Genesis 16:8

Posted on January 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 16:8 dixit ad illam: Agar ancilla Sarai, unde venis? et quo vadis? quæ respondit: A facie Sarai dominæ meæ ego fugio.

and he said to her: “Agar, handmaid of Sarai, from where do you come, and where are you going?” She answered: “I flee from the presence of Sarai, my mistress.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 dixit he said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 illam her ACC.SG.F PRON
4 Agar Hagar VOC.SG.F PROPN
5 ancilla handmaid VOC.SG.F
6 Sarai of Sarai GEN.SG.F PROPN
7 unde from where ADV.INTERROG
8 venis do you come 2SG.PRES.ACT.IND
9 et and CONJ
10 quo to where ADV.INTERROG
11 vadis do you go 2SG.PRES.ACT.IND
12 quæ who NOM.SG.F REL.PRON
13 respondit answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
14 A from PREP+ABL
15 facie presence / face ABL.SG.F
16 Sarai of Sarai GEN.SG.F PROPN
17 dominæ mistress GEN.SG.F
18 meæ my GEN.SG.F POSS.ADJ
19 ego I NOM.SG.PRON
20 fugio flee 1SG.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Dixit ad illam — introduces the speech of the angel of the LORD; dixit is the principal narrative verb, ad illam marks Hagar as the addressed object.
Direct Speech: Agar ancilla Sarai, unde venis? et quo vadis? — vocative Agar and ancilla Sarai express address and identification; two interrogative clauses introduced by unde and quo form the angel’s probing questions.
Relative Clause of Response: quæ respondit introduces Hagar’s reply; the relative pronoun quæ links back to illam (her).
Direct Answer: A facie Sarai dominæ meæ ego fugio — prepositional phrase A facie + genitive expresses source or cause of flight; ego fugio is an emphatic personal declaration of distress and self-defense.

Morphology

  1. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main narrative verb; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Marks the angel’s direct address and initiation of dialogue.
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Indicates direction of speech; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the person addressed.
  3. illam — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers to Hagar.
  4. Agar — Lemma: Agar; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Vocative singular feminine; Function: Direct address; Translation: “Hagar”; Notes: Vocative use emphasizes personal engagement.
  5. ancilla — Lemma: ancilla; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Vocative singular feminine; Function: Appositive to Agar; Translation: “handmaid”; Notes: Identifies her social position under Sarai.
  6. Sarai — Lemma: Sarai; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Possessive genitive; Translation: “of Sarai”; Notes: Defines her relationship of servitude.
  7. unde — Lemma: unde; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Interrogative; Function: Introduces question of origin; Translation: “from where”; Notes: Seeks cause and source of flight.
  8. venis — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: Verb of first question; Translation: “do you come”; Notes: Present tense conveys immediacy of interrogation.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates two interrogatives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links two questions about origin and destination.
  10. quo — Lemma: quo; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Interrogative; Function: Introduces question of destination; Translation: “to where”; Notes: Balances unde for rhetorical symmetry.
  11. vadis — Lemma: vado; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active indicative, 2nd person singular; Function: Verb of second interrogative; Translation: “do you go”; Notes: Expresses forward movement and uncertainty.
  12. quæ — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject of respondit; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces the relative clause with Hagar as subject.
  13. respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb of relative clause; Translation: “answered”; Notes: Marks response following divine inquiry.
  14. A — Lemma: a/ab; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Indicates source or separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: Expresses cause of flight or avoidance.
  15. facie — Lemma: facies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine; Function: Object of a; Translation: “presence / face”; Notes: Common Semitic idiom translated literally into Latin to express avoidance of one’s presence.
  16. Sarai — Lemma: Sarai; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Possessive modifier of dominæ; Translation: “of Sarai”; Notes: Maintains genitival linkage with dominæ.
  17. dominæ — Lemma: domina; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Dependent genitive with Sarai; Translation: “mistress”; Notes: Reinforces Sarai’s authority as master.
  18. meæ — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Possessive modifier; Translation: “my”; Notes: Affirms Hagar’s subordination within the household hierarchy.
  19. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Nominative singular; Function: Subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic pronoun stressing her agency and distress.
  20. fugio — Lemma: fugio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active indicative, 1st person singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “I flee”; Notes: Indicates ongoing action of escape; central to Hagar’s predicament.

 

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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