Genesis 44:30

Posted on February 13, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 44:30 Igitur si intravero ad servum tuum patrem nostrum, et puer defuerit, (cum anima illius ex huius anima pendeat)

Therefore, if I go in to your servant our father, and the boy is missing, (since his life depends on this one’s life)

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Igitur therefore ADV
2 si if COND.CONJ
3 intravero I shall have entered 1SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 servum servant ACC.SG.M
6 tuum your ACC.SG.M.ADJ
7 patrem father ACC.SG.M
8 nostrum our ACC.SG.M.ADJ
9 et and CONJ
10 puer boy NOM.SG.M
11 defuerit will be missing 3SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
12 cum since SUBORD.CONJ
13 anima life / soul NOM.SG.F
14 illius of that one GEN.SG.M/F.DEMONSTR
15 ex from / on PREP+ABL
16 huius of this one GEN.SG.M/F.DEMONSTR
17 anima life / soul ABL.SG.F
18 pendeat depends / hangs 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Conditional frame: Igitur si intravero ad servum tuum patrem nostrum, et puer defuerit — “Therefore, if I shall have gone in to your servant our father, and the boy is missing.” The particle Igitur links to the previous reasoning; si intravero and puer defuerit together form a compound protasis (condition) with future-perfect verbs.
Embedded cum-clause: cum anima illius ex huius anima pendeat — “since his life depends on this one’s life.” Here cum is causal, introducing a subordinate clause; subject anima illius, prepositional phrase ex huius anima, verb pendeat in the subjunctive, giving the reason why the boy’s absence is catastrophic.

Morphology

  1. Igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: logical/narrative connector linking to prior context; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: often second-position, here strengthening the inferential force of the condition.
  2. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: conditional; Function: introduces protasis of a future-more-vivid condition; Translation: “if”; Notes: governs future-perfect verbs intravero and defuerit.
  3. intravero — Lemma: intro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active indicative 1st person singular; Function: first verb of the protasis; Translation: “I shall have entered / I go in”; Notes: future perfect in Latin corresponds to English future or future perfect in conditional contexts.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces goal of motion; Translation: “to”; Notes: marks direction toward the person visited.
  5. servum — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “servant”; Notes: honorific self-lowering title for Jacob in Judah’s speech (“your servant”).
  6. tuum — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies servum; Translation: “your”; Notes: shows deference to Joseph.
  7. patrem — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: in apposition to servum tuum; Translation: “father”; Notes: clarifies that the “servant” is their own father.
  8. nostrum — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies patrem; Translation: “our”; Notes: indicates filial relation of the brothers to Jacob.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links the second part of the condition to the first; Translation: “and”; Notes: joins two future-perfect clauses inside the same protasis.
  10. puer — Lemma: puer; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of defuerit; Translation: “boy”; Notes: refers to Benjamin, consistently called “the boy.”
  11. defuerit — Lemma: desum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: second verb of the protasis; Translation: “will be missing / will have failed”; Notes: expresses future absence at the time of Judah’s return.
  12. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating (causal) with subjunctive; Function: introduces a causal clause; Translation: “since”; Notes: not prepositional here, but a conjunction triggering the subjunctive pendeat.
  13. anima — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of pendeat; Translation: “life / soul”; Notes: refers to Jacob’s life.
  14. illius — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun/adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine/feminine; Function: possessive genitive modifying anima; Translation: “of that one / of him”; Notes: context shows it is Jacob’s life (“his life”).
  15. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces the source or basis; Translation: “from / on”; Notes: idiomatically “depends on, hangs from.”
  16. huius — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun/adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine/feminine; Function: possessive genitive with anima; Translation: “of this one”; Notes: refers to Benjamin (“this one here”).
  17. anima — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of ex in an ablative phrase; Translation: “life / soul”; Notes: the life on which Jacob’s life depends.
  18. pendeat — Lemma: pendeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive 3rd person singular; Function: verb of the causal cum-clause; Translation: “depends / hangs”; Notes: subjunctive used in a causal-subordinate clause, expressing a continual, emotionally charged dependence.

 

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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