Genesis 21:7

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 21:7 Rursumque ait: Quis auditurus crederet Abraham quod Sara lactaret filium, quem peperit et iam seni?

And again she said: “Who would have believed that Abraham would hear that Sara was nursing a son, whom she bore in her old age?”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Rursumque and again ADV + ENCLITIC -que
2 ait said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Quis who NOM.SG.M.INT.PRON
4 auditurus about to hear / who would hear NOM.SG.M.FUT.ACT.PART
5 crederet would believe 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
6 Abraham Abraham NOM.SG.M
7 quod that CONJ
8 Sara Sarah NOM.SG.F
9 lactaret was nursing / would nurse 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
10 filium son ACC.SG.M
11 quem whom ACC.SG.M.REL.PRON
12 peperit bore 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
13 et and CONJ
14 iam already ADV
15 seni to old age / in old age DAT.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Rursumque ait — Introduces Sara’s reflective statement, linked by -que (“and”).
Indirect Question: Quis auditurus crederet Abraham quod Sara lactaret filium — “Who would have believed that Abraham would hear that Sara was nursing a son?” The imperfect subjunctives crederet and lactaret express potentiality or wonder.
Relative Clause: quem peperit et iam seni — Defines “filium”: “whom she bore in her old age.” The dative seni indicates condition or circumstance (lit. “being old”).

Morphology

  1. Rursumque — Lemma: rursum; Part of Speech: adverb + enclitic; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “ait”; Translation: “and again”; Notes: Combines with -que to continue Sara’s speech and emphasize renewed amazement.
  2. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active, third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “said”; Notes: A narrative verb introducing direct speech, expressing Sara’s reflection.
  3. Quis — Lemma: quis; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “crederet”; Translation: “who”; Notes: Opens a rhetorical question expressing astonishment.
  4. auditurus — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine, future active participle; Function: substantive modifying “quis”; Translation: “who would hear”; Notes: Indicates hypothetical future perception; expresses incredulity about such news.
  5. crederet — Lemma: credo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect subjunctive active, third person singular; Function: main verb of the indirect question; Translation: “would believe”; Notes: Subjunctive shows potential or imagined disbelief; rhetorical in tone.
  6. Abraham — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “auditurus”; Translation: “Abraham”; Notes: The patriarch, amazed by God’s promise fulfilled in old age.
  7. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces object clause of “crederet”; Translation: “that”; Notes: Connects main question with the subordinate statement of content.
  8. Sara — Lemma: Sara; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of “lactaret” and “peperit”; Translation: “Sara”; Notes: Focus of divine miracle — the aged mother now nursing her son.
  9. lactaret — Lemma: lacto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect subjunctive active, third person singular; Function: verb of object clause; Translation: “was nursing / would nurse”; Notes: Expresses hypothetical or wondrous scenario within Sara’s reflection.
  10. filium — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of “lactaret”; Translation: “son”; Notes: Refers to Isaac, the child of promise, focus of miraculous fulfillment.
  11. quem — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: introduces relative clause modifying “filium”; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Connects to antecedent “filium,” continuing description of Isaac.
  12. peperit — Lemma: pario; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active, third person singular; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “bore”; Notes: Refers to the act of birth already accomplished by divine intervention.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: connects “peperit” with “seni”; Translation: “and”; Notes: Serves as connector indicating circumstance accompanying childbirth.
  14. iam — Lemma: iam; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “seni”; Translation: “already”; Notes: Stresses the lateness of Sara’s age, heightening the miraculous tone.
  15. seni — Lemma: senex; Part of Speech: noun/adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: dative of reference; Translation: “to old age / in old age”; Notes: Used idiomatically to indicate Sara’s advanced years—literally, “she bore [him] when already to old age.”

 

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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