Genesis 46:28

Posted on February 15, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 46:28 Misit autem Iudam ante se ad Ioseph, ut nunciaret ei, et occurreret in Gessen.

And he sent Judas ahead of himself to Joseph, so that he might announce to him and that he might meet him in Gessen.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Misit sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem however ADV
3 Iudam Judah ACC.SG.M
4 ante before PREP+ACC
5 se himself ACC.SG.M
6 ad to PREP+ACC
7 Ioseph Joseph ACC.SG.M
8 ut so that CONJ
9 nunciaret might announce 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
10 ei to him DAT.SG.M
11 et and CONJ
12 occurreret might meet 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
13 in in PREP+ABL
14 Gessen Goshen ABL.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Misit autem Iudam ante se ad Ioseph —
• Misit: main verb (“sent”)
• Iudam: direct object
• autem: adversative connector
• ante se: prepositional phrase indicating “ahead of himself”
• ad Ioseph: direction of the sending (“to Joseph”)

Purpose Clause: ut nunciaret ei —
• ut: introduces purpose
• nunciaret: imperfect subjunctive expressing intended action
• ei: indirect object (“to him”)

Coordinated Purpose: et occurreret in Gessen —
• et: connects a second purpose
• occurreret: imperfect subjunctive, “that he might meet”
• in Gessen: locative phrase, the place of meeting

Morphology

  1. Misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the sentence; Translation: “sent”; Notes: introduces the narrative action.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adversative connective; Translation: “however”; Notes: mild contrastive or transitional marker.
  3. Iudam — Lemma: Iudas; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of Misit; Translation: “Judah”; Notes: identifies the person sent.
  4. ante — Lemma: ante; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: forms phrase “ahead of”; Translation: “before”; Notes: expresses relative spatial orientation.
  5. se — Lemma: se; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ante; Translation: “himself”; Notes: refers back to the implicit subject, Jacob.
  6. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: directional preposition; Translation: “to”; Notes: introduces goal of movement.
  7. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: indicates destination.
  8. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “so that”; Notes: requires subjunctive verb.
  9. nunciaret — Lemma: nuntio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular imperfect active subjunctive; Function: expresses intended purpose; Translation: “might announce”; Notes: triggered by ut + subjunctive.
  10. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of nunciaret; Translation: “to him”; Notes: refers to Joseph.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins two purposes; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple coordination.
  12. occurreret — Lemma: occurro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular imperfect active subjunctive; Function: second purpose action; Translation: “might meet”; Notes: parallel to nunciaret.
  13. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: expresses stationary position.
  14. Gessen — Lemma: Gessen; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “Goshen”; Notes: the region where the meeting is to occur.

 

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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