Genesis 47:9

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 47:9 Respondit: Dies peregrinationis meæ centum triginta annorum sunt, parvi et mali, et non pervenerunt usque ad dies patrum meorum quibus peregrinati sunt.

He answered: “The days of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty years, small and evil, and they have not reached up to the days of my fathers in which they sojourned.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Respondit he answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Dies days NOM.PL.M
3 peregrinationis of sojourning GEN.SG.F
4 meæ my GEN.SG.F.ADJ
5 centum one hundred INDECL.NUM
6 triginta thirty INDECL.NUM
7 annorum of years GEN.PL.M
8 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
9 parvi small NOM.PL.M.ADJ
10 et and CONJ
11 mali evil NOM.PL.M.ADJ
12 et and CONJ
13 non not ADV
14 pervenerunt they have reached 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
15 usque up to PREP+ACC
16 ad to PREP+ACC
17 dies days ACC.PL.M
18 patrum of my fathers GEN.PL.M
19 meorum my GEN.PL.M.ADJ
20 quibus in which ABL.PL.M REL
21 peregrinati having sojourned NOM.PL.M PERF.PTCP.DEP
22 sunt they are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Verb: Respondit introduces direct speech.
Subject: Dies peregrinationis meæ — a genitive construction meaning “the days of my sojourning.”
Predicate: sunt centum triginta annorum completes the numerical description.
Adjectives: parvi et mali modify dies.
Negative Clause: et non pervenerunt expresses contrast: “and they have not reached.”
Prepositional Structure: usque ad dies patrum meorum gives the comparative measure.
Relative Clause: quibus peregrinati sunt — “in which they sojourned,” describing the fathers.

Morphology

  1. Respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: introduces Jacob’s reply; Translation: “he answered”; Notes: Narrative perfect.
  2. Dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “days”; Notes: Governs several genitives.
  3. peregrinationis — Lemma: peregrinatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: defines the kind of days; Translation: “of sojourning”; Notes: Indicates life as a wandering.
  4. meæ — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies peregrinationis; Translation: “my”; Notes: Personal possession.
  5. centum — Lemma: centum; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: part of number; Translation: “one hundred”; Notes: Used with triginta.
  6. triginta — Lemma: triginta; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: completes the number; Translation: “thirty”; Notes: Total: 130.
  7. annorum — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of measure; Translation: “of years”; Notes: Specifies duration.
  8. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative active third plural; Function: copula; Translation: “are”; Notes: Links subject and number.
  9. parvi — Lemma: parvus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “small”; Notes: Jacob reflects humbly on his life.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins adjectives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard conjunction.
  11. mali — Lemma: malus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “evil”; Notes: Refers to hardship and suffering.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: introduces contrasting clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Transitional.
  13. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates pervenerunt.
  14. pervenerunt — Lemma: pervenio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third plural; Function: main verb of negative clause; Translation: “they have reached”; Notes: Refers to length of his life.
  15. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: limit marker; Translation: “up to”; Notes: Often paired with ad.
  16. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing accusative; Function: continuation of limit phrase; Translation: “to”; Notes: Strengthens usque.
  17. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of usque ad; Translation: “days”; Notes: Refers to ages of the patriarchs.
  18. patrum — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possession; Translation: “of my fathers”; Notes: Abraham and Isaac.
  19. meorum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies patrum; Translation: “my”; Notes: Personal lineage.
  20. quibus — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: ablative of respect; Translation: “in which”; Notes: Refers to the days of the fathers.
  21. peregrinati — Lemma: peregrinor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect participle; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “having sojourned”; Notes: Deponent verb with passive form/active meaning.
  22. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative third plural; Function: auxiliary forming perfect; Translation: “they are”; Notes: Used with deponent participle.

 

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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