Genesis 33:15

Posted on February 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 33:15 Respondit Esau: Oro te, ut de populo qui mecum est, saltem socri remaneant viæ tuæ. Non est, inquit, necesse: hoc uno tantum indigeo, ut inveniam gratiam in conspectu tuo domine mi.

Esau replied: “I beg you, that at least some of the people who are with me may remain for your way.” He said: “It is not necessary; I need only this one thing, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Respondit he replied 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Esau Esau NOM.SG.M (PROPN)
3 Oro I beg 1SG.PRES.ACT.IND
4 te you ACC.SG (PRON)
5 ut that CONJ (PURPOSE)
6 de from PREP+ABL
7 populo people ABL.SG.M
8 qui who NOM.SG.M (REL.PRON)
9 mecum with me PREP+ABL (ENCLITIC)
10 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
11 saltem at least ADV
12 socri some NOM.PL.M (INDECL.ADJ)
13 remaneant may remain 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
14 viæ of the way GEN.SG.F
15 tuæ your GEN.SG.F (POSS.ADJ)
16 Non not ADV
17 est it is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
18 inquit he said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
19 necesse necessary INDECL.ADJ (PREDICATIVE)
20 hoc this ACC.SG.N (PRON)
21 uno one ABL.SG.N (NUM.ADJ)
22 tantum only ADV
23 indigeo I need 1SG.PRES.ACT.IND
24 ut that CONJ (PURPOSE)
25 inveniam I may find 1SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
26 gratiam favor ACC.SG.F
27 in in PREP+ABL
28 conspectu sight / presence ABL.SG.M
29 tuo your ABL.SG.M (POSS.ADJ)
30 domine lord VOC.SG.M
31 mi my VOC.SG.M (POSS.ADJ)

Syntax

Clause 1: Respondit Esau — “Esau replied.”
• Verb: Respondit — perfect tense, marks completed speech action.
• Subject: Esau — nominative proper name, agent of reply.

Clause 2: Oro te, ut de populo qui mecum est, saltem socri remaneant viæ tuæ — “I beg you, that at least some of the people who are with me may remain for your way.”
• Main Verb: Oro — governs subordinate clause of purpose.
• Object: te — Jacob, direct object of “Oro.”
• Subordinate Clause: introduced by ut, expresses petition (“that…”).
• Relative Clause: qui mecum est — modifies “populo.”
• Verb: remaneant — subjunctive of wish, dependent on “Oro.”
• Phrase: viæ tuæ — genitive phrase expressing purpose “for your journey.”

Clause 3: Non est, inquit, necesse — “It is not necessary, he said.”
• Verb: est — copula; Predicate: necesse — impersonal predicate adjective.

Clause 4: hoc uno tantum indigeo — “I need only this one thing.”
• Verb: indigeo — takes ablative of thing needed; ablative: uno — “with one thing.”
• Adverb: tantum — “only,” emphasizes exclusivity.

Clause 5: ut inveniam gratiam in conspectu tuo domine mi — “that I may find favor in your sight, my lord.”
• Purpose Clause: ut + subjunctive inveniam.
• Object: gratiam — direct object of “inveniam.”
• Prepositional Phrase: in conspectu tuo — locative of favor.
• Vocative: domine mi — respectful address to Jacob.

Morphology

  1. Respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of narrative; Translation: “he replied”; Notes: Introduces Esau’s direct speech.
  2. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “Respondit”; Translation: “Esau”; Notes: Name of Jacob’s brother, the speaker here.
  3. Oro — Lemma: oro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 1st singular; Function: verb of request; Translation: “I beg”; Notes: Expresses polite entreaty.
  4. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of “Oro”; Translation: “you”; Notes: Jacob addressed directly.
  5. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: Governs subjunctive “remaneant.”
  6. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source; Translation: “from / of”; Notes: Indicates partitive sense, “of the people.”
  7. populo — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: governed by “de”; Translation: “people”; Notes: Collective noun for Esau’s company.
  8. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces relative clause modifying “populo”; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to Esau’s followers.
  9. mecum — Lemma: cum + ego; Part of Speech: preposition + pronoun; Form: ablative singular; Function: adverbial phrase; Translation: “with me”; Notes: Enclitic cum postpositive.
  10. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: copula of relative clause; Translation: “is”; Notes: Refers to current company.
  11. saltem — Lemma: saltem; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: adverbial limiter; Translation: “at least”; Notes: Moderates request tone.
  12. socri — Lemma: socrus (but likely error for aliqui in manuscript); Part of Speech: adjective / determiner; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “remaneant”; Translation: “some”; Notes: Manuscript variant, probably “alii.”
  13. remaneant — Lemma: remaneo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive, 3rd plural; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “may remain”; Notes: Expresses desired action dependent on “Oro.”
  14. viæ — Lemma: via; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of relation; Translation: “of the way”; Notes: Relates to Jacob’s journey.
  15. tuæ — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies “viæ”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Possessive referring to Jacob.
  16. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negates predicate; Translation: “not”; Notes: Introduces denial of necessity.
  17. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: Links subject and predicate adjective.
  18. inquit — Lemma: inquam; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: parenthetic verb of speech; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Typical narrative insertion in direct discourse.
  19. necesse — Lemma: necesse; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: indeclinable; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “necessary”; Notes: Used impersonally with “est.”
  20. hoc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of “indigeo”; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers to the favor requested.
  21. uno — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of respect with “indigeo”; Translation: “with one”; Notes: Denotes singular need.
  22. tantum — Lemma: tantum; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: modifies “indigeo”; Translation: “only”; Notes: Limits expression of need.
  23. indigeo — Lemma: indigeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 1st singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “I need”; Notes: Governs ablative of thing needed.
  24. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces a purpose clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: Connects Esau’s wish with the result clause “inveniam gratiam.”
  25. inveniam — Lemma: invenio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive, 1st singular; Function: main verb of the purpose clause; Translation: “I may find”; Notes: Subjunctive expressing intention or purpose.
  26. gratiam — Lemma: gratia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of “inveniam”; Translation: “favor”; Notes: Denotes goodwill or grace sought from Jacob.
  27. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces prepositional phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: Marks location metaphorically (“in your sight”).
  28. conspectu — Lemma: conspectus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “sight / presence”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s observation or approval.
  29. tuo — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies “conspectu”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Specifies possession — “in your sight.”
  30. domine — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: vocative singular masculine; Function: term of address; Translation: “lord”; Notes: Respectful title used by Esau addressing Jacob deferentially.
  31. mi — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: vocative singular masculine; Function: modifies “domine”; Translation: “my”; Notes: Common affectionate or respectful reinforcement in Latin address.

 

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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