Genesis 32:6

Posted on February 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 32:6 Reversique sunt nuncii ad Iacob, dicentes: Venimus ad Esau fratrem tuum, et ecce properat tibi in occursum cum quadringentis viris.

And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: “We came to Esau your brother, and behold, he is coming to meet you with four hundred men.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Reversique and they returned NOM.PL.M.PERF.PTCP+QUE
2 sunt they are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
3 nuncii messengers NOM.PL.M
4 ad to/toward PREP+ACC
5 Iacob Jacob ACC.SG.M
6 dicentes saying PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.PL.M
7 Venimus we came 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
8 ad to/toward PREP+ACC
9 Esau Esau ACC.SG.M
10 fratrem brother ACC.SG.M
11 tuum your ACC.SG.M
12 et and CONJ
13 ecce behold INTERJ
14 properat he is coming 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
15 tibi to you DAT.SG
16 in into/to PREP+ACC
17 occursum meeting/encounter ACC.SG.M
18 cum with PREP+ABL
19 quadringentis four hundred ABL.PL.M
20 viris men ABL.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Reversique sunt nuncii ad Iacob — Reversi is a perfect participle with sunt forming the perfect passive; nuncii is the subject; ad Iacob expresses motion toward Jacob.
Participial Clause: dicentes introduces reported speech.
Reported Speech: Venimus ad Esau fratrem tuum is a declarative statement — subject “we,” verb Venimus; prepositional phrase ad Esau fratrem tuum expresses destination.
Second Clause: et ecce properat tibi in occursum cum quadringentis viris — properat is the main verb; tibi is a dative of advantage (“toward you”); in occursum expresses purpose (“to meet”); cum quadringentis viris indicates accompaniment.

Morphology

  1. Reversique — Lemma: revertor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect participle with enclitic -que; Function: subject modifier linked with sunt; Translation: “and they returned”; Notes: Perfect participle used with auxiliary sunt to indicate completed action.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: 3rd person plural present indicative; Function: completes compound tense with Reversi; Translation: “they are/have”; Notes: Used in periphrastic perfect of deponent verb.
  3. nuncii — Lemma: nuntius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of Reversique sunt; Translation: “messengers”; Notes: Agents returning from Esau.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction toward; Translation: “to/toward”; Notes: Precedes motion verb complement.
  5. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Latinized Hebrew name.
  6. dicentes — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine present active; Function: introduces indirect quotation; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Indicates simultaneous speech upon return.
  7. Venimus — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of reported speech; Translation: “we came”; Notes: Perfect aspect implies completed arrival.
  8. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward Esau; Translation: “to”; Notes: Used twice in this verse for directional motion.
  9. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Esau”; Notes: Jacob’s brother, recipient of the message.
  10. fratrem — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: in apposition to Esau; Translation: “brother”; Notes: Clarifies relationship to Esau.
  11. tuum — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies fratrem; Translation: “your”; Notes: Possessive referring to Jacob.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects coordinate clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connective introducing second report.
  13. ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces vivid observation; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Marks dramatic emphasis.
  14. properat — Lemma: propero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present active indicative; Function: main verb of second report; Translation: “he is coming/hastens”; Notes: Present tense indicating action in progress.
  15. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object of properat; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Dative of direction toward Jacob.
  16. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces goal phrase; Translation: “into/to”; Notes: Used with occursum for idiom “to meet.”
  17. occursum — Lemma: occursus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “meeting/encounter”; Notes: Cognate with occurrere meaning “to meet.”
  18. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces accompaniment phrase; Translation: “with”; Notes: Denotes association.
  19. quadringentis — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: modifies viris; Translation: “four hundred”; Notes: Cardinal number in ablative of accompaniment.
  20. viris — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of cum; Translation: “men”; Notes: Esau’s company of warriors.

 

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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