Genesis 37:31

Posted on February 6, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 37:31 Tulerunt autem tunicam eius, et in sanguine hœdi, quem occiderant, tinxerunt:

Then they took his tunic, and dipping it in the blood of a young goat which they had killed, they stained it;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tulerunt they took V.3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem however / then CONJ.ADV
3 tunicam tunic NOUN.ACC.SG.F
4 eius his PRON.POSS.GEN.SG.M
5 et and CONJ
6 in in PREP+ABL
7 sanguine blood NOUN.ABL.SG.M
8 hœdi of a young goat NOUN.GEN.SG.M
9 quem whom / which PRON.REL.ACC.SG.M
10 occiderant they had killed V.3PL.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
11 tinxerunt they dipped / stained V.3PL.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main clause: Tulerunt autem tunicam eius — Tulerunt (perfect indicative active) forms the main verb “they took,” with tunicam eius as its direct object. The adverbial conjunction autem connects this event sequentially to the prior verse.

Prepositional phrase: in sanguine hœdi — ablative of means or material, describing the substance used: “in the blood of a young goat.”

Relative clause: quem occiderant — modifies hœdi, explaining that the goat had been killed. The pluperfect occiderant denotes action completed before the dipping.

Final verb: tinxerunt — resumes the main action, showing completion of the deceitful act: “they stained it.”

Morphology

  1. Tulerunt — Lemma: ferō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect indicative active; Function: main verb; Translation: “they took / carried”; Notes: Perfect tense marks a completed past act—beginning the deception.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverbial conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a new but connected action; Translation: “then / however”; Notes: Common narrative connector in Biblical Latin.
  3. tunicam — Lemma: tunica; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of Tulerunt; Translation: “tunic”; Notes: Refers to Joseph’s distinctive coat, the central evidence in the deception.
  4. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying tunicam; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to Joseph, the owner of the garment.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins sequential actions (Tulerunt … tinxerunt); Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordinates the second act of the brothers’ deception.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces medium of action; Translation: “in”; Notes: Expresses the means or substance in which the tunic was dipped.
  7. sanguine — Lemma: sanguis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “blood”; Notes: Symbolic of guilt and deceit; evokes sacrificial imagery.
  8. hœdi — Lemma: haedus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: dependent genitive with sanguine; Translation: “of a young goat”; Notes: Specifies the animal’s blood used in the ruse.
  9. quem — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of occiderant; Translation: “which / whom”; Notes: Refers to the goat previously mentioned.
  10. occiderant — Lemma: occīdō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural pluperfect indicative active; Function: verb in relative clause; Translation: “they had killed”; Notes: Pluperfect denotes an action completed before the staining of the tunic.
  11. tinxerunt — Lemma: tingō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect indicative active; Function: main verb of the second action; Translation: “they dipped / stained”; Notes: Perfect tense concludes the deceitful act; root meaning “to dye” or “to immerse.”

 

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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