Genesis 38:12

Posted on February 7, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 38:12 Evolutis autem multis diebus, mortua est filia Sue uxor Iudæ: qui post luctum consolatione suscepta, ascendebat ad tonsores ovium suarum, ipse et Hiras opilio gregis Odollamites, in Thamnas.

And after many days had passed, the daughter of Sue, the wife of Judah, died; and when his mourning had been comforted, he went up to shear the sheep of his flock, he himself and Hiras, the shepherd of his flock, the Odollamite, to Thamnas.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Evolutis having passed / unfolded PART.PERF.PASS.ABL.PL.M
2 autem however / moreover CONJ
3 multis many ADJ.ABL.PL.M
4 diebus days NOUN.ABL.PL.M
5 mortua died PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.F
6 est was V.3SG.PRES.IND.AUX
7 filia daughter NOUN.NOM.SG.F
8 Sue of Sue NOUN.GEN.SG.M (proper)
9 uxor wife NOUN.NOM.SG.F
10 Iudæ of Judah NOUN.GEN.SG.M (proper)
11 qui who PRON.REL.NOM.SG.M
12 post after PREP+ACC
13 luctum mourning NOUN.ACC.SG.M
14 consolatione with comfort NOUN.ABL.SG.F
15 suscepta having been received PART.PERF.PASS.ABL.SG.F
16 ascendebat he was going up V.3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
17 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
18 tonsores shearers NOUN.ACC.PL.M
19 ovium of sheep NOUN.GEN.PL.F
20 suarum his PRON.POSS.GEN.PL.F
21 ipse he himself PRON.INT.NOM.SG.M
22 et and CONJ
23 Hiras Hiras NOUN.NOM.SG.M (proper)
24 opilio shepherd NOUN.NOM.SG.M
25 gregis of the flock NOUN.GEN.SG.M
26 Odollamites Odollamite ADJ.NOM.SG.M (proper)
27 in in / to PREP+ACC
28 Thamnas Thamnas NOUN.ACC.PL.F (proper place name)

Syntax

Temporal Ablative Absolute: Evolutis autem multis diebus — ablative absolute denoting time (“after many days had passed”). Evolutis (perfect passive participle) agrees with diebus (ablative plural).

Main Clause: mortua est filia Sue uxor Iudæ — subject is filia Sue uxor Iudæ (“the daughter of Sue, wife of Judah”); verb mortua est (perfect passive periphrastic) expresses completed action.

Relative Clause: qui post luctum consolatione suscepta ascendebat ad tonsores ovium suarum — relative pronoun qui refers to Judah; main verb ascendebat (“was going up”) with prepositional phrase ad tonsores ovium suarum describing destination; ablative absolute post luctum consolatione suscepta denotes circumstance (“after his mourning had been comforted”).

Appositive phrase: ipse et Hiras opilio gregis Odollamites — compound subject “he himself and Hiras the Odollamite, shepherd of his flock.”

Final prepositional phrase: in Thamnas — locative destination, expressing where Judah went.

Morphology

  1. Evolutis — Lemma: evolvō; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural masculine perfect passive; Function: agrees with diebus in ablative absolute; Translation: “having passed”; Notes: Indicates lapse of time before the main event.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connective; Translation: “however / moreover”; Notes: Soft transition in narrative style.
  3. multis — Lemma: multus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: modifies diebus; Translation: “many”; Notes: Indicates an extended period of time.
  4. diebus — Lemma: diēs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: noun in ablative absolute; Translation: “days”; Notes: Used temporally to denote duration.
  5. mortua — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative singular feminine perfect passive; Function: predicate; Translation: “died”; Notes: Deponent participle used with est to form periphrastic perfect.
  6. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: 3rd person singular present indicative active; Function: auxiliary in periphrastic passive; Translation: “was”; Notes: Forms perfect passive with participle mortua.
  7. filia — Lemma: fīlia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: Refers to the daughter of Sue.
  8. Sue — Lemma: Sūa; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of Sue”; Notes: Identifies the family lineage.
  9. uxor — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: in apposition to filia Sue; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Clarifies her relation to Judah.
  10. Iudæ — Lemma: Iūdās; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: “of Judah”; Notes: Specifies her husband.
  11. qui — Lemma: quī; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of ascendebat; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to Judah.
  12. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: temporal; Translation: “after”; Notes: Introduces phrase marking temporal sequence.
  13. luctum — Lemma: luctus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of post; Translation: “mourning”; Notes: Denotes period of grief after his wife’s death.
  14. consolatione — Lemma: cōnsōlātiō; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: noun in ablative absolute; Translation: “with comfort”; Notes: Means of emotional recovery.
  15. suscepta — Lemma: suscipiō; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative singular feminine perfect passive; Function: agrees with consolatione; Translation: “having been received”; Notes: Expresses completed comfort preceding ascent.
  16. ascendebat — Lemma: ascendō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular imperfect indicative active; Function: main verb; Translation: “was going up”; Notes: Describes Judah’s habitual or continuous motion toward the sheep-shearers.
  17. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: directional; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Introduces goal of motion.
  18. tonsores — Lemma: tōnsor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “shearers”; Notes: Refers to those who shear sheep.
  19. ovium — Lemma: ovis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of sheep”; Notes: Indicates whose shearers they were.
  20. suarum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: modifies ovium; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflects Judah’s ownership of the flock.
  21. ipse — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “he himself”; Notes: Emphasizes Judah’s personal involvement.
  22. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects Judah with his companion.
  23. Hiras — Lemma: Hīras; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Hiras”; Notes: The Odollamite friend of Judah.
  24. opilio — Lemma: opiliō; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: appositive to Hiras; Translation: “shepherd”; Notes: Defines Hiras’s role.
  25. gregis — Lemma: grex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of the flock”; Notes: Specifies the flock Hiras oversaw.
  26. Odollamites — Lemma: Odollamita; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies Hiras; Translation: “the Odollamite”; Notes: Denotes geographical origin.
  27. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction or destination; Translation: “to / into”; Notes: Introduces the place to which Judah was going.
  28. Thamnas — Lemma: Thamnas; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative plural feminine (indeclinable place name); Function: object of in; Translation: “to Thamnas”; Notes: Refers to the town in the Shephelah region where the shearing took place, a setting significant for the encounter with Thamar.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.