Genesis 33:19

Posted on February 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 33:19 Emitque partem agri in qua fixerat tabernacula, a filiis Hemor patris Sichem centum agnis.

And he bought the part of the field in which he had pitched his tents, from the sons of Hemor, the father of Sichem, for a hundred lambs.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Emitque and he bought 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 partem part ACC.SG.F
3 agri of the field GEN.SG.M
4 in in / where PREP+ABL
5 qua in which ABL.SG.F (REL.PRON)
6 fixerat he had pitched 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
7 tabernacula tents ACC.PL.N
8 a from PREP+ABL
9 filiis sons ABL.PL.M
10 Hemor Hamor GEN.SG (PROPN.INDECL)
11 patris father GEN.SG.M
12 Sichem Shechem GEN.SG (PROPN.INDECL)
13 centum hundred NUMERAL.INDECL
14 agnis lambs ABL.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Emitque partem agri — “And he bought the part of the field.”
• Verb: Emitque — perfect tense indicating completed purchase.
• Object: partem agri — accusative noun + genitive specifying what part.

Relative Clause: in qua fixerat tabernacula — “in which he had pitched his tents.”
• Relative Pronoun: qua — ablative feminine, referring to “partem.”
• Verb: fixerat — pluperfect, indicating action prior to purchase.
• Object: tabernacula — accusative plural, direct object.

Prepositional Phrase: a filiis Hemor patris Sichem — “from the sons of Hemor, father of Shechem.”
• Preposition: a — governs ablative, indicating source of transaction.
• Genitives: patris Sichem — descriptive genitives identifying lineage.

Instrumental Phrase: centum agnis — “for a hundred lambs.”
• Numeral: centum — indeclinable, modifying “agnis.”
• Ablative of price: agnis — marks price or means of payment.

Morphology

  1. Emitque — Lemma: emo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular + enclitic -que; Function: main verb of action; Translation: “and he bought”; Notes: Perfect tense indicates a completed purchase.
  2. partem — Lemma: pars; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “part”; Notes: Accusative governed by “emit.”
  3. agri — Lemma: ager; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of the whole; Translation: “of the field”; Notes: Specifies portion owned.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces relative clause of place; Translation: “in / where”; Notes: Refers to location of the tents.
  5. qua — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: refers to “partem”; Translation: “in which”; Notes: Agrees in gender and number with its antecedent.
  6. fixerat — Lemma: figo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “he had pitched / fixed”; Notes: Refers to past act of settling the tents.
  7. tabernacula — Lemma: tabernaculum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of “fixerat”; Translation: “tents”; Notes: Denotes Jacob’s dwelling.
  8. a — Lemma: a / ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates origin or source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Marks seller in transaction.
  9. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of “a”; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers to the sons of Hemor.
  10. Hemor — Lemma: Hemor; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular (indeclinable); Function: dependent on “filiis”; Translation: “of Hemor”; Notes: Patriarch of Shechem’s family.
  11. patris — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: apposition to “Hemor”; Translation: “father”; Notes: Explains relationship to Shechem.
  12. Sichem — Lemma: Sichem; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular (indeclinable); Function: dependent on “patris”; Translation: “of Shechem”; Notes: Hebrew name שְׁכֶם (Shekhem).
  13. centum — Lemma: centum; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: quantifier of price; Translation: “hundred”; Notes: Indicates total number of lambs.
  14. agnis — Lemma: agnus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: ablative of price; Translation: “lambs”; Notes: Payment medium, possibly symbolic or literal currency.

 

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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