Genesis 39:1

Posted on February 8, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

1 Igitur Ioseph ductus est in Ægyptum, emitque eum Putiphar eunuchus Pharaonis, princeps exercitus, vir Ægyptius, de manu Ismaelitarum, a quibus perductus erat.

Therefore Joseph was brought into Egypt, and Putiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the chief of the army, an Egyptian man, bought him from the hand of the Ismaelites, by whom he had been brought.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Igitur therefore CONJ.ADV
2 Ioseph Joseph NOUN.NOM.SG.M (proper)
3 ductus was brought / led PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
4 est was V.3SG.PRES.IND.AUX
5 in into PREP+ACC
6 Ægyptum Egypt NOUN.ACC.SG.F (proper)
7 emitque and bought V.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC -que
8 eum him PRON.PERS.ACC.SG.M
9 Putiphar Potiphar NOUN.NOM.SG.M (proper)
10 eunuchus officer / eunuch NOUN.NOM.SG.M
11 Pharaonis of Pharaoh NOUN.GEN.SG.M (proper)
12 princeps chief / commander NOUN.NOM.SG.M
13 exercitus of the army NOUN.GEN.SG.M
14 vir man NOUN.NOM.SG.M
15 Ægyptius Egyptian ADJ.NOM.SG.M
16 de from PREP+ABL
17 manu hand NOUN.ABL.SG.F
18 Ismaelitarum of the Ismaelites NOUN.GEN.PL.M (proper)
19 a by / from PREP+ABL
20 quibus by whom PRON.REL.ABL.PL.M
21 perductus had been brought PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
22 erat had been V.3SG.PLUPERF.IND.AUX

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Igitur Ioseph ductus est in Ægyptum — passive perfect periphrasis (“Joseph was brought into Egypt”).
Main Clause 2: emitque eum Putiphar — perfect active indicative, Putiphar as subject and eum as object (“and Putiphar bought him”).
Appositive Noun Phrase: eunuchus Pharaonis, princeps exercitus, vir Ægyptius — describes Putiphar’s identity and rank in successive titles.
Prepositional Phrase: de manu Ismaelitarum — denotes source (“from the hand of the Ismaelites”).
Relative Clause: a quibus perductus erat — explains origin (“by whom he had been brought”).

Morphology

  1. Igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: adverb/conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: logical connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Marks continuity with the preceding narrative.
  2. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of ductus est; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: Retains Hebrew form of the name Yosep.
  3. ductus — Lemma: dūcō; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive; Function: predicate with est; Translation: “was brought”; Notes: Indicates completed action of movement into Egypt.
  4. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: 3rd person singular present indicative; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “was”; Notes: Forms perfect passive periphrasis.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “into”; Notes: Indicates destination.
  6. Ægyptum — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: Place-name marking geographical movement.
  7. emitque — Lemma: emō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active + enclitic -que; Function: main verb; Translation: “and bought”; Notes: Links to prior sentence via -que.
  8. eum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of emit; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Joseph as the purchased individual.
  9. Putiphar — Lemma: Putiphar; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of emit; Translation: “Putiphar”; Notes: Egyptian officer’s name, from Hebrew פּוֹטִיפַר (Poti-phar).
  10. eunuchus — Lemma: eunuchus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: appositive to Putiphar; Translation: “officer / eunuch”; Notes: Denotes official court rank, not necessarily literal castration in Egyptian context.
  11. Pharaonis — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier of eunuchus; Translation: “of Pharaoh”; Notes: Egyptian royal title used generically.
  12. princeps — Lemma: princeps; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: further appositive to Putiphar; Translation: “chief / commander”; Notes: Military title clarifying his authority.
  13. exercitus — Lemma: exercitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: “of the army”; Notes: Identifies domain of command.
  14. vir — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: appositive restating Putiphar; Translation: “man”; Notes: General descriptor emphasizing gender and identity.
  15. Ægyptius — Lemma: Ægyptius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies vir; Translation: “Egyptian”; Notes: Specifies ethnicity.
  16. de — Lemma: dē; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Marks transactional source.
  17. manu — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: “hand”; Notes: Figurative for possession or control.
  18. Ismaelitarum — Lemma: Ismaelitae; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies manu; Translation: “of the Ismaelites”; Notes: Identifies the traders who sold Joseph.
  19. a — Lemma: ā / ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces agent in passive clause; Translation: “by”; Notes: Used before consonant.
  20. quibus — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: ablative of agent; Translation: “by whom”; Notes: Links to Ismaelitarum.
  21. perductus — Lemma: perdūcō; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive; Function: predicate within relative clause; Translation: “had been brought”; Notes: Describes completed prior action relative to main clause.
  22. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: 3rd person singular pluperfect indicative; Function: auxiliary completing perductus; Translation: “had been”; Notes: Marks temporal precedence before main action.

 

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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