Genesis 47:3

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 47:3 quos ille interrogavit: Quid habetis operis? Responderunt: Pastores ovium sumus servi tui, et nos, et patres nostri.

whom he questioned: “What work do you have?” They answered: “We are shepherds of sheep, your servants, both we and our fathers.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 quos whom ACC.PL.M REL
2 ille he NOM.SG.M DEM
3 interrogavit he questioned 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
4 Quid what ACC.SG.N INTERROG
5 habetis you have 2PL.PRES.ACT.IND
6 operis of work GEN.SG.N
7 Responderunt they answered 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
8 Pastores shepherds NOM.PL.M
9 ovium of sheep GEN.PL.F
10 sumus we are 1PL.PRES.ACT.IND
11 servi servants NOM.PL.M
12 tui your GEN.SG.M
13 et and CONJ
14 nos we NOM.PL
15 et and CONJ
16 patres fathers NOM.PL.M
17 nostri our GEN.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: ille interrogavit — “he questioned,” with quos as the direct object.
Direct Question: Quid habetis operis? functions as the content of interrogation.
Answer Clause: Responderunt introduces reported direct speech.
Predicate Nominals: Pastores ovium sumus describes identity.
Conjunctions: et nos, et patres nostri expands the subject in parallel structure.

Morphology

  1. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of interrogavit; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Refers to the five brothers presented to Pharaoh.
  2. ille — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “he”; Notes: Refers to Pharaoh.
  3. interrogavit — Lemma: interrogo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he questioned”; Notes: Perfect tense shows completed action.
  4. Quid — Lemma: quid; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of habetis; Translation: “what”; Notes: Introduces direct question.
  5. habetis — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative second person plural; Function: verbal head of question; Translation: “you have”; Notes: Continuous present.
  6. operis — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: “of work”; Notes: Means “of occupation.”
  7. Responderunt — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person plural; Function: introduces response; Translation: “they answered”; Notes: Narrative perfect.
  8. Pastores — Lemma: pastor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “shepherds”; Notes: Defines the profession.
  9. ovium — Lemma: ovis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: genitive of the animals tended; Translation: “of sheep”; Notes: Genitive of object.
  10. sumus — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative active first person plural; Function: copula; Translation: “we are”; Notes: Links predicate to subject.
  11. servi — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “servants”; Notes: Frequently self-designation before a ruler.
  12. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifying servi; Translation: “your”; Notes: Refers to Pharaoh.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins elements; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard conjunction.
  14. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative plural; Function: additional subject; Translation: “we”; Notes: Draws inclusive lineage.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins final element; Translation: “and”; Notes: Balanced parallelism.
  16. patres — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “fathers”; Notes: Refers to ancestors.
  17. nostri — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possession; Translation: “our”; Notes: Completes the line of descent.

 

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.