Genesis 18:15

Posted on January 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 18:15 Negabit Sara, dicens: Non risi, timore perterrita. Dominus autem: Non est, inquit, ita: sed risisti.

But Sara denied, saying: “I did not laugh, being frightened with fear.” But the LORD said: “It is not so, but you did laugh.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Negabit she denied 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Sara Sarah NOM.SG.F.PROP.NOUN
3 dicens saying NOM.SG.F.PRES.ACT.PTCP
4 Non not ADV.NEG
5 risi I laughed 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 timore with fear ABL.SG.M
7 perterrita terrified NOM.SG.F.PERF.PASS.PTCP
8 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
9 autem but CONJ
10 Non not ADV.NEG
11 est it is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
12 inquit he said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
13 ita so / thus ADV
14 sed but CONJ
15 risisti you laughed 2SG.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Negabit Sara, dicens: Non risi — Sara is subject, Negabit (“she denied”) the main verb, and dicens introduces indirect speech. Non risi (“I did not laugh”) expresses Sarah’s self-defense.
Participial Phrase: timore perterrita — ablative of cause with perfect passive participle, meaning “being frightened with fear.” The phrase explains the motive behind her denial.
Main Clause 2: Dominus autem: Non est, inquit, ita: sed risisti — Dominus (“the LORD”) is the subject; inquit marks direct quotation. Non est ita (“It is not so”) rejects Sarah’s denial, and sed risisti (“but you did laugh”) directly confronts her with the truth. The structure underscores divine omniscience against human evasion.

Morphology

  1. Negabit — Lemma: nego; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “she denied”; Notes: Despite the future form in spelling, contextually perfect in sense (“she denied”). Common stylistic variance in Latin narrative tense.
  2. Sara — Lemma: Sara; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “Sarah”; Notes: The speaker of the denial, matriarch in the narrative.
  3. dicens — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular feminine, present active; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Connects Sarah’s denial with her spoken words.
  4. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: negative; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates the following verb “risi.”
  5. risi — Lemma: rideo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, first person singular; Function: main verb of quoted speech; Translation: “I laughed”; Notes: Expresses denial of action, showing fear-induced dissimulation.
  6. timore — Lemma: timor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of cause; Translation: “with fear”; Notes: Indicates the cause of Sarah’s denial.
  7. perterrita — Lemma: perterreo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular feminine, perfect passive; Function: modifies subject “Sara”; Translation: “terrified”; Notes: Describes Sarah’s emotional state of fear before the divine presence.
  8. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH, who corrects Sarah’s denial.
  9. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: adversative connector; Translation: “but”; Notes: Contrasts Sarah’s denial with divine correction.
  10. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: negative; Function: negation in direct speech; Translation: “not”; Notes: Negates “est.”
  11. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, third person singular; Function: copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: Used in short response “Non est ita” (“It is not so”).
  12. inquit — Lemma: inquam; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, third person singular; Function: verb of speaking; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Parenthetic, introducing direct divine quotation.
  13. ita — Lemma: ita; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adverb of manner; Translation: “so / thus”; Notes: Refers back to Sarah’s denial, rejecting its accuracy.
  14. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: introduces contrast; Translation: “but”; Notes: Opposes Sarah’s false denial to the divine truth.
  15. risisti — Lemma: rideo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, second person singular; Function: main verb of divine statement; Translation: “you laughed”; Notes: The LORD’s correction exposes hidden thoughts, affirming omniscience.

 

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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