Genesis 14:7

Posted on January 14, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 14:7 Reversique sunt, et venerunt ad fontem Misphat, ipsa est Cades: et percusserunt omnem regionem Amalecitarum, et Amorrhæum, qui habitabat in Asasonthamar.

And they returned, and came to the fountain of Misphat (that is Cades); and they struck all the region of the Amalekites, and the Amorite who dwelt in Asasonthamar.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Reversique and they returned PERF.ACT.PART.NOM.PL.M + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 sunt were / have 3PL.PRES.AUX.IND
3 et and CONJ
4 venerunt they came 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
5 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
6 fontem fountain / spring ACC.SG.M
7 Misphat Misphat ACC.SG.M (INDECL. HEBR.)
8 ipsa itself / the same NOM.SG.F
9 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
10 Cades Kadesh NOM.SG.F (INDECL. HEBR.)
11 et and CONJ
12 percusserunt they struck 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
13 omnem all / every ACC.SG.F
14 regionem region / territory ACC.SG.F
15 Amalecitarum of the Amalekites GEN.PL.M (INDECL. HEBR.)
16 et and CONJ
17 Amorrhæum the Amorite ACC.SG.M (INDECL. HEBR.)
18 qui who NOM.SG.M
19 habitabat was dwelling 3SG.IMPF.ACT.IND
20 in in PREP+ABL
21 Asasonthamar Hazezon-tamar ABL.SG.F (INDECL. HEBR.)

Syntax

Main Clauses:
1. Reversique sunt — perfect active participle + auxiliary forms a periphrastic perfect meaning “they returned.”
2. et venerunt ad fontem Misphat — expresses the subsequent movement “and they came to the fountain of Misphat.”
Appositive Clause: ipsa est Cades — explanatory identification equating Misphat with Kadesh.
Compound Object Clause: et percusserunt omnem regionem Amalecitarum et Amorrhæum — lists the defeated peoples: “all the region of the Amalekites” and “the Amorite.”
Relative Clause: qui habitabat in Asasonthamar — describes where the Amorite lived (“who dwelt in Hazezon-tamar”).

Morphology

  1. Reversique — Lemma: revertor; Part of Speech: Deponent verb (perfect participle) + enclitic; Form: Perfect participle nominative plural masculine + -que; Function: Subject participle in periphrastic perfect (“they returned”), linked to prior clause by -que; Translation: “and having returned”; Notes: Deponent revertor uses a passive-form participle with active sense; -que coordinates with the following finite verb.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Auxiliary verb; Form: Present indicative active, 3rd person plural; Function: Auxiliary completing the periphrastic perfect with Reversi-; Translation: “(they) have / were (returned)”; Notes: With deponent participles, sum forms the perfect; agreement is with the plural subject implied by context.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Coordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Links sequential actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: Polysyndeton continues the narrative flow of campaigns.
  4. venerunt — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect indicative active, 3rd person plural; Function: Main finite verb of movement; Translation: “they came”; Notes: Perfect marks completed arrival at the specified site.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Introduces goal/destination; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Standard preposition for endpoint of motion.
  6. fontem — Lemma: fons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “spring / fountain”; Notes: Physical landmark used as a toponymic reference point.
  7. Misphat — Lemma: Misphat; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular (indeclinable Hebrew name) in apposition to fontem; Function: Appositional specification of the spring; Translation: “Misphat”; Notes: Identifies the spring’s name; often equated with Kadesh.
  8. ipsa — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject of an explanatory copular clause; Translation: “the same (place)”; Notes: Agrees with the understood feminine toponym (Misphat), not with masculine fons; emphatic identity marker.
  9. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present indicative active, 3rd person singular; Function: Copula in appositive equation; Translation: “is”; Notes: Introduces the gloss equating two place-names.
  10. Cades — Lemma: Cades; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine (indeclinable); Function: Predicate nominative after est; Translation: “Kadesh”; Notes: Appositional identification: Misphat = Kadesh.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Coordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Introduces next coordinated clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues asyndetic campaign sequence with coordination.
  12. percusserunt — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect indicative active, 3rd person plural; Function: Main verb of conquest; Translation: “they struck / smote”; Notes: Violent action verb governing direct objects in the accusative.
  13. omnem — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Determiner modifying regionem; Translation: “all / the whole”; Notes: Intensifies the scope of devastation.
  14. regionem — Lemma: regio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Direct object of percusserunt; Translation: “region / territory”; Notes: Territorial target rather than a single city.
  15. Amalecitarum — Lemma: Amalecita; Part of Speech: Ethnic noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine; Function: Possessive/partitive genitive with regionem; Translation: “of the Amalekites”; Notes: Marks the region as belonging to/inhabited by Amalekites.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Coordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Links an additional direct object; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordinates a people-group after the regional object.
  17. Amorrhæum — Lemma: Amorrhæus; Part of Speech: Ethnic noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object of percusserunt; Translation: “the Amorite”; Notes: Singular may be collective, referring to the Amorite population in that locale.
  18. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of the relative clause modifying Amorrhæum; Translation: “who”; Notes: Agrees in gender/number with antecedent Amorrhæum.
  19. habitabat — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperfect indicative active, 3rd person singular; Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “was dwelling / used to dwell”; Notes: Imperfect conveys ongoing or habitual residence.
  20. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Static location (no motion); pairs with ablative place-name.
  21. Asasonthamar — Lemma: Asasonthamar; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular (indeclinable Hebrew toponym); Function: Object of in; Translation: “Hazezon-tamar”; Notes: Identified with En-gedi; ablative marks fixed location.

 

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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