Genesis 16:4

Posted on January 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 16:4 Qui ingressus est ad eam. At illa concepisse se videns, despexit dominam suam.

He went in to her. But when she saw that she had conceived, she despised her mistress.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui who NOM.SG.M REL.PRON
2 ingressus having gone in NOM.SG.M PERF.PTCP.MID
3 est is / has 3SG.PRES.IND.AUX
4 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
5 eam her ACC.SG.F PRON
6 At but CONJ
7 illa she NOM.SG.F DEM.PRON
8 concepisse to have conceived INF.PERF.ACT
9 se herself ACC.SG.F REF.PRON
10 videns seeing NOM.SG.F PRES.ACT.PTCP
11 despexit she despised 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
12 dominam mistress ACC.SG.F
13 suam her ACC.SG.F POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Relative Clause: Qui ingressus est ad eam — describes Abram’s action; Qui functions as a relative pronoun referring to Abram, ingressus est (perfect deponent) denotes completed intimate union, and ad eam expresses direction toward the object (“to her”).
Main Clause: At illa … despexit dominam suam — the adversative conjunction At introduces contrast; illa (Hagar) is the subject; concepisse se videns forms a participial clause explaining the cause; the main verb despexit expresses contempt directed toward dominam suam (her mistress Sarai).

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of ingressus est; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to Abram, continuing previous narrative action.
  2. ingressus — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent participle); Form: Nominative singular masculine, perfect participle; Function: Part of the periphrastic perfect tense; Translation: “having gone in”; Notes: Euphemism for conjugal relation; expresses completed act.
  3. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Auxiliary verb; Form: Present indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Helps form perfect tense of deponent; Translation: “has / is”; Notes: Auxiliary in periphrastic construction.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Indicates motion toward; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Introduces object of approach.
  5. eam — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers to Hagar as recipient of Abram’s action.
  6. At — Lemma: at; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Adversative; Translation: “but”; Notes: Introduces contrast between cause and result.
  7. illa — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject of despexit; Translation: “she”; Notes: Refers to Hagar; marks shift in perspective.
  8. concepisse — Lemma: concipio; Part of Speech: Verb (infinitive); Form: Perfect active infinitive; Function: Complementary infinitive with videns; Translation: “to have conceived”; Notes: Expresses completed conception prior to the act of seeing.
  9. se — Lemma: sui; Part of Speech: Reflexive pronoun; Form: Accusative singular; Function: Object of concepisse; Translation: “herself”; Notes: Reflexive, referring back to illa.
  10. videns — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: Nominative singular feminine, present active participle; Function: Circumstantial modifier; Translation: “seeing”; Notes: Expresses cause leading to despising action.
  11. despexit — Lemma: despicio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “she despised”; Notes: Conveys moral inversion—servant’s pride after conception.
  12. dominam — Lemma: domina; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Direct object; Translation: “mistress”; Notes: Refers to Sarai, the authority figure despised by Hagar.
  13. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Possessive modifier; Translation: “her”; Notes: Reflexive, indicating Hagar’s own mistress; reinforces reversal of social order in the narrative.

 

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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