Genesis 34:30

Posted on February 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 34:30 Quibus patratis audacter, Iacob dixit ad Simeon et Levi: Turbastis me, et odiosum fecistis me Chananæis, et Pherezæis habitatoribus terræ huius. nos pauci sumus: illi congregati percutient me, et delebor ego, et domus mea.

After these things had been done boldly, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: “You have troubled me, and you have made me hateful to the Chananites and the Pherezites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few in number; they, gathering together, will strike me, and I and my house will be destroyed.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quibus after which things REL.PRON.ABL.PL.N
2 patratis having been done PERF.PASS.PTCP.ABL.PL.N
3 audacter boldly ADV
4 Iacob Jacob NOUN.NOM.SG.M (PROP)
5 dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 ad to PREP+ACC
7 Simeon Simeon NOUN.ACC.SG.M (PROP)
8 et and CONJ
9 Levi Levi NOUN.ACC.SG.M (PROP)
10 Turbastis you have troubled 2PL.PERF.ACT.IND
11 me me PRON.ACC.SG.1ST
12 et and CONJ
13 odiosum hateful ADJ.ACC.SG.M
14 fecistis you have made 2PL.PERF.ACT.IND
15 me me PRON.ACC.SG.1ST
16 Chananæis to the Canaanites NOUN.DAT.PL.M (PROP)
17 et and CONJ
18 Pherezæis to the Perizzites NOUN.DAT.PL.M (PROP)
19 habitatoribus inhabitants NOUN.DAT.PL.M
20 terræ of the land NOUN.GEN.SG.F
21 huius of this PRON.GEN.SG.F
22 nos we PRON.NOM.PL.1ST
23 pauci few ADJ.NOM.PL.M
24 sumus are 1PL.PRES.ACT.IND
25 illi they PRON.NOM.PL.M
26 congregati having gathered PERF.PASS.PTCP.NOM.PL.M
27 percutient will strike 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
28 me me PRON.ACC.SG.1ST
29 et and CONJ
30 delebor I will be destroyed 1SG.FUT.PASS.IND
31 ego I PRON.NOM.SG.1ST
32 et and CONJ
33 domus house NOUN.NOM.SG.F
34 mea my ADJ.NOM.SG.F

Syntax

Ablative Absolute: Quibus patratis audacter — expresses temporal circumstance (“after these things had been done boldly”).
Main Clause: Iacob dixit ad Simeon et Levi — subject Iacob + verb dixit + prepositional phrase ad Simeon et Levi (indirect object).
Direct Speech:

  • Turbastis me, et odiosum fecistis me Chananæis et Pherezæis habitatoribus terræ huius — two coordinated perfect verbs describing the result of their violence.
  • nos pauci sumus — independent clause expressing their weakness in number.
  • illi congregati percutient me — future action expressing fear of retaliation.
  • et delebor ego et domus mea — coordinated passive clause expressing expected destruction.

Morphology

  1. Quibus — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Ablative plural neuter; Function: Ablative absolute with patratis; Translation: “after which things”; Notes: Refers to previous deeds of Simeon and Levi.
  2. patratis — Lemma: patro; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Perfect passive participle, ablative plural neuter; Function: In ablative absolute; Translation: “having been done”; Notes: Marks completion of prior actions.
  3. audacter — Lemma: audacter; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: N/A; Function: Modifies patratis; Translation: “boldly”; Notes: Indicates reckless courage.
  4. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Patriarch addressing his sons.
  5. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect indicative active, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “said”; Notes: Introduces direct discourse.
  6. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Marks indirect object; Translation: “to”; Notes: Directs speech to Simeon and Levi.
  7. Simeon — Lemma: Simeon; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “Simeon”; Notes: First addressed son.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Connects coordinated nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links Simeon and Levi.
  9. Levi — Lemma: Levi; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “Levi”; Notes: Second addressee.
  10. Turbastis — Lemma: turbo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect indicative active, 2nd person plural; Function: Main verb; Translation: “you have troubled”; Notes: Expresses rebuke.
  11. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative singular; Function: Direct object of turbastis; Translation: “me”; Notes: Jacob as object of his sons’ wrongdoing.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the two accusations.
  13. odiosum — Lemma: odiosus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Predicate accusative; Translation: “hateful”; Notes: Describes how Jacob was made to appear.
  14. fecistis — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect indicative active, 2nd person plural; Function: Verb of effect; Translation: “you have made”; Notes: Forms double accusative with me and odiosum.
  15. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative singular; Function: First accusative of double construction; Translation: “me”; Notes: Object of fecistis.
  16. Chananæis — Lemma: Chananæus; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Dative plural masculine; Function: Indirect object; Translation: “to the Canaanites”; Notes: One of the local nations offended.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Connects coordinated datives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins the two nations mentioned.
  18. Pherezæis — Lemma: Pherezæus; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Dative plural masculine; Function: Indirect object; Translation: “to the Perizzites”; Notes: The other local group.
  19. habitatoribus — Lemma: habitator; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative plural masculine; Function: Apposition; Translation: “inhabitants”; Notes: Descriptive apposition clarifying who the nations are.
  20. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Possessive; Translation: “of the land”; Notes: Defines area of residence.
  21. huius — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Modifies terræ; Translation: “of this”; Notes: Specifies proximity—“of this land.”
  22. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Nominative plural; Function: Subject; Translation: “we”; Notes: Emphatic contrast with “they.”
  23. pauci — Lemma: paucus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Predicate adjective; Translation: “few”; Notes: Expresses numerical weakness.
  24. sumus — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present indicative active, 1st person plural; Function: Copula; Translation: “are”; Notes: Forms existential statement.
  25. illi — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject of following clause; Translation: “they”; Notes: Refers to the hostile nations.
  26. congregati — Lemma: congrego; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Perfect passive participle, nominative plural masculine; Function: Circumstantial participle; Translation: “having gathered together”; Notes: Describes their preparation for attack.
  27. percutient — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Future indicative active, 3rd person plural; Function: Main verb of the clause; Translation: “will strike”; Notes: Expresses Jacob’s fear of retaliation.
  28. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative singular; Function: Direct object of percutient; Translation: “me”; Notes: Jacob foresees himself as the target of attack.
  29. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Links coordinated verbs or clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the clause of destruction with the prior threat.
  30. delebor — Lemma: deleo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Future indicative passive, 1st person singular; Function: Main verb of clause; Translation: “I will be destroyed”; Notes: Expresses anticipated outcome of violence.
  31. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Nominative singular; Function: Subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: Stressed for emphasis and lamentation.
  32. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Joins coordinated nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links Jacob with his household as joint victims.
  33. domus — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject (with ego) of delebor; Translation: “house”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s family and lineage.
  34. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: Adjective (possessive); Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Modifies domus; Translation: “my”; Notes: Emphasizes personal loss and familial devastation.

 

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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