Genesis 32:15

Posted on February 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 32:15 camelos fœtas cum pullis suis triginta, vaccas quadraginta, et tauros viginti, asinas viginti, et pullos earum decem.

thirty nursing camels with their young, forty cows, twenty bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten of their foals.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 camelos camels ACC.PL.M
2 fœtas pregnant ACC.PL.F
3 cum with PREP+ABL
4 pullis young, offspring ABL.PL.M
5 suis their ABL.PL.M (REFL.POSS)
6 triginta thirty NUM.INVAR
7 vaccas cows ACC.PL.F
8 quadraginta forty NUM.INVAR
9 et and CONJ
10 tauros bulls ACC.PL.M
11 viginti twenty NUM.INVAR
12 asinas female donkeys ACC.PL.F
13 viginti twenty NUM.INVAR
14 et and CONJ
15 pullos foals ACC.PL.M
16 earum of them GEN.PL.F (POSS)
17 decem ten NUM.INVAR

Syntax

Main Structure: A coordinated series of accusative noun phrases governed by the implicit verb “separavit” (“he set apart”).
Object(s): camelos fœtas cum pullis suis triginta, vaccas quadraginta, tauros viginti, asinas viginti, pullos earum decem — each accusative phrase representing what was separated.
Phrases: cum pullis suis — prepositional phrase expressing accompaniment.
Conjunctions: et links each phrase in series for enumeration.
Numerals: triginta, quadraginta, viginti, decem serve as quantitative modifiers for the direct objects.

Morphology

  1. camelos — Lemma: camelus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “camels”; Notes: Accusative plural governed by the implied verb “separavit.”
  2. fœtas — Lemma: fœta; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifying “camelos”; Translation: “pregnant” or “nursing”; Notes: Agreement in number, gender, and case with “camelos.”
  3. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: Introduces the phrase “cum pullis suis.”
  4. pullis — Lemma: pullus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of “cum”; Translation: “young, offspring”; Notes: Used for the young of animals, here of camels.
  5. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: pronoun (reflexive possessive); Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: adjective agreeing with “pullis”; Translation: “their”; Notes: Refers back to the “camelos.”
  6. triginta — Lemma: triginta; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: invariable; Function: quantifier; Translation: “thirty”; Notes: Quantifies the preceding noun phrase.
  7. vaccas — Lemma: vacca; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “cows”; Notes: Another item in the enumeration.
  8. quadraginta — Lemma: quadraginta; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: invariable; Function: quantifier; Translation: “forty”; Notes: Quantifies “vaccas.”
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects phrases; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple additive conjunction.
  10. tauros — Lemma: taurus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “bulls”; Notes: Listed as part of the gift enumeration.
  11. viginti — Lemma: viginti; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: invariable; Function: quantifier; Translation: “twenty”; Notes: Quantifies “tauros.”
  12. asinas — Lemma: asina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “female donkeys”; Notes: Parallel to “vaccas.”
  13. viginti — Lemma: viginti; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: invariable; Function: quantifier; Translation: “twenty”; Notes: Repeated numeral used for emphasis.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connector; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins final items in the series.
  15. pullos — Lemma: pullus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “foals”; Notes: Parallel to “pullis” earlier, now object of “et.”
  16. earum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of them”; Notes: Refers back to “asinas.”
  17. decem — Lemma: decem; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: invariable; Function: quantifier; Translation: “ten”; Notes: Quantifies “pullos earum.”

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.