Genesis 10:32

Posted on January 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 10:32 Hæ familiæ Noe iuxta populos et nationes suas. Ab his divisæ sunt gentes in terra post diluvium.

These are the families of Noe according to their peoples and their nations. From these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Hæ these NOM.PL.F.DEM.PRON
2 familiæ families NOM.PL.F
3 Noe Noah GEN.SG.M
4 iuxta according to PREP+ACC
5 populos peoples ACC.PL.M
6 et and CONJ
7 nationes nations ACC.PL.F
8 suas their ACC.PL.F.POSS.PRON
9 Ab from PREP+ABL
10 his these ABL.PL.M.DEM.PRON
11 divisæ were divided NOM.PL.F.PERF.PASS.PART
12 sunt were 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND.AUX
13 gentes nations NOM.PL.F
14 in in PREP+ABL
15 terra earth ABL.SG.F
16 post after PREP+ACC
17 diluvium flood ACC.SG.N

Syntax

Clause 1: Hæ familiæ Noe iuxta populos et nationes suas — “These are the families of Noah according to their peoples and their nations.”
The demonstrative Hæ identifies the totality of Noah’s lineage just described. Familiæ Noe serves as the subject phrase, and the prepositional phrase iuxta populos et nationes suas specifies the criterion of division—by peoples and by national groupings.

Clause 2: Ab his divisæ sunt gentes in terra post diluvium — “From these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.”
The prepositional phrase Ab his (ablative of source) introduces the cause or origin of the dispersion. Divisæ sunt forms a perfect passive verb phrase, indicating a historical, completed action of postdiluvian distribution.
Together, both clauses summarize Genesis 10 as the ethnological foundation of humanity after the flood, marking the transition toward the Tower of Babel narrative.

Morphology

  1. Hæ — Lemma: hic, haec, hoc; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Nominative plural feminine; Function: Subject; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers back to all previously listed lineages descending from Noah.
  2. familiæ — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural feminine; Function: Predicate nominative; Translation: “families”; Notes: Collective term encompassing households, clans, or tribes descended from Noah.
  3. Noe — Lemma: Noe; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Genitive singular masculine; Function: Possessive genitive modifying familiæ; Translation: “of Noah”; Notes: Indicates genealogical origin from Noah, central figure of postdiluvian humanity.
  4. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Expresses accordance or standard; Translation: “according to”; Notes: Introduces criteria of social and geographical classification.
  5. populos — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Object of iuxta; Translation: “peoples”; Notes: Refers to distinct ethnolinguistic groups within humanity’s early dispersion.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Connective; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins social and geographical categories.
  7. nationes — Lemma: natio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural feminine; Function: Second object of iuxta; Translation: “nations”; Notes: Emphasizes organized ethnic or political entities arising from families.
  8. suas — Lemma: suus, sua, suum; Part of Speech: Possessive pronoun; Form: Accusative plural feminine; Function: Possessive modifier of nationes; Translation: “their”; Notes: Indicates individual or tribal ownership of each national domain.
  9. Ab — Lemma: ab (a, abs); Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Denotes source or origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Introduces source of subsequent divisions of nations.
  10. his — Lemma: hic, haec, hoc; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Ablative plural masculine; Function: Object of ab; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers to Noah’s families as the root of all national divisions.
  11. divisæ — Lemma: divido; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: Perfect passive participle, nominative plural feminine; Function: Predicate with sunt; Translation: “were divided”; Notes: Describes the dispersal of nations as a completed divine or historical event.
  12. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person plural (auxiliary); Function: Auxiliary forming perfect passive; Translation: “were”; Notes: Marks completed historical dispersion following the flood.
  13. gentes — Lemma: gens; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural feminine; Function: Subject of divisæ sunt; Translation: “nations”; Notes: The dispersed ethnic groups that repopulated the postdiluvian earth.
  14. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: Indicates sphere of occurrence—“in the earth.”
  15. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine; Function: Object of in; Translation: “earth”; Notes: The inhabited world, now repopulated after the deluge.
  16. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Temporal preposition; Translation: “after”; Notes: Establishes chronological context.
  17. diluvium — Lemma: diluvium; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Object of post; Translation: “flood”; Notes: Refers to the global flood in Noah’s generation, emphasizing the new order of nations arising afterward.

 

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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