Genesis 38:20

Posted on February 7, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

20 Misit autem Iudas hœdum per pastorem suum Odollamitem, ut reciperet pignus quod dederat mulieri: qui cum non invenisset eam,

But Judas sent the young goat by his shepherd the Odollamite, that he might recover the pledge which he had given to the woman; and when he did not find her,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Misit he sent V.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem but / however CONJ.ADV
3 Iudas Judah NOUN.NOM.SG.M (proper)
4 hœdum young goat NOUN.ACC.SG.M
5 per by / through PREP+ACC
6 pastorem shepherd NOUN.ACC.SG.M
7 suum his PRON.POSS.ACC.SG.M
8 Odollamitem the Adullamite NOUN.ACC.SG.M (proper, adjective form)
9 ut that / in order that CONJ.PURP
10 reciperet he might recover / take back V.3SG.IMPERF.SUBJ.ACT
11 pignus pledge / guarantee NOUN.ACC.SG.N
12 quod which PRON.REL.ACC.SG.N
13 dederat he had given V.3SG.PLUPERF.IND.ACT
14 mulieri to the woman NOUN.DAT.SG.F
15 qui who PRON.REL.NOM.SG.M
16 cum when CONJ.TEMP
17 non not ADV.NEG
18 invenisset he had found V.3SG.PLUPERF.SUBJ.ACT
19 eam her PRON.PERS.ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Misit autem Iudas hœdum per pastorem suum Odollamitem — main narrative statement. Misit governs the direct object hœdum (“a young goat”) and the agent phrase per pastorem suum Odollamitem (“by his shepherd, the Odollamite”), showing agency through another person.

Purpose Clause: ut reciperet pignus quod dederat mulieri — introduced by ut, expressing Judah’s intention (“that he might recover the pledge which he had given to the woman”). The relative clause quod dederat mulieri specifies what pledge was to be retrieved.

Subordinate Temporal Clause: qui cum non invenisset eam — dependent on an implied main clause (“he did not find her”). cum with the pluperfect subjunctive invenisset indicates a temporal circumstance preceding subsequent narration.

Morphology

  1. Misit — Lemma: mittō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active; Function: main verb of the clause; Translation: “he sent”; Notes: Expresses completed action of sending through another agent.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction/adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: connective; Translation: “but / however”; Notes: Marks narrative contrast or continuation.
  3. Iudas — Lemma: Iudas; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of Misit; Translation: “Judah”; Notes: The patriarch initiating the action.
  4. hœdum — Lemma: haedus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of Misit; Translation: “young goat”; Notes: The promised payment or pledge substitute.
  5. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses agency; Translation: “by / through”; Notes: Indicates the intermediary agent in action.
  6. pastorem — Lemma: pastor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of per; Translation: “shepherd”; Notes: Refers to Judah’s servant or messenger.
  7. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies pastorem; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive possessive referring to Judah.
  8. Odollamitem — Lemma: Odollamites; Part of Speech: proper adjective/noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: apposition to pastorem; Translation: “the Odollamite”; Notes: Identifies the man’s origin from Odollam.
  9. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “that / in order that”; Notes: Expresses the goal of sending the goat.
  10. reciperet — Lemma: recipiō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “he might recover”; Notes: Subjunctive of intention.
  11. pignus — Lemma: pignus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of reciperet; Translation: “pledge”; Notes: The collateral given by Judah to Thamar.
  12. quod — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of dederat; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers to pignus.
  13. dederat — Lemma: dō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular pluperfect indicative active; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “he had given”; Notes: Past perfect expressing previous transaction.
  14. mulieri — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular feminine; Function: indirect object of dederat; Translation: “to the woman”; Notes: Refers to Thamar, recipient of the pledge.
  15. qui — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of invenisset; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to the shepherd (Odollamite messenger).
  16. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Used with subjunctive to indicate circumstance.
  17. non — Lemma: nōn; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates invenisset.
  18. invenisset — Lemma: inveniō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular pluperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “he had found”; Notes: Pluperfect subjunctive indicating prior non-success.
  19. eam — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of invenisset; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers again to 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.