Genesis 15:11

Posted on January 15, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 15:11 Descenderuntque volucres super cadavera, et abigebat eas Abram.

And birds came down upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Descenderuntque and came down 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCL.CONJ
2 volucres birds NOM.PL.F
3 super upon / over PREP+ACC
4 cadavera carcasses ACC.PL.N
5 et and / but CONJ
6 abigebat was driving away 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
7 eas them ACC.PL.F PRON
8 Abram Abram NOM.SG.M INDECL.PROPN

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Descenderuntque volucres super cadavera — Perfect tense indicates completed action; volucres is the subject, super cadavera an accusative phrase showing direction (“upon the carcasses”).
Main Clause 2: et abigebat eas Abram — Imperfect tense shows continuous action; et functions adversatively (“but”), contrasting Abram’s response with the birds’ descent. The verb precedes its object eas and subject Abram for narrative emphasis.

Morphology

  1. Descenderuntque — Lemma: descendo; Part of Speech: Verb + enclitic conjunction; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person plural + -que; Function: Main verb; Translation: “and they came down”; Notes: Perfect tense marks the moment the birds swoop down upon the divided carcasses; -que links to the following action.
  2. volucres — Lemma: volucris; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural feminine; Function: Subject of descenderunt; Translation: “birds”; Notes: Refers likely to birds of prey, an ominous element symbolizing threat or corruption of sacrifice.
  3. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Expresses spatial motion; Translation: “upon”; Notes: Indicates movement toward the carcasses as landing place.
  4. cadavera — Lemma: cadaver; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural neuter; Function: Object of super; Translation: “carcasses”; Notes: Refers to bisected sacrificial animals, serving as focal point of the covenant rite.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Links two main clauses; Translation: “and / but”; Notes: Here conveys mild contrast between the intrusion (birds) and Abram’s protective act.
  6. abigebat — Lemma: abigo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “was driving away”; Notes: Imperfect tense shows repeated or continuous effort — Abram persistently kept the birds off the sacrifice.
  7. eas — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative plural feminine; Function: Direct object of abigebat; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to volucres, maintaining gender agreement.
  8. Abram — Lemma: Abram; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine (indeclinable Hebrew name); Function: Subject of abigebat; Translation: “Abram”; Notes: Portrayed as guardian of the covenant rite, protecting its sanctity from profanation.

 

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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