Genesis 10:30

Posted on January 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 10:30 Et facta est habitatio eorum de Messa pergentibus usque Sephar montem orientalem.

And their dwelling was from Messa, as one goes unto Sephar, the eastern mountain.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 facta was made NOM.SG.F.PERF.PASS.PART
3 est was 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND.AUX
4 habitatio dwelling NOM.SG.F
5 eorum of them GEN.PL.M.PRON
6 de from PREP+ABL
7 Messa Messa ABL.SG.F
8 pergentibus going ABL.PL.PRES.ACT.PART
9 usque unto PREP+ACC
10 Sephar Sephar ACC.SG.M
11 montem mountain ACC.SG.M
12 orientalem eastern ACC.SG.M.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause: Et facta est habitatio eorum — “And their dwelling was made.” The participle facta with auxiliary est expresses a completed passive action, introducing the territorial domain of Jectan’s descendants.
Prepositional Phrase: de Messa pergentibus usque Sephar — “from Messa, as one goes unto Sephar,” describes the range of their habitation. The ablative participle pergentibus functions as an ablative of attendant circumstance (“while going”).
Noun Phrase: montem orientalem — “the eastern mountain,” identifies the geographical boundary; the adjective orientalem modifies montem attributively.
The verse closes the genealogy of Jectan by defining the extent of his descendants’ territories, from northwestern Arabia (Messa) to the mountains of southeastern Arabia (Sephar).

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Links this clause to the previous summary; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues the narrative flow from the genealogical list to the territorial conclusion.
  2. facta — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: Perfect passive participle, nominative singular feminine; Function: Predicate complement; Translation: “was made”; Notes: Used with est to form perfect passive; describes establishment of dwelling.
  3. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular (auxiliary); Function: Completes perfect passive construction; Translation: “was”; Notes: Marks completed establishment of settlement.
  4. habitatio — Lemma: habitatio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject; Translation: “dwelling / habitation”; Notes: Refers collectively to the settlements or territories inhabited by Jectan’s descendants.
  5. eorum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Genitive plural masculine; Function: Possessive genitive modifying habitatio; Translation: “of them / their”; Notes: Refers to the descendants of Jectan listed in preceding verses.
  6. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Indicates starting point; Translation: “from”; Notes: Expresses geographical origin of the described region.
  7. Messa — Lemma: Messa; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine; Function: Object of de; Translation: “Messa”; Notes: Identified with the region near the northwestern part of Arabia or Mesha, near the border of Edom; starting point of the tribal range.
  8. pergentibus — Lemma: pergo; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: Ablative plural present active participle; Function: Ablative of attendant circumstance; Translation: “as one goes / while going”; Notes: Describes direction of movement toward the eastern terminus.
  9. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: Preposition/adverb; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Expresses spatial limit; Translation: “unto / as far as”; Notes: Marks end point of the described boundary.
  10. Sephar — Lemma: Sephar; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of usque; Translation: “Sephar”; Notes: Identified with a mountain region on the Arabian Peninsula’s southeast coast, possibly modern Dhofar in Oman.
  11. montem — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Appositive to Sephar; Translation: “mountain”; Notes: Refers to the elevated terrain marking the eastern boundary of Jectan’s territory.
  12. orientalem — Lemma: orientalis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Attributive modifier of montem; Translation: “eastern”; Notes: Specifies the direction of the mountain range; symbolically marks the easternmost extent of Semitic settlements.

 

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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