Genesis 31:43

Posted on January 31, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 31:43 Respondit ei Laban: Filiæ meæ et filii, et greges tui, et omnia quæ cernis, mea sunt: quid possum facere filiis et nepotibus meis?

Laban answered him: “My daughters and my sons, and your flocks, and all that you see are mine. What can I do for my sons and my grandchildren?

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Respondit he answered VERB 3SG PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE
2 ei to him PRONOUN DAT.SG.3
3 Laban Laban PROPER NOUN NOM.SG.M
4 Filiæ daughters NOUN NOM.PL.F
5 meæ my POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE NOM.PL.F
6 et and CONJUNCTION
7 filii sons NOUN NOM.PL.M
8 et and CONJUNCTION
9 greges flocks NOUN NOM.PL.M
10 tui your POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE NOM.PL.M
11 et and CONJUNCTION
12 omnia all things PRONOUN NOM.PL.N
13 quæ which / that RELATIVE PRONOUN NOM.PL.N
14 cernis you see VERB 2SG PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE
15 mea mine POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE NOM.PL.N
16 sunt are VERB 3PL PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE
17 quid what INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN ACC.SG.N
18 possum can I VERB 1SG PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE
19 facere to do VERB INFINITIVE PRESENT ACTIVE
20 filiis sons NOUN DAT.PL.M
21 et and CONJUNCTION
22 nepotibus grandchildren NOUN DAT.PL.M
23 meis my POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE DAT.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Respondit ei Laban — simple declarative sentence; Respondit (perfect tense) denotes completed reply; ei is the indirect object (“to him”), and Laban is the subject in nominative.
Quotation Clause: Filiæ meæ et filii, et greges tui, et omnia quæ cernis, mea sunt — a series of coordinated nominative subjects linked by et, with the predicate mea sunt (“are mine”). The relative clause quæ cernis modifies omnia (“all that you see”).
Interrogative Clause: quid possum facere filiis et nepotibus meis? — direct rhetorical question with quid as the object of facere, possum as the main verb (“can I”), and dative filiis et nepotibus meis indicating beneficiaries.
Syntax Summary: The verse consists of a dialogue statement and a question: first, Laban asserts ownership rhetorically; second, he softens the confrontation by emphasizing paternal concern — the structure mirrors the tension between property claim and familial affection.

Morphology

  1. Respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “he answered”; Notes: Perfect tense denotes completed speech act.
  2. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of “respondit”; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to Jacob.
  3. Laban — Lemma: Laban; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: subject of “respondit”; Translation: “Laban”; Notes: Name of Jacob’s father-in-law.
  4. Filiæ — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: first subject of “sunt”; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Refers to Leah and Rachel.
  5. meæ — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: agrees with “filiæ”; Translation: “my”; Notes: Possessive pronoun marking Laban’s kinship.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: joins subjects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connective particle.
  7. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: second subject of “sunt”; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers likely to Jacob’s sons by Leah and Rachel.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Repeated for stylistic enumeration.
  9. greges — Lemma: grex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: third subject of “sunt”; Translation: “flocks”; Notes: Refers to livestock Jacob managed.
  10. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: agrees with “greges”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Indicates Jacob’s possession under dispute.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: continues list; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the final subject phrase.
  12. omnia — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: pronoun/adjective; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of “sunt”; Translation: “all things”; Notes: Introduces relative clause specifying “things seen.”
  13. quæ — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of “cernis”; Translation: “which / that”; Notes: Connects clause to antecedent “omnia.”
  14. cernis — Lemma: cerno; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “you see”; Notes: Describes visible possessions.
  15. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective/pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: predicate complement; Translation: “mine”; Notes: Predicate adjective completing “sunt.”
  16. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: main copula; Translation: “are”; Notes: Connects multiple subjects to predicate “mea.”
  17. quid — Lemma: quis, quid; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of “facere”; Translation: “what”; Notes: Introduces direct question.
  18. possum — Lemma: possum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular present active indicative; Function: main verb of question; Translation: “can I”; Notes: Expresses rhetorical limitation.
  19. facere — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive with “possum”; Translation: “to do”; Notes: Expresses potential action.
  20. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “for (my) sons”; Notes: Refers to Laban’s grandchildren through Jacob.
  21. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects datives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Balances two dative objects.
  22. nepotibus — Lemma: nepos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object with “facere”; Translation: “grandchildren”; Notes: May include both male and female descendants.
  23. meis — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: agrees with “nepotibus”; Translation: “my”; Notes: Emphasizes paternal relation.

 

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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