Genesis 47:29

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 47:29 Cumque appropinquare cerneret diem mortis suæ, vocavit filium suum Ioseph, et dixit ad eum: Si inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, pone manum tuam sub femore meo: et facies mihi misericordiam et veritatem, ut non sepelias me in Ægypto:

And when he perceived that the day of his death was drawing near, he called his son Joseph and said to him: “If I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh, and you shall deal kindly and truly with me, that you do not bury me in Egypt;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cumque and when CONJ + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 appropinquare to draw near PRES.ACT.INF
3 cerneret he perceived 3SG.IMP.ACT.SUBJ
4 diem the day ACC.SG.M
5 mortis of death GEN.SG.F
6 suæ his GEN.SG.F.ADJ
7 vocavit called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
8 filium son ACC.SG.M
9 suum his ACC.SG.M.ADJ
10 Ioseph Joseph ACC.SG.M.PROP
11 et and CONJ
12 dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
13 ad to PREP+ACC
14 eum him ACC.SG.M.PRON
15 Si if CONJ
16 inveni I have found 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
17 gratiam favor ACC.SG.F
18 in in PREP+ABL
19 conspectu sight ABL.SG.M
20 tuo your ABL.SG.M.ADJ
21 pone place 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
22 manum hand ACC.SG.F
23 tuam your ACC.SG.F.ADJ
24 sub under PREP+ABL
25 femore thigh ABL.SG.N
26 meo my ABL.SG.N.ADJ
27 et and CONJ
28 facies you shall deal 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
29 mihi to me DAT.SG.M
30 misericordiam kindness ACC.SG.F
31 et and CONJ
32 veritatem truth ACC.SG.F
33 ut that CONJ
34 non not ADV
35 sepelias you bury 2SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
36 me me ACC.SG.PRON
37 in in PREP+ABL
38 Ægypto Egypt ABL.SG.F

Syntax

Temporal Clause: Cumque appropinquare cerneret diem mortis suæ — “And when he perceived that the day of his death was drawing near.”
• cerneret = verb (imperfect subjunctive in temporal clause)
• appropinquare = complementary infinitive
• diem mortis suæ = object phrase

Main Clause: vocavit filium suum Ioseph — “he called his son Joseph.”

Speech Introduction: et dixit ad eum — “and said to him.”

Conditional Clause: Si inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo — “If I have found favor in your sight.”

Imperative + Gesture of Oath: pone manum tuam sub femore meo — “place your hand under my thigh.”

Future Promise Request: et facies mihi misericordiam et veritatem — “and you shall deal kindly and truly with me.”

Purpose Clause: ut non sepelias me in Ægypto — “that you do not bury me in Egypt.”

Morphology

  1. Cumque — Lemma: cum + -que; Part of Speech: conjunction with enclitic; Form: temporal/subordinating; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “and when”; Notes: -que links to the narrative.
  2. appropinquare — Lemma: appropinquo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complements cerneret; Translation: “to draw near”; Notes: Infinitive of indirect perception.
  3. cerneret — Lemma: cerno; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive third singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “he perceived”; Notes: Subjunctive used with cum circumstantial.
  4. diem — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of cerneret; Translation: “day”; Notes: Direct object.
  5. mortis — Lemma: mors; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies diem; Translation: “of death”; Notes: Genitive of description.
  6. suæ — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies mortis; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive to subject.
  7. vocavit — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “called”; Notes: Marks significant action.
  8. filium — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of vocavit; Translation: “son”; Notes: Jacob’s son.
  9. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies filium; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive.
  10. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: apposition to filium suum; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: Direct reference.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: introduces next action; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordination.
  12. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: Narrative verb.
  13. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates addressee; Translation: “to”; Notes: Direction of speech.
  14. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “him”; Notes: Joseph again.
  15. Si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: conditional marker; Translation: “if”; Notes: Introduces request.
  16. inveni — Lemma: invenio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative first singular; Function: verb of condition; Translation: “I have found”; Notes: Completed action.
  17. gratiam — Lemma: gratia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of inveni; Translation: “favor”; Notes: Request formula.
  18. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: Idiom “in one’s sight.”
  19. conspectu — Lemma: conspectus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “sight”; Notes: Perception/approval.
  20. tuo — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies conspectu; Translation: “your”; Notes: Joseph as addressee.
  21. pone — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative second singular; Function: command; Translation: “place”; Notes: Ritual gesture in oath-making.
  22. manum — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of pone; Translation: “hand”; Notes: Instrument.
  23. tuam — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies manum; Translation: “your”; Notes: Second person.
  24. sub — Lemma: sub; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses physical position; Translation: “under”; Notes: Oath posture.
  25. femore — Lemma: femur; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of sub; Translation: “thigh”; Notes: Ritual location.
  26. meo — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: modifies femore; Translation: “my”; Notes: Refers to Jacob.
  27. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: connects to next future action; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordination.
  28. facies — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative second singular; Function: main verb of promise; Translation: “you shall deal”; Notes: Obligation for future conduct.
  29. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Recipient.
  30. misericordiam — Lemma: misericordia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of facies; Translation: “kindness”; Notes: Ethical quality.
  31. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: links objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordination.
  32. veritatem — Lemma: veritas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of facies; Translation: “truth”; Notes: Faithfulness.
  33. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: introduces purpose clause; Function: states intended outcome; Translation: “that”; Notes: Governs subjunctive.
  34. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates subjunctive.
  35. sepelias — Lemma: sepelio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive second singular; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “you bury”; Notes: Subjunctive of prohibition.
  36. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “me”; Notes: Refers to Jacob.
  37. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: Specifies burial site.
  38. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: Specifies forbidden burial place.

 

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.