Genesis 17:23

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 17:23 Tulit autem Abraham Ismael filium suum, et omnes vernaculos domus suæ, universosque quos emerat, cunctos mares ex omnibus viris domus suæ: et circumcidit carnem præputii eorum statim in ipsa die, sicut præceperat ei Deus.

And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all the homeborn of his house, and all whom he had bought, all the males among the men of his house; and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin immediately on that very day, as God had commanded him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tulit took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem but / and CONJ
3 Abraham Abraham NOM.SG.M.PROP.NOUN
4 Ismael Ishmael ACC.SG.M.PROP.NOUN
5 filium son ACC.SG.M
6 suum his ACC.SG.M.POSS.ADJ
7 et and CONJ
8 omnes all ACC.PL.M
9 vernaculos homeborn servants ACC.PL.M
10 domus of the house GEN.SG.F
11 suæ his GEN.SG.F.POSS.ADJ
12 universosque and all CONJ+ACC.PL.M
13 quos whom REL.PRON.ACC.PL.M
14 emerat he had bought 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
15 cunctos all ACC.PL.M
16 mares males ACC.PL.M
17 ex from PREP+ABL
18 omnibus all ABL.PL.M
19 viris men ABL.PL.M
20 domus of the house GEN.SG.F
21 suæ his GEN.SG.F.POSS.ADJ
22 et and CONJ
23 circumcidit circumcised 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
24 carnem flesh ACC.SG.F
25 præputii of foreskin GEN.SG.N
26 eorum their GEN.PL.PRON
27 statim immediately ADV
28 in on / in PREP+ABL
29 ipsa that very ABL.SG.F.DEMON.ADJ
30 die day ABL.SG.F
31 sicut as CONJ
32 præceperat he had commanded 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
33 ei him DAT.SG.PRON
34 Deus God NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Tulit autem Abraham Ismael filium suum — Tulit is the main verb (“took”); Abraham is the subject; Ismael filium suum (“Ishmael his son”) is the direct object.
Coordinated Phrases: et omnes vernaculos domus suæ, universosque quos emerat — multiple accusative objects expanded by relative clause quos emerat (“whom he had bought”).
Further Specification: cunctos mares ex omnibus viris domus suæ — limits those included in the act of circumcision to “all males among the men of his house.”
Second Main Clause: et circumcidit carnem præputii eorum statim in ipsa die — circumcidit (“he circumcised”) is the primary action; carnem præputii eorum is the object; statim in ipsa die denotes time and immediacy (“immediately on that very day”).
Final Clause: sicut præceperat ei Deus — a comparative clause introduced by sicut (“as”), expressing obedience to divine command.

Morphology

  1. Tulit — Lemma: fero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “took”; Notes: Initiates the action of obedience, gathering all males for the rite.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating, postpositive; Function: adds narrative continuity; Translation: “and / but”; Notes: Soft contrastive link to the preceding verse.
  3. Abraham — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Abraham”; Notes: Principal agent carrying out the covenant sign.
  4. Ismael — Lemma: Ismael; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “Ishmael”; Notes: Included first among those to be circumcised.
  5. filium — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: apposition to “Ismael”; Translation: “son”; Notes: Clarifies kinship relation to Abraham.
  6. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies “filium”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive possession referring back to Abraham.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins parallel objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues the expanding object series of “tulit.”
  8. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies “vernaculos”; Translation: “all”; Notes: Signals total inclusion of household-born servants.
  9. vernaculos — Lemma: vernaculus; Part of Speech: noun (substantivized adj.); Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “homeborn (servants)”; Notes: Men born within Abraham’s household.
  10. domus — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possesses “vernaculos”; Translation: “of the house”; Notes: Irregular declension; indicates household affiliation.
  11. suæ — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies “domus”; Translation: “his”; Notes: The house belongs to Abraham.
  12. universosque — Lemma: universus + -que; Part of Speech: adjective + enclitic; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: adds another object set; Translation: “and all (the rest)”; Notes: -que links tightly to the previous object, emphasizing completeness.
  13. quos — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of “emerat”; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Introduces the relative clause specifying purchased persons.
  14. emerat — Lemma: emo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “he had bought”; Notes: Distinguishes purchased males from household-born.
  15. cunctos — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies “mares”; Translation: “all”; Notes: Reinforces exhaustive scope of the act.
  16. mares — Lemma: mas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “males”; Notes: Specifies those obligated to circumcision.
  17. ex — Lemma: ex / e; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces source; Translation: “from / out of”; Notes: Begins the ablative phrase delimiting the group.
  18. omnibus — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: modifies “viris”; Translation: “all”; Notes: Totality of the men in the house.
  19. viris — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of “ex”; Translation: “men”; Notes: Collective body from which the males are counted.
  20. domus — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of the house”; Notes: Repeats possession to avoid ambiguity.
  21. suæ — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies “domus”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Again refers to Abraham’s household.
  22. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: introduces the next main action; Translation: “and”; Notes: Moves from gathering to the rite itself.
  23. circumcidit — Lemma: circumcido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “circumcised”; Notes: Culminating act of covenant obedience.
  24. carnem — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “flesh”; Notes: Specifies the physical locus of the rite.
  25. præputii — Lemma: præputium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: genitive of specification with “carnem”; Translation: “of the foreskin”; Notes: Anatomical precision of the command.
  26. eorum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural; Function: possessive with “præputii”; Translation: “their”; Notes: Refers to all the males just enumerated.
  27. statim — Lemma: statim; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adverbial modifier; Translation: “immediately”; Notes: Highlights promptness of obedience.
  28. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: temporal preposition; Translation: “on / in”; Notes: Introduces time-when phrase.
  29. ipsa — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: intensifier modifying “die”; Translation: “that very”; Notes: Emphatic deictic pointing to the exact day.
  30. die — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular (feminine in date/time usage); Function: object of “in”; Translation: “day”; Notes: Time when the rite occurred.
  31. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating; Function: introduces comparative clause; Translation: “as”; Notes: Measures Abraham’s act against divine instruction.
  32. præceperat — Lemma: praecipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “he had commanded”; Notes: Refers to the prior divine mandate.
  33. ei — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of “præceperat”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Abraham is the recipient of the command.
  34. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “præceperat”; Translation: “God”; Notes: The divine authority whose command governs the narrative action.

 

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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