Genesis 42:21

Posted on February 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 42:21 et locuti sunt ad invicem: Merito hæc patimur, quia peccavimus in fratrem nostrum, videntes angustiam animæ illius, dum deprecaretur nos, et non audivimus: idcirco venit super nos ista tribulatio.

and they spoke to one another: “We suffer these things deservedly, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the distress of his soul when he begged us, and we did not listen; therefore this tribulation has come upon us.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 locuti having spoken NOM.PL.M.PPP
3 sunt they were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 invicem one another ACC.SG.N
6 Merito deservedly ADV
7 hæc these things ACC.PL.N
8 patimur we suffer 1PL.PRES.DEP.IND
9 quia because CONJ
10 peccavimus we have sinned 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
11 in against PREP+ACC
12 fratrem brother ACC.SG.M
13 nostrum our ACC.SG.M.POSS
14 videntes seeing NOM.PL.M.PRES.ACT.PTCP
15 angustiam distress ACC.SG.F
16 animæ of the soul GEN.SG.F
17 illius of him GEN.SG.M
18 dum while CONJ
19 deprecaretur he entreated 3SG.IMP.DEP.SUBJ
20 nos us ACC.PL
21 et and CONJ
22 non not ADV
23 audivimus we heard 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
24 idcirco therefore ADV
25 venit has come 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
26 super upon PREP+ACC
27 nos us ACC.PL
28 ista this NOM.SG.F
29 tribulatio tribulation NOM.SG.F

Syntax

Narrative Coordination:
• et locuti sunt ad invicem — “and they spoke to one another.”
— ablative absolute-like periphrastic passive locuti sunt.

Direct Speech Opening:
• Merito hæc patimur — “We suffer these things deservedly.”
— Merito = adverb of cause.
— hæc = object.
— patimur is deponent.

Causal Clause:
• quia peccavimus in fratrem nostrum — “because we have sinned against our brother.”
— in with accusative indicating offense against a person.

Participle Clause:
• videntes angustiam animæ illius — “seeing the distress of his soul.”
— nominative plural participle modifying “we.”

Temporal Clause:
• dum deprecaretur nos — “while he was begging us.”
— imperfect subjunctive = contemporaneous action.

Contrastive Admission:
• et non audivimus — “and we did not listen.”

Resultant Statement:
• idcirco venit super nos ista tribulatio — “therefore this tribulation has come upon us.”
— ista tribulatio = subject.

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: narrative connector; Translation: “and”; Notes: joins events.
  2. locuti — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle (deponent in meaning); Function: with sunt forms periphrastic perfect; Translation: “having spoken”; Notes: deponent verb, passive form active in sense.
  3. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: present indicative third person plural; Function: forms perfect; Translation: “they were”; Notes: helps form deponent perfect.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: expresses interchange.
  5. invicem — Lemma: invicem; Part of Speech: adverb/substantive; Form: accusative; Function: reciprocal reference; Translation: “one another”; Notes: common reciprocal marker.
  6. Merito — Lemma: merito; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: causal adverb; Translation: “deservedly”; Notes: expresses moral judgment.
  7. hæc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of patimur; Translation: “these things”; Notes: deictic reference.
  8. patimur — Lemma: patior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: present indicative first person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “we suffer”; Notes: deponent active sense.
  9. quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: causal clause; Translation: “because”; Notes: introduces explanation.
  10. peccavimus — Lemma: pecco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative first person plural; Function: verb of clause; Translation: “we have sinned”; Notes: moral wrongdoing.
  11. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative here; Function: expresses hostility; Translation: “against”; Notes: hostile sense.
  12. fratrem — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “brother”; Notes: refers to Joseph.
  13. nostrum — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies fratrem; Translation: “our”; Notes: marks kinship.
  14. videntes — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine present active participle; Function: circumstantial; Translation: “seeing”; Notes: simultaneous with main action.
  15. angustiam — Lemma: angustia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of videntes; Translation: “distress”; Notes: emotional suffering.
  16. animæ — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of the soul”; Notes: inner suffering.
  17. illius — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies animæ; Translation: “of him”; Notes: refers to Joseph.
  18. dum — Lemma: dum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: temporal clause; Translation: “while”; Notes: indicates simultaneous pleading.
  19. deprecaretur — Lemma: deprecor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: imperfect subjunctive third person singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “he begged”; Notes: deponent morphology.
  20. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of deprecaretur; Translation: “us”; Notes: direct appeal.
  21. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: addition; Translation: “and”; Notes: continues thought.
  22. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negates audivimus; Translation: “not”; Notes: expresses stubbornness.
  23. audivimus — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative first person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “we heard”; Notes: implies willful ignoring.
  24. idcirco — Lemma: idcirco; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: marks consequence; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: strong causal result.
  25. venit — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “has come”; Notes: present result of past action.
  26. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion or impact; Translation: “upon”; Notes: threat impending.
  27. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of super; Translation: “us”; Notes: brothers as recipients of punishment.
  28. ista — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies tribulatio; Translation: “this”; Notes: slightly emphatic.
  29. tribulatio — Lemma: tribulatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “tribulation”; Notes: divine judgment theme.

 

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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