Genesis 49:2

Posted on February 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 49:2 Congregamini, et audite filii Iacob, audite Israel patrem vestrum:

Gather yourselves, and hear, sons of Jacob; hear Israel your father;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Congregamini gather yourselves V.2PL.PRES.PASS.IMP
2 et and CONJ.COORD
3 audite hear V.2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
4 filii sons N.MASC.VOC.PL
5 Iacob Jacob PN.VOC.SG.M
6 audite hear V.2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
7 Israel Israel PN.NOM.SG.M
8 patrem father N.MASC.ACC.SG
9 vestrum your POSS.ADJ.MASC.ACC.SG

Syntax

First command: Congregamini is a 2nd person plural passive imperative meaning “assemble yourselves.”
Although passive in form, it has a middle/reflexive sense.

Coordinated command: et audite adds a second imperative.
filii Iacob is a vocative phrase addressing the sons.

Repetition for emphasis: A second audite addresses them again, introducing Israel patrem vestrum.
Here Israel functions as a nominative in apposition used vocatively — “Israel, your father,” meaning Jacob.

Morphology

  1. Congregamini — Lemma: congrego; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present passive imperative; Function: command; Translation: gather yourselves; Notes: passive in form but middle in meaning.
  2. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: joins imperatives; Translation: and; Notes: simple connector.
  3. audite — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: direct command; Translation: hear; Notes: repeated for emphasis.
  4. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: vocative plural masculine; Function: direct address; Translation: sons; Notes: vocative identical to nominative plural.
  5. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: vocative singular masculine; Function: modifies filii; Translation: Jacob; Notes: uninflected form in Latin.
  6. audite — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: second command; Translation: hear; Notes: resumes address.
  7. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: nominative used as vocative; Translation: Israel; Notes: Jacob’s covenant name.
  8. patrem — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: predicate in apposition to Israel; Translation: father; Notes: explains Israel’s relationship to the addressees.
  9. vestrum — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies patrem; Translation: your; Notes: plural possessive referring to all the sons.

 

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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