Leah’s action.
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: shows direction; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Introduces the goal or endpoint of Jacob’s return, “toward evening.”
  3. vesperam — Lemma: vespera; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “evening”; Notes: Specifies the time of day, providing the temporal setting of the narrative.
  4. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: dependent on Redeunti; Translation: “to Jacob”; Notes: Marks Jacob as the subject of the participial phrase in the dative absolute.
  5. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Introduces the origin of movement — Jacob’s return “from the field.”
  6. agro — Lemma: ager; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of de; Translation: “field”; Notes: Represents Jacob’s working environment or place of labor.
  7. egressa — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent participle); Form: nominative singular feminine perfect participle; Function: with est forms perfect indicative; Translation: “went out”; Notes: Describes Leah’s proactive movement toward Jacob upon his return.
  8. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect auxiliary; Function: completes egressa est; Translation: “went”; Notes: Used as an auxiliary for deponent verbs in perfect tense.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Indicates Leah’s direction as she moves to meet Jacob.
  10. occursum — Lemma: occursus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “meeting”; Notes: Common expression “in occursum” means “to meet someone.”
  11. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to Jacob, indicating whose meeting it was.
  12. Lia — Lemma: Lia; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “Leah”; Notes: The active agent in the sentence, initiating the meeting.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects sequential narrative actions in Latin prose.
  14. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: prepositional phrase; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the object of Leah’s statement (“to me”).
  15. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of ad; Translation: “me”; Notes: Represents Leah herself as the object of Jacob’s approach.
  16. inquit — Lemma: inquam; Part of Speech: verb (defective); Form: present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: marks direct speech; Translation: “said (she)”; Notes: Introduces spoken words directly, a common narrative feature in Latin.
  17. intrabis — Lemma: intro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative 2nd singular; Function: main verb of Leah’s command; Translation: “you shall come in”; Notes: Expresses certainty or obligation in the future tense.
  18. quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: “because”; Notes: Explains Leah’s reasoning for demanding Jacob’s company.
  19. mercede — Lemma: merces; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of means; Translation: “with a price”; Notes: Indicates the compensation or payment Leah claims to have made.
  20. conduxi — Lemma: conduco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 1st singular; Function: main verb of causal clause; Translation: “I have hired”; Notes: Suggests Leah’s use of mandrakes as symbolic currency for conjugal rights.
  21. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object of conduxi; Translation: “you”; Notes: Directly refers to Jacob as the one “hired.”
  22. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses exchange; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces the item exchanged—mandrakes.
  23. mandragoris — Lemma: mandragora; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of pro; Translation: “mandrakes”; Notes: Fertility-related plants offered by Rachel as barter.
  24. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of (my) son”; Notes: Refers to Leah’s son Reuben, who had found the mandrakes.
  25. mei — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective (possessive); Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: agrees with filii; Translation: “my”; Notes: Adds personal emphasis to Leah’s claim.
  26. Dormivitque — Lemma: dormio + que; Part of Speech: verb + enclitic conjunction; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “and he slept”; Notes: Describes the fulfillment of Leah’s arrangement with Rachel.
  27. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: Common preposition introducing company or association.
  28. ea — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of cum; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers to Leah, completing the prepositional phrase.
  29. nocte — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of time; Translation: “night”; Notes: Specifies the temporal frame of the event.
  30. illa — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: adjective (demonstrative); Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies nocte; Translation: “that”; Notes: Reinforces specificity of the night agreed upon for Leah and Jacob’s union.

 

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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