Genesis 31:20

Posted on January 31, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 31:20 Noluitque Iacob confiteri socero suo quod fugeret.

And Jacob did not want to confess to his father-in-law that he was fleeing.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Noluitque and he did not want 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 Iacob Jacob NOM.SG.M
3 confiteri to confess PRES.INF.DEP
4 socero to (his) father-in-law DAT.SG.M
5 suo his DAT.SG.M.PRON
6 quod that CONJ
7 fugeret he was fleeing 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Main Clause: Noluitque Iacob confiteri — the principal clause showing Jacob’s deliberate concealment of his actions.
Indirect Object: socero suo — marks to whom Jacob refused to speak, emphasizing family tension.
Subordinate Clause: quod fugeret — expresses the content of confession, in subjunctive due to indirect statement after a verb of knowing or saying.

Morphology

  1. Noluitque — Lemma: nolo; Part of Speech: verb with enclitic; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular + -que; Function: main verb; Translation: “and he did not want”; Notes: Expresses refusal or deliberate unwillingness, marking Jacob’s cautious behavior toward Laban.
  2. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of noluit; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Subject who conceals his intention to flee, showing prudence or fear of reprisal.
  3. confiteri — Lemma: confiteor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: present infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive of noluit; Translation: “to confess”; Notes: Deponent form expresses an act of acknowledgment or revelation Jacob avoids making.
  4. socero — Lemma: socer; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of confiteri; Translation: “to (his) father-in-law”; Notes: Refers to Laban, highlighting the relational and ethical complexity of Jacob’s secrecy.
  5. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: modifies socero; Translation: “his”; Notes: Stresses familial relationship, amplifying the moral tension of Jacob’s deception.
  6. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces indirect statement; Translation: “that”; Notes: Links the content of what Jacob refused to admit.
  7. fugeret — Lemma: fugio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive, 3rd person singular; Function: verb in subordinate clause; Translation: “he was fleeing”; Notes: Subjunctive mood used after quod to express indirect discourse, indicating inner thought rather than direct speech.

 

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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