Genesis 41:29

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

29 Ecce septem anni venient fertilitatis magnæ in universa terra Ægypti:

Behold, seven years of great fertility will come in all the land of Egypt;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ecce behold INTERJ
2 septem seven NUM.INVAR
3 anni years NOM.PL.M
4 venient will come 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
5 fertilitatis of fertility GEN.SG.F
6 magnae great GEN.SG.F
7 in in PREP+ABL
8 universa whole ABL.SG.F
9 terra land ABL.SG.F
10 Aegypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F

Syntax

Main Exclamatory Statement:
• Ecce introduces a prophetic declaration.
• Subject: septem anni — “seven years.”
• Verb: venient — “will come,” future indicative predicting events.
• Genitive of Quality: fertilitatis magnae — “of great fertility.”
• Prepositional Phrase: in universa terra Aegypti — “in all the land of Egypt.”

Sentence flow:
Subject → verb → qualitative genitive → locative phrase.

Morphology

  1. Ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: invariable; Function: introduces a prophetic or vivid declaration; Translation: “behold”; Notes: used to call attention to an impending event.
  2. septem — Lemma: septem; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies anni; Translation: “seven”; Notes: significant symbolic number in dreams.
  3. anni — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of venient; Translation: “years”; Notes: refers to coming agricultural conditions.
  4. venient — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third person plural; Function: main verb indicating future occurrence; Translation: “will come”; Notes: standard prophetic futurity.
  5. fertilitatis — Lemma: fertilitas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of quality describing the years; Translation: “of fertility”; Notes: characterizes the seven years.
  6. magnae — Lemma: magnus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies fertilitatis; Translation: “great”; Notes: intensifies the quality.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces locative phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: static location.
  8. universa — Lemma: universus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies terra; Translation: “whole”; Notes: emphasizes totality of territory.
  9. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “land”; Notes: refers to the landmass of Egypt.
  10. Aegypti — Lemma: Aegyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies terra; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: expresses territorial possession.

 

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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