Genesis 40:1

Posted on February 9, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 40:1 His ita gestis, accidit ut peccarent duo eunuchi, pincerna regis Ægypti, et pistor, domino suo.

When these things had thus been done, it happened that two eunuchs, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker, offended their master.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 His these (things) PRON.ABL.PL.N
2 ita thus / in this way ADV
3 gestis having been done V.PERF.PTCP.ABL.PL.N
4 accidit it happened V.3SG.PERF.IND.ACT
5 ut that / so that CONJ.RESULT
6 peccarent they sinned / offended V.3PL.IMPERF.SUBJ.ACT
7 duo two NUM.NOM.PL.M
8 eunuchi eunuchs NOUN.NOM.PL.M
9 pincerna cupbearer NOUN.NOM.SG.M
10 regis of the king NOUN.GEN.SG.M
11 Ægypti of Egypt NOUN.GEN.SG.F (indecl. proper name)
12 et and CONJ
13 pistor baker NOUN.NOM.SG.M
14 domino to (their) master NOUN.DAT.SG.M
15 suo their own ADJ.DAT.SG.M

Syntax

Ablative Absolute: His ita gestis — “these things having thus been done,” sets the temporal and causal background for the next event. The perfect participle gestis from gero expresses completed prior action.
Main Clause: accidit ut peccarent duo eunuchi — “it happened that two eunuchs offended.” The impersonal verb accidit takes a substantive clause with ut + subjunctive expressing result or event.
Appositional Phrases: pincerna regis Ægypti and et pistor specify the two eunuchs by occupation.
Dative Phrase: domino suo — indirect object with peccarent, “offended their master.”
This verse transitions from Joseph’s success to the next divine setup — the events leading to his rise through Pharaoh’s court.

Morphology

  1. His — Lemma: hic, haec, hoc; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: in ablative absolute; Translation: “these (things)”; Notes: Refers to Joseph’s elevation and prosperity just mentioned.
  2. ita — Lemma: ita; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies gestis; Translation: “thus / in this way”; Notes: Indicates the manner of preceding events.
  3. gestis — Lemma: gerō; Part of Speech: verb (participle); Form: perfect passive participle ablative plural neuter; Function: participle in ablative absolute; Translation: “having been done”; Notes: Marks completed events setting up the narrative shift.
  4. accidit — Lemma: accidō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active; Function: impersonal verb introducing result clause; Translation: “it happened”; Notes: Common in narrative for divine or providential events.
  5. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces substantive clause of result or event; Translation: “that / so that”; Notes: Used with subjunctive following accidit.
  6. peccarent — Lemma: peccō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of ut-clause; Translation: “they sinned / offended”; Notes: Imperfect subjunctive expresses contemporaneous action within result clause.
  7. duo — Lemma: duo; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies eunuchi; Translation: “two”; Notes: Cardinal numeral used substantively with a plural noun.
  8. eunuchi — Lemma: eunuchus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of peccarent; Translation: “eunuchs”; Notes: High-ranking palace servants; the term need not imply literal castration in Hebrew context.
  9. pincerna — Lemma: pincerna; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: apposition to eunuchi; Translation: “cupbearer”; Notes: Royal officer in charge of the king’s wine.
  10. regis — Lemma: rēx; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier of pincerna; Translation: “of the king”; Notes: Indicates the Egyptian monarch, Pharaoh.
  11. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: complements regis; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: Geographic genitive specifying domain.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects pincerna and pistor; Translation: “and”; Notes: Balances the pair of royal servants.
  13. pistor — Lemma: pistor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: apposition to eunuchi; Translation: “baker”; Notes: Chief official responsible for preparing royal bread.
  14. domino — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of peccarent; Translation: “to (their) master”; Notes: Refers to Pharaoh as the one sinned against.
  15. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: agrees with domino; Translation: “their own”; Notes: Reflexive, emphasizing their offense against their own sovereign.

 

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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