Genesis 11:3

Posted on January 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 11:3 Dixitque alter ad proximum suum: Venite, faciamus lateres, et coquamus eos igni. Habueruntque lateres pro saxis, et bitumen pro cæmento:

And one said to his neighbor, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them with fire.” And they had bricks for stones, and bitumen for mortar.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dixitque and said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 alter the one / another NOM.SG.M
3 ad to PREP+ACC
4 proximum neighbor ACC.SG.M
5 suum his ACC.SG.M.POSS.PRON
6 Venite come 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
7 faciamus let us make 1PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
8 lateres bricks ACC.PL.M
9 et and CONJ
10 coquamus let us bake 1PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
11 eos them ACC.PL.M.PRON
12 igni with fire ABL.SG.M
13 Habueruntque and they had 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
14 lateres bricks ACC.PL.M
15 pro for / instead of PREP+ABL
16 saxis stones ABL.PL.N
17 et and CONJ
18 bitumen bitumen ACC.SG.N
19 pro for / instead of PREP+ABL
20 cæmento mortar ABL.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Dixitque alter ad proximum suum — “And one said to his neighbor.”
The conjunction -que links this scene to the preceding narrative. Alter (subject) and proximum suum (object of ad) form a reciprocal exchange — one person speaking to another, introducing communal dialogue.

Indirect Discourse: Venite, faciamus lateres, et coquamus eos igni — “Come, let us make bricks and bake them with fire.”
The imperative Venite invites collective participation, while the subjunctive verbs faciamus and coquamus form hortatory subjunctives, urging cooperative action. Eos igni expresses means (“with fire”), describing the technological process of brickmaking.

Main Clause 2: Habueruntque lateres pro saxis, et bitumen pro cæmento — “And they had bricks for stones, and bitumen for mortar.”
Parallel pro-phrases indicate substitution: clay-fired bricks and natural asphalt (bitumen) replaced the more typical stone and lime materials. This construction highlights the ingenuity of Mesopotamian civilization adapting to its geographic environment.

Morphology

  1. Dixitque — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular (+ enclitic -que); Function: Main verb introducing speech; Translation: “and said”; Notes: Perfect tense situates the action as part of the ongoing narrative of human cooperation.
  2. alter — Lemma: alter; Part of Speech: Pronoun/adjective; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “the one / another”; Notes: Indicates one individual among many, emphasizing social communication.
  3. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Indicates direction toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Marks the person addressed.
  4. proximum — Lemma: proximus; Part of Speech: Noun (substantivized adjective); Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “neighbor”; Notes: Represents social proximity and cooperation among humans.
  5. suum — Lemma: suus, sua, suum; Part of Speech: Possessive pronoun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Modifies proximum; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive; refers back to the speaking subject.
  6. Venite — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active imperative, 2nd person plural; Function: Imperative command; Translation: “come”; Notes: Invitation to collective effort, frequent in hortatory contexts.
  7. faciamus — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active subjunctive, 1st person plural; Function: Hortatory subjunctive; Translation: “let us make”; Notes: Marks deliberative cooperation among speakers.
  8. lateres — Lemma: later; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object of faciamus; Translation: “bricks”; Notes: Typical Mesopotamian building material made from baked clay.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Connects parallel verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the sequential building actions.
  10. coquamus — Lemma: coquo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active subjunctive, 1st person plural; Function: Hortatory subjunctive; Translation: “let us bake”; Notes: Refers to firing bricks in kilns; shows technological progress.
  11. eos — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Object of coquamus; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to lateres.
  12. igni — Lemma: ignis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Ablative of means; Translation: “with fire”; Notes: Instrumental ablative describing the method of baking.
  13. Habueruntque — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person plural (+ enclitic -que); Function: Main verb; Translation: “and they had”; Notes: Describes possession or use of materials.
  14. lateres — Lemma: later; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object of habuerunt; Translation: “bricks”; Notes: Repetition underscores the shift from natural to man-made building materials.
  15. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Indicates substitution; Translation: “for / instead of”; Notes: Introduces comparative equivalence of materials.
  16. saxis — Lemma: saxum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural neuter; Function: Object of pro; Translation: “stones”; Notes: Contrasts natural building material with artificial bricks.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the two parallel substitutions.
  18. bitumen — Lemma: bitumen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Direct object of habuerunt; Translation: “bitumen”; Notes: Natural asphalt used as a binding agent; typical in Mesopotamian architecture.
  19. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Introduces equivalence; Translation: “for / instead of”; Notes: Marks substitution of materials again.
  20. cæmento — Lemma: caementum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Object of pro; Translation: “mortar”; Notes: Represents the lime or stone binder typically used in construction; replaced by bitumen here.

 

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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