Genesis 49:22

Posted on February 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 49:22 Filius accrescens Ioseph, filius accrescens et decorus aspectu: filiæ discurrerunt super murum.

Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and beautiful in appearance; daughters ran upon the wall.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Filius son N.MASC.NOM.SG
2 accrescens growing PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
3 Ioseph Joseph PN.NOM.SG.M
4 filius son N.MASC.NOM.SG
5 accrescens growing PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
6 et and CONJ.COORD
7 decorus beautiful ADJ.NOM.SG.M
8 aspectu in appearance N.MASC.ABL.SG
9 filiæ daughters N.FEM.NOM.PL
10 discurrerunt ran about V.3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
11 super upon PREP+ACC
12 murum wall N.MASC.ACC.SG

Syntax

First nominative clause: Filius accrescens Ioseph — Filius is the subject; accrescens (present participle) denotes constant growth; Ioseph identifies the subject fully (“Joseph is a growing son”).

Second parallel clause: filius accrescens et decorus aspectu repeats the predicate for emphasis.
decorus aspectu (“beautiful in appearance”) uses ablative of respect (aspectu).

Independent narrative clause: filiæ discurrerunt super murum — filiæ is subject; discurrerunt means “ran about / darted about”; super murum gives location (“upon the wall”).
This imagery evokes admiration directed toward Joseph.

Morphology

  1. Filius — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: son; Notes: begins a poetic identification of Joseph.
  2. accrescens — Lemma: accresco; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: describes filius; Translation: growing; Notes: conveys flourishing vitality.
  3. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: apposition to filius; Translation: Joseph; Notes: identifies the flourishing son.
  4. filius — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: repeated subject for emphasis; Translation: son; Notes: stylistic parallelism.
  5. accrescens — Lemma: accresco; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies filius; Translation: growing; Notes: heightens descriptive force.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: links participle and adjective; Translation: and; Notes: simple coordination.
  7. decorus — Lemma: decorus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: beautiful; Notes: describes Joseph’s charm.
  8. aspectu — Lemma: aspectus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of respect; Translation: in appearance; Notes: limits sense of decorus.
  9. filiæ — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of discurrerunt; Translation: daughters; Notes: possibly maidens or women of the town.
  10. discurrerunt — Lemma: discurro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: they ran about; Notes: vivid, energetic action, perhaps sign of excitement.
  11. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: spatial relation; Translation: upon; Notes: marks elevated position.
  12. murum — Lemma: murus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of super; Translation: wall; Notes: could be town wall or enclosure.

 

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.