Genesis 41:7

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 41:7 devorantes omnium priorum pulchritudinem. Evigilans Pharao post quietem,

they devoured the beauty of all the former ones. Pharao awoke after his rest,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 devorantes devouring PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.PL
2 omnium of all GEN.PL
3 priorum of the former GEN.PL
4 pulchritudinem beauty ACC.SG.F
5 Evigilans waking PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.M
6 Pharao Pharaoh NOM.SG.M
7 post after PREP+ACC
8 quietem rest ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Phrase 1: devorantes functions as a nominative plural participle describing an implied subject (“they”), governing the object pulchritudinem.
Object: pulchritudinem — direct object of the participial action.
Genitives: omnium priorum — possessive genitives modifying pulchritudinem.

Phrase 2: Evigilans Pharao — participial clause, with Pharao as the subject and Evigilans describing his action.
Prepositional phrase: post quietem — temporal phrase modifying the participial action (“after rest”).

Morphology

  1. devorantes — Lemma: devoro; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative plural; Function: describes an implied plural subject; Translation: “devouring”; Notes: modifies an unstated subject in narrative progression.
  2. omnium — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective/pronominal adjective; Form: genitive plural; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: “of all”; Notes: strengthens the superlative scope of “former ones.”
  3. priorum — Lemma: prior; Part of Speech: comparative adjective; Form: genitive plural; Function: modifies omnium; Translation: “of the former”; Notes: refers to the earlier ears of grain in the dream sequence.
  4. pulchritudinem — Lemma: pulchritudo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “beauty”; Notes: denotes the aesthetic quality belonging to the earlier ears.
  5. Evigilans — Lemma: evigilo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies Pharao; Translation: “waking”; Notes: signals transition from dream narration to waking state.
  6. Pharao — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Pharaoh”; Notes: subject of the participle Evigilans.
  7. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces temporal phrase; Translation: “after”; Notes: standard temporal preposition.
  8. quietem — Lemma: quies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of post; Translation: “rest”; Notes: marks the moment following sleep when Pharaoh awakens.

 

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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