Genesis 43:25

Posted on February 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 43:25 Illi vero parabant munera, donec ingrederetur Ioseph meridie: audierant enim quod ibi comesturi essent panem.

But they were preparing the gifts until Joseph would enter at midday; for they had heard that they were going to eat bread there.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Illi they NOM.PL.M.DEM
2 vero indeed / but ADV
3 parabant they were preparing 3PL.IMPFT.ACT.IND
4 munera gifts ACC.PL.N
5 donec until CONJ
6 ingrederetur he would enter 3SG.IMPFT.SUBJ.DEP
7 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M
8 meridie at midday ABL.SG.M
9 audierant they had heard 3PL.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
10 enim for CONJ
11 quod that CONJ
12 ibi there ADV
13 comesturi going to eat NOM.PL.M.FUT.ACT.PTCP
14 essent they would be 3PL.IMPFT.ACT.SUBJ
15 panem bread ACC.SG.M

Syntax

Main clause: Illi vero parabant munera — subject Illi, verb parabant, object munera.
Temporal clause: donec ingrederetur Ioseph meridie — donec with imperfect subjunctive expresses anticipated action (“until Joseph would enter at midday”).
Causal explanatory clause: audierant enim quod … — pluperfect indicates prior information.
Indirect statement: quod ibi comesturi essent panem — future active participle + imperfect subjunctive forms periphrastic future (“they were going to eat bread there”).

Morphology

  1. Illi — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “they”; Notes: refers to Joseph’s brothers.
  2. vero — Lemma: vero; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: adverbial; Function: adds contrast or emphasis; Translation: “indeed / but”; Notes: soft adversative.
  3. parabant — Lemma: paro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative 3rd plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “they were preparing”; Notes: continuous action.
  4. munera — Lemma: munus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: “gifts”; Notes: tribute for Joseph.
  5. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: temporal; Function: marks anticipated event; Translation: “until”; Notes: governs subjunctive here.
  6. ingrederetur — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: imperfect subjunctive 3rd singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “he would enter”; Notes: deponent with active meaning.
  7. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of ingrederetur; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: foreign indeclinable form.
  8. meridie — Lemma: meridies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of time; Translation: “at midday”; Notes: exact time of entry.
  9. audierant — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd plural; Function: main verb of explanatory clause; Translation: “they had heard”; Notes: earlier information.
  10. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: explanatory; Function: provides reason; Translation: “for”; Notes: never first in its clause.
  11. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: introduces indirect statement; Function: subordinator; Translation: “that”; Notes: not a relative pronoun here.
  12. ibi — Lemma: ibi; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: adverbial; Function: indicates place; Translation: “there”; Notes: location of meal.
  13. comesturi — Lemma: comesturus; Part of Speech: future active participle; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: part of periphrastic future; Translation: “going to eat”; Notes: anticipatory action.
  14. essent — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive 3rd plural; Function: auxiliary of periphrastic construction; Translation: “they would be”; Notes: used in indirect discourse.
  15. panem — Lemma: panis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of eating; Translation: “bread”; Notes: idiomatically “a meal.”

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.