Genesis 42:4

Posted on February 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 42:4 Beniamin domi retento a Iacob, qui dixerat fratribus eius: Ne forte in itinere quidquam patiatur mali:

Benjamin, with him kept at home by Jacob, who had said to his brothers: “Lest perhaps he suffer any harm on the journey.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Beniamin Benjamin NOM.SG.M
2 domi at home LOC.SG
3 retento with him kept back ABL.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP
4 a by PREP+ABL
5 Iacob Jacob ABL.SG.M
6 qui who NOM.SG.M.REL
7 dixerat had said 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
8 fratribus to the brothers DAT.PL.M
9 eius of him GEN.SG.M
10 Ne lest CONJ
11 forte perhaps ADV
12 in on PREP+ABL
13 itinere the journey ABL.SG.N
14 quidquam anything ACC.SG.N.INDEF
15 patiatur he suffer 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
16 mali of harm GEN.SG.N

Syntax

Main Participial Structure:
• Beniamin domi retento a Iacob — “Benjamin, kept at home by Jacob.”
— retento is an ablative absolute describing circumstance.
— domi = locative “at home.”
— a Iacob = agent.

Relative Clause:
• qui dixerat fratribus eius — “who had said to his brothers.”
— qui refers to Jacob.
— dixerat pluperfect indicates prior speech.
— fratribus eius = indirect object + possessive.

Subordinate Clause of Caution:
• Ne forte in itinere quidquam patiatur mali — “Lest perhaps he suffer any harm on the journey.”
— ne introduces negative purpose/caution.
— patiatur subjunctive expresses feared event.
— quidquam mali = “any harm” (partitive genitive).

Morphology

  1. Beniamin — Lemma: Beniamin; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: logical subject of the participial construction; Translation: “Benjamin”; Notes: youngest son of Jacob.
  2. domi — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: locative singular; Function: indicates location; Translation: “at home”; Notes: rare locative form.
  3. retento — Lemma: retineo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: ablative absolute with Beniamin; Translation: “kept back”; Notes: expresses state caused by Jacob.
  4. a — Lemma: a/ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: marks agent; Translation: “by”; Notes: standard passive construction.
  5. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: agent of participle; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: patriarch.
  6. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: refers to Jacob.
  7. dixerat — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “had said”; Notes: indicates earlier speech.
  8. fratribus — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to (his) brothers”; Notes: refers to Joseph’s brothers.
  9. eius — Lemma: eius; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies fratribus; Translation: “of him / his”; Notes: refers to Benjamin.
  10. Ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces negative clause of fear; Translation: “lest”; Notes: signals potential danger.
  11. forte — Lemma: forte; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: softens the caution; Translation: “perhaps”; Notes: adds nuance.
  12. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates location; Translation: “on”; Notes: expresses circumstance.
  13. itinere — Lemma: iter; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “journey”; Notes: context: journey to Egypt.
  14. quidquam — Lemma: quisquam/quidquam; Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of verb; Translation: “anything”; Notes: emphasizes total vulnerability.
  15. patiatur — Lemma: patior; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive third person singular; Function: verb of clause of fear; Translation: “he suffer”; Notes: expresses potential harm.
  16. mali — Lemma: malum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: genitive of the thing suffered; Translation: “of harm”; Notes: partitive or objective genitive.

 

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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