Genesis 12:4

Posted on January 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 12:4 Egressus est itaque Abram sicut præceperat ei Dominus, et ivit cum eo Lot: septuaginta quinque annorum erat Abram cum egrederetur de Haran.

And Abram went out as the LORD had commanded him, and Lot went with him; Abram was seventy-five years old when he went out from Haran.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Egressus went out PPP.NOM.SG.M
2 est was 3SG.PERF.IND.AUX
3 itaque therefore / and so CONJ.ADV
4 Abram Abram NOM.SG.M
5 sicut as CONJ
6 præceperat had commanded 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
7 ei him PRON.DAT.SG.3
8 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
9 et and CONJ
10 ivit went 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 cum with PREP+ABL
12 eo him PRON.ABL.SG.3
13 Lot Lot NOM.SG.M
14 septuaginta seventy NUM.CARD.INDECL
15 quinque five NUM.CARD.INDECL
16 annorum of years GEN.PL.M
17 erat was 3SG.IMPF.ACT.IND
18 Abram Abram NOM.SG.M
19 cum when CONJ (TEMPORAL)
20 egrederetur went out 3SG.IMPF.DEP.SUBJ
21 de from PREP+ABL
22 Haran Haran ABL.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Egressus est itaque Abram — periphrastic perfect form (“he went out”) with participle egressus and auxiliary est; subject Abram.
Subordinate Clause: sicut præceperat ei Dominus — comparative clause introduced by sicut (“as”); pluperfect præceperat indicates prior command by YHWH.
Main Clause 2: et ivit cum eo Lot — perfect ivit joined by et; cum eo expresses accompaniment.
Main Clause 3: septuaginta quinque annorum erat Abram cum egrederetur de Haran — genitive of measure annorum (“of years”) indicates age; temporal clause cum egrederetur uses imperfect subjunctive to express contemporaneous action.

Morphology

  1. Egressus — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent participle); Form: Perfect participle, nominative singular masculine; Function: With est, forms periphrastic perfect; Translation: “went out”; Notes: Deponent form with active meaning; expresses completed departure.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Auxiliary verb; Translation: “was / has”; Notes: Helps form perfect tense with participle.
  3. itaque — Lemma: itaque; Part of Speech: Conjunction/adverb; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Transitional particle; Translation: “therefore / and so”; Notes: Logical connector introducing the fulfillment of the command.
  4. Abram — Lemma: Abram; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “Abram”; Notes: The patriarch obeying the divine command.
  5. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Introduces comparative clause; Translation: “as”; Notes: Marks correspondence between divine order and obedience.
  6. præceperat — Lemma: praecipio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Pluperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “had commanded”; Notes: Action completed before Abram’s departure.
  7. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Dative singular (3rd person); Function: Indirect object of præceperat; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers back to Abram as the recipient of the command.
  8. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of præceperat; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: YHWH as speaker and authority in prior command.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links next clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Sequential connector between actions.
  10. ivit — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “went”; Notes: Denotes Lot’s accompanying movement.
  11. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Expresses accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: Introduces eo as companion.
  12. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Ablative singular (3rd person masculine); Function: Object of cum; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Abram.
  13. Lot — Lemma: Lot; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of ivit; Translation: “Lot”; Notes: Abram’s nephew, accompanies the journey.
  14. septuaginta — Lemma: septuaginta; Part of Speech: Numeral (cardinal); Form: Indeclinable; Function: Quantifier modifying quinque; Translation: “seventy”; Notes: Part of compound number for age.
  15. quinque — Lemma: quinque; Part of Speech: Numeral (cardinal); Form: Indeclinable; Function: Completes compound numeral; Translation: “five”; Notes: Together with septuaginta forms seventy-five.
  16. annorum — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine; Function: Genitive of measure; Translation: “of years”; Notes: Specifies Abram’s age.
  17. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb of temporal clause; Translation: “was”; Notes: Describes ongoing state of age at the time.
  18. Abram — Lemma: Abram; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of erat; Translation: “Abram”; Notes: Repetition underscores centrality in the narrative.
  19. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Subordinating; Function: Introduces temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Governs the subjunctive verb egrederetur.
  20. egrederetur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent); Form: Imperfect subjunctive, 3rd person singular; Function: Verb of temporal clause; Translation: “he went out”; Notes: Subjunctive after cum expresses contemporaneous circumstance.
  21. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Expresses origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Introduces place of departure.
  22. Haran — Lemma: Haran; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular (indeclinable in Latin usage); Function: Object of de; Translation: “Haran”; Notes: Mesopotamian city from which Abram departed.

 

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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