Genesis 31:30

Posted on January 31, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 31:30 Esto, ad tuos ire cupiebas, et desiderio erat tibi domus patris tui: cur furatus es deos meos?

Be it so, you were longing to go to your own people, and you had desire for your father’s house: but why have you stolen my gods?”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Esto be it so 2SG.FUT.IMP.ACT
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 tuos your own ACC.PL.M.PRON
4 ire to go INF.PRES.ACT
5 cupiebas you were desiring 2SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
6 et and CONJ
7 desiderio with desire ABL.SG.N
8 erat it was 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
9 tibi to you DAT.SG.2P.PRON
10 domus house NOM.SG.F
11 patris of (your) father GEN.SG.M
12 tui your GEN.SG.M.POSS.ADJ
13 cur why ADV.INT
14 furatus have you stolen NOM.SG.M.PERF.PTCP.DEP
15 es you have 2SG.PRES.IND.ACT.AUX
16 deos gods ACC.PL.M
17 meos my ACC.PL.M.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Esto, ad tuos ire cupiebas — concessive clause meaning “Be it so,” acknowledging Jacob’s desire to return; esto sets a tone of reluctant concession.
Main Clause 2: et desiderio erat tibi domus patris tui — expresses Jacob’s longing using a dative of possession; literally, “the house of your father was to you for desire.”
Main Clause 3: cur furatus es deos meos? — interrogative clause accusing Jacob of theft.
Overall Syntax: The sentence moves from concession to accusation, showing Laban’s rhetorical pattern: acknowledging natural motives before intensifying moral blame.

Morphology

  1. Esto — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future imperative, 2nd person singular; Function: concessive command; Translation: “be it so”; Notes: Used idiomatically to concede a point, equivalent to “granted” or “very well.”
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates motion toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Preposition introducing object of motion.
  3. tuos — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “your own”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s kin or homeland—“your own people.”
  4. ire — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive with cupiebas; Translation: “to go”; Notes: Indicates purpose or intent of the desire.
  5. cupiebas — Lemma: cupio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: main verb of first clause; Translation: “you were desiring”; Notes: Imperfect tense conveys enduring emotional state.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links two coordinate clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects Jacob’s longing to the following clause.
  7. desiderio — Lemma: desiderium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of manner or cause; Translation: “with desire”; Notes: Expresses emotional reason behind Jacob’s actions.
  8. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: main verb of clause; Translation: “it was”; Notes: Serves as copula in dative of possession construction.
  9. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: dative of possession; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Indicates that the “house of your father” was the object of Jacob’s desire.
  10. domus — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of erat; Translation: “house”; Notes: Represents family lineage or household as a whole.
  11. patris — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying domus; Translation: “of (your) father”; Notes: Refers to Isaac, connecting the line of promise.
  12. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies patris; Translation: “your”; Notes: Reinforces possession; placed for emphasis after its noun.
  13. cur — Lemma: cur; Part of Speech: interrogative adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces direct question; Translation: “why”; Notes: Shifts from concession to accusation; emotional pivot in speech.
  14. furatus — Lemma: furor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect; Function: predicate of furatus es; Translation: “have stolen”; Notes: Deponent verb with active sense; denotes secretive theft.
  15. es — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: present active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: auxiliary completing perfect deponent; Translation: “you have”; Notes: Forms perfect tense with participle furatus.
  16. deos — Lemma: deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of furatus es; Translation: “gods”; Notes: Refers to household idols (teraphim) of Laban’s family.
  17. meos — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies deos; Translation: “my”; Notes: Emphasizes personal ownership, underscoring the affront to Laban’s authority and faith.

 

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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