Genesis 41:4

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 41:4 devoraveruntque eas, quarum mira species, et habitudo corporum erat. Expergefactus Pharao,

and they devoured them, whose appearance and bodily form were wonderful. Pharao awoke,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 devoraveruntque and they devoured V.3PL.PERF.IND.ACT + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 eas them PRON.ACC.PL.F
3 quarum whose PRON.GEN.PL.F
4 mira wonderful ADJ.NOM.SG.F
5 species appearance NOUN.NOM.SG.F
6 et and CONJ
7 habitudine form NOUN.ABL.SG.F
8 corporum of bodies NOUN.GEN.PL.N
9 erat was V.3SG.IMPF.IND.ACT
10 Expergefactus having been awakened V.PTCP.PERF.NOM.SG.M (DEPONENT)
11 Pharao Pharaoh NOUN.NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main action:
devoraveruntque eas — “and they devoured them.”
• Subject: the seven thin cows (implied).
• Verb: devoraverunt.
• Object: eas (the seven fat cows).

Relative clause:
quarum mira species et habitu-do corporum erat — “whose appearance and bodily form were wonderful.”
• quarum: introduces the clause; refers to the healthy cows.
• Compound subject: mira species + habitudine corporum.

New clause:
Expergefactus Pharao — “Pharaoh awoke.”
• Perfect participle used as a finite verb in sense: “having awakened.”

Morphology

  1. devoraveruntque — Lemma: devoro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd plural perfect indicative active + enclitic -que; Function: main verb; Translation: “and they devoured”; Notes: Perfect indicates completed consumption.
  2. eas — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the fat cows.
  3. quarum — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “whose”; Notes: Introduces relative description.
  4. mira — Lemma: mirus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies species; Translation: “wonderful”; Notes: Emphasizes contrast with ugly cows.
  5. species — Lemma: species; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of erat; Translation: “appearance”; Notes: Indicates visual beauty.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple coordination.
  7. habitudine — Lemma: habitudo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of respect; Translation: “in outward form / in bodily form”; Notes: Clarifies physical condition.
  8. corporum — Lemma: corpus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural neuter; Function: modifies habitudine; Translation: “of bodies”; Notes: Refers to physical frame of the cows.
  9. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular imperfect indicative active; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “was”; Notes: Imperfect states continuing condition.
  10. Expergefactus — Lemma: expergiscor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: perfect participle nominative singular masculine; Function: subject complement; Translation: “having been awakened / awoke”; Notes: Deponent: passive form, active meaning.
  11. Pharao — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Pharaoh”; Notes: Royal Egyptian title.

 

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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