Genesis 21:26

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 21:26 Responditque Abimelech: Nescivi quis fecerit hanc rem: sed et tu non indicasti mihi, et ego non audivi præter hodie.

And Abimelech answered: “I did not know who had done this thing; but neither did you tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Responditque and answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + -QUE
2 Abimelech Abimelech NOM.SG.M.PROP.NOUN
3 Nescivi I did not know 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
4 quis who NOM.SG.M.INTERROG.PRON
5 fecerit has done / did 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
6 hanc this ACC.SG.F.DEMONSTR.ADJ
7 rem thing ACC.SG.F
8 sed but CONJ
9 et also / even CONJ
10 tu you NOM.SG.2ND.PRON
11 non not NEG.PARTICLE
12 indicasti you told / informed 2SG.PERF.ACT.IND
13 mihi to me DAT.SG.1ST.PRON
14 et and CONJ
15 ego I NOM.SG.1ST.PRON
16 non not NEG.PARTICLE
17 audivi I heard 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
18 præter except / before PREP+ACC
19 hodie today ACC.SG.ADV.FORM

Syntax

Main Clause: Responditque Abimelech — Perfect indicative active; the enclitic -que connects the response with the preceding exchange. Abimelech’s reply opens a defensive justification.
Indirect Question: Nescivi quis fecerit hanc rem — The verb nescivi governs an indirect question introduced by quis. The subjunctive fecerit reflects indirect discourse (subordination under a verb of knowing).
Adversative Clause: sed et tu non indicasti mihi — Expresses counterpoint, contrasting Abraham’s silence with Abimelech’s claimed ignorance.
Coordinate Clause: et ego non audivi præter hodie — Reinforces the claim: “I had not heard until today.” The prepositional phrase præter hodie functions idiomatically, meaning “until now” or “before today.”

Morphology

  1. Responditque — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active, third person singular + enclitic -que; Function: main verb; Translation: “and answered”; Notes: Marks transition to Abimelech’s reply, narratively linking his response with the prior event.
  2. Abimelech — Lemma: Abimelech; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “respondit”; Translation: “Abimelech.”
  3. Nescivi — Lemma: nescio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active, first person singular; Function: governing verb of indirect question; Translation: “I did not know”; Notes: Expresses genuine ignorance or lack of awareness.
  4. quis — Lemma: quis; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “fecerit”; Translation: “who.”
  5. fecerit — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect subjunctive active, third person singular; Function: verb of indirect question; Translation: “has done”; Notes: Subjunctive under indirect discourse after “nescivi.”
  6. hanc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies “rem”; Translation: “this.”
  7. rem — Lemma: res; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “fecerit”; Translation: “thing”; Notes: Refers to the well dispute mentioned earlier.
  8. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: introduces contrast; Translation: “but.”
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: intensifying (“even / also”); Translation: “also / even.”
  10. tu — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject of “indicasti”; Translation: “you.”
  11. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Function: negation; Translation: “not.”
  12. indicasti — Lemma: indico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active, second person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “you told / informed”; Notes: Direct accusation that Abraham failed to report the wrongdoing.
  13. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object of “indicasti”; Translation: “to me.”
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: connects coordinate clauses; Translation: “and.”
  15. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject of “audivi”; Translation: “I.”
  16. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Function: negation; Translation: “not.”
  17. audivi — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active, first person singular; Function: main verb of final clause; Translation: “I heard”; Notes: Denotes ignorance until the present moment.
  18. præter — Lemma: præter; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: temporal limitation; Translation: “before / until.”
  19. hodie — Lemma: hodie; Part of Speech: adverb; Function: temporal adverb; Translation: “today”; Notes: Idiomatic in Latin for “until this very day,” marking Abimelech’s claimed first awareness of the issue.

 

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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