Genesis 32:3

Posted on February 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

3 Misit autem et nuncios ante se ad Esau fratrem suum in terram Seir, in regionem Edom:

And he sent messengers before him to Esau his brother into the land of Seir, into the region of Edom;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Misit he sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem but/and CONJ
3 et and CONJ
4 nuncios messengers ACC.PL.M
5 ante before PREP+ACC
6 se himself ACC.SG.M
7 ad to/toward PREP+ACC
8 Esau Esau PROPN.M.ACC.SG
9 fratrem brother ACC.SG.M
10 suum his ACC.SG.M
11 in into PREP+ACC
12 terram land ACC.SG.F
13 Seir Seir PROPN.F.ACC.SG
14 in into PREP+ACC
15 regionem region ACC.SG.F
16 Edom Edom PROPN.F.ACC.SG

Syntax

Main Clause: Misit autem et nuncios ante se — subject implied “he” (Jacob); Misit is the main verb; nuncios serves as the direct object; ante se is a prepositional phrase indicating “before himself.”
Prepositional Phrase 1: ad Esau fratrem suum — expresses the destination “to Esau, his brother.”
Prepositional Phrase 2: in terram Seir — shows the larger destination “into the land of Seir.”
Prepositional Phrase 3: in regionem Edom — restates or specifies the area “into the region of Edom.”

Morphology

  1. Misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the sentence; Translation: “he sent”; Notes: Perfect tense denotes completed action.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating particle; Function: connects the verse to preceding context; Translation: “and/but”; Notes: Transitional conjunction softening the narrative flow.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: connects words or phrases; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the verb with its object “nuncios.”
  4. nuncios — Lemma: nuntius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of misit; Translation: “messengers”; Notes: Refers to human envoys sent ahead.
  5. ante — Lemma: ante; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces phrase “before himself”; Translation: “before”; Notes: Indicates spatial precedence.
  6. se — Lemma: sui; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ante; Translation: “himself”; Notes: Refers back to the subject Jacob.
  7. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Shows motion toward the person addressed.
  8. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Esau”; Notes: Name of Jacob’s brother, unchanged from Hebrew form.
  9. fratrem — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: in apposition to Esau; Translation: “brother”; Notes: Reinforces kinship term to clarify relationship.
  10. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies fratrem; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive, referring back to Jacob.
  11. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces destination; Translation: “into”; Notes: Used with motion toward place.
  12. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “land”; Notes: Refers to geographical area of Seir.
  13. Seir — Lemma: Seir; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular feminine (indeclinable); Function: appositive to terram; Translation: “Seir”; Notes: Geographical region south of the Dead Sea.
  14. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces second destination phrase; Translation: “into”; Notes: Expresses movement into another region.
  15. regionem — Lemma: regio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “region”; Notes: Indicates geographic subdivision.
  16. Edom — Lemma: Edom; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular feminine (indeclinable); Function: appositive to regionem; Translation: “Edom”; Notes: Another name for the territory of Esau.

 

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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