Genesis 32:18

Posted on February 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 32:18 respondebis: Servi tui Iacob, munera misit domino meo Esau: ipse quoque post nos venit.

you shall answer: ‘Your servant Jacob sends gifts to my lord Esau; and he himself also comes after us.’”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 respondebis you shall answer 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
2 Servi of the servant GEN.SG.M
3 tui your GEN.SG.M (POSS.ADJ)
4 Iacob Jacob NOM.SG.M (PROPN)
5 munera gifts ACC.PL.N
6 misit sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
7 domino to the lord DAT.SG.M
8 meo my DAT.SG.M (POSS.ADJ)
9 Esau Esau DAT.SG.M (PROPN.INDECL)
10 ipse he himself NOM.SG.M (INTENSIVE PRON.)
11 quoque also ADV
12 post after PREP+ACC
13 nos us ACC.PL
14 venit comes 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: respondebis — future indicative used as a command, “You shall answer.”
Indirect Speech (Content of the Response): Servi tui Iacob, munera misit domino meo Esau — indirect discourse conveying Jacob’s message.
Subject: Iacob (nominative) — “Jacob.”
Predicate: misit with direct object munera and indirect object domino meo Esau.
Genitive phrase: Servi tui — possessive genitive “of your servant,” showing humility before Esau.
Second Clause: ipse quoque post nos venit — independent clause, “he himself also comes after us.”
Prepositional phrase: post nos — “after us,” indicating sequence.
Conjunctions: none explicit; juxtaposition conveys narrative flow.

Morphology

  1. respondebis — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: main verb of instruction; Translation: “you shall answer”; Notes: Future used imperatively, common in formal commands.
  2. Servi — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: dependent genitive modifying “Iacob”; Translation: “of the servant”; Notes: Expresses subordination or belonging.
  3. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: agrees with “servi”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Directly modifies “servi.”
  4. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine (indeclinable in Latin); Function: subject of “misit”; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Treated as indeclinable Hebrew name.
  5. munera — Lemma: munus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object of “misit”; Translation: “gifts”; Notes: Refers to peace offerings sent to Esau.
  6. misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of the message; Translation: “sent”; Notes: Perfect tense indicates completed action in report.
  7. domino — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of “misit”; Translation: “to the lord”; Notes: Expresses respect or submission.
  8. meo — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: agrees with “domino”; Translation: “my”; Notes: Reinforces deferential tone toward Esau.
  9. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: appositive to “domino meo”; Translation: “Esau”; Notes: Follows Hebrew form, indeclinable in Latin.
  10. ipse — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “venit”; Translation: “he himself”; Notes: Adds emphasis and personal involvement of Jacob.
  11. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: adds additive emphasis; Translation: “also”; Notes: Typically follows the word it modifies.
  12. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses position in sequence; Translation: “after”; Notes: Common temporal preposition.
  13. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of “post”; Translation: “us”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s messengers or servants.
  14. venit — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of final clause; Translation: “comes”; Notes: Present indicative with immediate future sense in narrative.

 

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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