Genesis 41:11

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 41:11 ubi una nocte uterque vidimus somnium præsagum futurorum.

where in one night each of us saw a dream foreshowing the things to come.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 ubi where REL.ADV
2 una one ABL.SG.F
3 nocte night ABL.SG.F
4 uterque each NOM.SG.M
5 vidimus we saw 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
6 somnium dream ACC.SG.N
7 præsagum foretelling ACC.SG.N
8 futurorum of the things to come GEN.PL.N

Syntax

Relative adverb: ubi — introduces a clause describing the place of confinement.
Ablative phrase: una nocte — ablative of time indicating “in one night.”
Subject: uterque — “each one,” grammatically singular but semantically referring to both prisoners.
Main verb: vidimus — first-person plural, “we saw,” agreeing with the logical dual subject.
Object: somnium — direct object of vidimus.
Modifier: præsagum futurorum — an adjective + genitive phrase meaning “foretelling the things to come,” modifying somnium.

Morphology

  1. ubi — Lemma: ubi; Part of Speech: relative adverb; Form: adverb; Function: introduces a relative clause of place; Translation: “where”; Notes: links back to the prison setting.
  2. una — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies nocte; Translation: “one”; Notes: expresses the unity of time.
  3. nocte — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of time; Translation: “night”; Notes: temporal setting of the dreams.
  4. uterque — Lemma: uterque; Part of Speech: distributive adjective/pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “each”; Notes: though singular, it denotes both prisoners.
  5. vidimus — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “we saw”; Notes: agrees with the real plural sense of uterque.
  6. somnium — Lemma: somnium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: “dream”; Notes: refers to the prophetic dreams of the two officials.
  7. præsagum — Lemma: praesagus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: modifies somnium; Translation: “foretelling”; Notes: indicates predictive quality.
  8. futurorum — Lemma: futurus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: genitive plural neuter; Function: genitive of the thing predicted; Translation: “of the things to come”; Notes: expresses future events indicated by the dream.

 

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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