Gn 35:13 Et recessit ab eo.
And He departed from him.
| # |
Latin |
Gloss |
Grammar Tag |
| 1 |
Et |
and |
CONJ |
| 2 |
recessit |
departed |
3SG.PERF.ACT.IND |
| 3 |
ab |
from |
PREP+ABL |
| 4 |
eo |
him |
PRON.ABL.SG.M |
Syntax
Main Clause: Et recessit ab eo — conjunction Et links this clause to the previous narrative; the verb recessit is the main predicate, governing the prepositional phrase ab eo (“from him”), which indicates separation.
The understood subject is Deus from the prior context, meaning “And God departed from him.”
Morphology
- Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links this sentence to the preceding one; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple narrative connector.
- recessit — Lemma: recēdō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “departed”; Notes: Perfect tense marks completed divine action of withdrawal.
- ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation or source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Introduces the complement “eo.”
- eo — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “ab”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Jacob, the recipient of the theophany.
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.