Genesis 37:13

Posted on February 6, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 37:13 dixit ad eum Israel: Fratres tui pascunt oves in Sichimis: veni, mittam te ad eos. Quo respondente,

And Israel said to him: “Your brothers feed the sheep in Sichem; come, I will send you to them.” And he answering,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 dixit said V.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 eum him PRON.PERS.ACC.SG.M
4 Israel Israel PN.NOM.SG.M
5 Fratres brothers NOUN.NOM.PL.M
6 tui your PRON.POSS.NOM.PL.M
7 pascunt feed V.3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
8 oves sheep NOUN.ACC.PL.F
9 in in PREP+ABL
10 Sichimis Shechem PN.LOC.ABL.PL
11 veni come V.2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
12 mittam I will send V.1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
13 te you PRON.PERS.ACC.SG
14 ad to PREP+ACC
15 eos them PRON.PERS.ACC.PL.M
16 Quo who / which PRON.REL.ABL.SG.M
17 respondente answering PART.PRES.ACT.ABL.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: dixit ad eum Israel —
The subject Israel performs the verb dixit with indirect object ad eum (“to him,” referring to Joseph). The perfect tense denotes a completed speech action.

Direct Speech: Fratres tui pascunt oves in Sichimis —
Independent clause with subject Fratres tui, verb pascunt, and object oves. The prepositional phrase in Sichimis specifies location.

Imperative and Future Statement: veni, mittam te ad eos —
Veni (imperative) calls Joseph to action, followed by mittam (future indicative), showing intent. te is the object of mittam, and ad eos the destination.

Participial Clause: Quo respondente —
An ablative absolute construction: “and he answering” or “when he answered,” setting up the next statement.

Morphology

  1. dixit — Lemma: dīcō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active; Function: main verb; Translation: “said”; Notes: Indicates completed speech action by Israel directed to Joseph.
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks direction toward a person; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the indirect object eum.
  3. eum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Joseph as the addressee.
  4. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of dixit; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: Alternate name of Jacob, used in the narrative as patriarchal title.
  5. Fratres — Lemma: frāter; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of pascunt; Translation: “brothers”; Notes: Refers to Joseph’s siblings engaged in shepherding.
  6. tui — Lemma: tuus, -a, -um; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies fratres; Translation: “your”; Notes: Indicates possession by Joseph.
  7. pascunt — Lemma: pascō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present indicative active; Function: predicate; Translation: “feed”; Notes: Continuous action of grazing livestock; regular verb of pastoral life.
  8. oves — Lemma: ovis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of pascunt; Translation: “sheep”; Notes: Commonly symbolic of the patriarchal vocation.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces locative phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: Expresses static position within the region of Shechem.
  10. Sichimis — Lemma: Sichimae; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative plural; Function: object of in; Translation: “in Shechem”; Notes: Shechem (modern Nablus) — key location in the patriarchal narratives, often used with plural ablative form in Latin Bible tradition.
  11. veni — Lemma: veniō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular present imperative active; Function: command; Translation: “come”; Notes: Direct imperative of invitation from father to son.
  12. mittam — Lemma: mittō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person singular future indicative active; Function: expresses purpose/intention; Translation: “I will send”; Notes: Future indicative used in volitive context; introduces a mission motif.
  13. te — Lemma: tū; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object of mittam; Translation: “you”; Notes: Refers to Joseph as recipient of paternal command.
  14. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces goal of movement.
  15. eos — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the brothers who are feeding the flocks.
  16. Quo — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of relation in absolute construction; Translation: “who”; Notes: Begins the ablative absolute clause Quo respondente, serving as temporal setup.
  17. respondente — Lemma: respondeō; Part of Speech: participle (present active); Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies Quo in ablative absolute; Translation: “answering”; Notes: Expresses concurrent action with the main clause; participle used adverbially to prepare for Joseph’s reply.

 

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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