Genesis 14:3

Posted on January 14, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 14:3 Omnes hi convenerunt in vallem Silvestrem, quæ nunc est mare salis.

All these came together in the Valley of the Wood, which is now the Salt Sea.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Omnes all NOM.PL.M
2 hi these NOM.PL.M
3 convenerunt came together 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
4 in into PREP+ACC
5 vallem valley ACC.SG.F
6 Silvestrem wooded / of the forest ACC.SG.F
7 quæ which NOM.SG.F
8 nunc now ADV
9 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
10 mare sea NOM.SG.N
11 salis of salt GEN.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause: Omnes hi convenerunt in vallem Silvestrem — The plural subject Omnes hi (“all these”) governs the perfect verb convenerunt (“they came together”), describing the united action of the kings.
Prepositional Phrase: in vallem Silvestrem — expresses motion toward a location, “into the wooded valley.”
Relative Clause: quæ nunc est mare salis — identifies the valley by its later name, “which is now the Salt Sea.” The relative pronoun quæ agrees with vallem in gender and number, and mare salis forms the predicate nominative phrase.

Morphology

  1. Omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective / Pronoun; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject referring to the coalition of kings; Translation: “all”; Notes: Emphasizes collective unity of the group.
  2. hi — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Reinforces omnes as the explicit subject; Translation: “these”; Notes: Typical Latin redundancy for emphasis.
  3. convenerunt — Lemma: convenio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person plural; Function: Main verb; Translation: “they came together / assembled”; Notes: Perfect tense signals completed gathering.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Introduces motion toward a place; Translation: “into”; Notes: Indicates direction of movement toward valley.
  5. vallem — Lemma: vallis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Object of in; Translation: “valley”; Notes: Designates the geographical destination.
  6. Silvestrem — Lemma: silvestris; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies vallem; Translation: “wooded / of the forest”; Notes: Ancient name describing terrain before transformation into sea.
  7. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject of the relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers to vallem in agreement of gender and number.
  8. nunc — Lemma: nunc; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Temporal adverb modifying est; Translation: “now”; Notes: Marks historical change over time.
  9. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb of relative clause; Translation: “is”; Notes: Links past valley with its present state as a sea.
  10. mare — Lemma: mare; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular neuter; Function: Predicate nominative complement of est; Translation: “sea”; Notes: Subject complement describing what the valley has become.
  11. salis — Lemma: sal; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular neuter; Function: Genitive of quality; Translation: “of salt”; Notes: Describes the kind of sea—identifying it as the Dead Sea (“mare salis”).

 

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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