Genesis 50:23

Posted on February 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 50:23 Quibus transactis, locutus est fratribus suis: Post mortem meam Deus visitabit vos, et ascendere vos faciet de terra ista ad terram quam iuravit Abraham, Isaac, et Iacob.

And when these things had been completed, he spoke to his brothers: “After my death God will visit you, and He will cause you to go up from this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quibus after which things PRON.REL.ABL.PL.N
2 transactis having been completed PTC.PERF.PASS.ABL.PL.N
3 locutus having spoken PTC.PERF.DEP.NOM.SG.M
4 est has 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
5 fratribus to his brothers N.M.DAT.PL
6 suis his PRON.REFL.DAT.PL.M
7 Post after PREP+ACC
8 mortem death N.F.ACC.SG
9 meam my ADJ.F.ACC.SG
10 Deus God N.M.NOM.SG
11 visitabit will visit 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
12 vos you PRON.ACC.PL
13 et and CONJ
14 ascendere to go up INF.PRES.ACT
15 vos you PRON.ACC.PL
16 faciet he will cause 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
17 de from PREP+ABL
18 terra land N.F.ABL.SG
19 ista this ADJ.F.ABL.SG
20 ad to PREP+ACC
21 terram land N.F.ACC.SG
22 quam which PRON.REL.ACC.SG.F
23 iuravit he swore 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
24 Abraham Abraham N.PROP.M.DAT.SG
25 Isaac Isaac N.PROP.M.DAT.SG
26 et and CONJ
27 Iacob Jacob N.PROP.M.DAT.SG

Syntax

Temporal frame: The ablative absolute Quibus transactis (“when these things had been completed”) sets the time background.

Main narrative clause: The (implicit) subject is Joseph. The deponent verb locutus est functions as the main predicate and governs the dative indirect object fratribus suis (“to his brothers”).

Reported prophetic saying: In the direct speech, Deus is the subject. Two coordinated future verbs describe divine action:
visitabit vos (“will visit you”) and the causative construction faciet vos ascendere (“He will cause you to go up”).

Source and destination: Motion is described from de terra ista (“from this land”) to ad terram (“to the land”).
The relative clause quam iuravit Abraham, Isaac, et Iacob modifies terram, identifying it as the land sworn to the patriarchs.

Morphology

  1. Quibus — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: part of an ablative absolute construction; Translation: after which things; Notes: refers back to previously described events and, with transactis, forms the temporal frame.
  2. transactis — Lemma: transigo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural neuter perfect passive participle; Function: ablative absolute with quibus; Translation: having been completed; Notes: indicates that the prior events are fully brought to an end before Joseph speaks.
  3. locutus — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle; Function: main verbal element with est; Translation: having spoken; Notes: deponent verb with passive form but active meaning, standard for “speak.”
  4. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary with locutus; Translation: has; Notes: with locutus forms a perfect sense (“he spoke”).
  5. fratribus — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object of locutus est; Translation: to (his) brothers; Notes: dative marks the recipients of Joseph’s speech.
  6. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive adjective; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: modifies fratribus; Translation: his; Notes: reflexive, referring back to the subject (Joseph) and indicating that these are his own brothers.
  7. Post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces a temporal phrase; Translation: after; Notes: used with mortem to specify “after my death.”
  8. mortem — Lemma: mors; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of post; Translation: death; Notes: denotes the event after which God’s visitation will occur.
  9. meam — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies mortem; Translation: my; Notes: makes the reference explicitly Joseph’s own death.
  10. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of visitabit and faciet; Translation: God; Notes: the covenant God who will act on Israel’s behalf.
  11. visitabit — Lemma: visito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: first finite verb in the prophecy; Translation: will visit; Notes: biblical “visiting” often implies saving intervention or judgment, here clearly gracious.
  12. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object of visitabit; Translation: you; Notes: refers to Joseph’s brothers and, by extension, the people.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links visitabit with faciet; Translation: and; Notes: joins two coordinated divine actions in the prediction.
  14. ascendere — Lemma: ascendo; Part of Speech: verb (infinitive); Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive with faciet; Translation: to go up; Notes: “going up” reflects the geographical and theological ascent from Egypt to the promised land.
  15. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of faciet in the causative construction; Translation: you; Notes: shows that the people themselves are caused to go up.
  16. faciet — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb in causative phrase; Translation: he will cause; Notes: governs vos plus infinitive ascendere, a typical Latin causative pattern.
  17. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces source; Translation: from; Notes: marks the land they are leaving.
  18. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: land; Notes: contextually Egypt, the place of sojourn.
  19. ista — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies terra; Translation: this; Notes: deictic, stressing the present land as distinct from the promised one.
  20. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces goal or destination; Translation: to; Notes: paired with terram to indicate movement toward the promised land.
  21. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of ad; Translation: land; Notes: this is the land sworn to the patriarchs, elaborated by the relative clause.
  22. quam — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object within the relative clause modifying terram; Translation: which; Notes: ties the promise-language directly to the land.
  23. iuravit — Lemma: iuro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the relative clause; Translation: he swore; Notes: evokes formal oath-taking, echoing covenant texts.
  24. Abraham — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of iuravit; Translation: Abraham; Notes: first patriarch named as recipient of the promise.
  25. Isaac — Lemma: Isaac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of iuravit; Translation: Isaac; Notes: second patriarch in the covenant sequence.
  26. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links Isaac with Iacob; Translation: and; Notes: simple additive conjunction within the patriarchal list.
  27. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of iuravit; Translation: Jacob; Notes: completes the triad of patriarchs to whom the land was sworn.

 

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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