Genesis 22:23

Posted on January 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

23 ac Bathuel, de quo nata est Rebecca: octo istos genuit Melcha, Nachor fratri Abrahæ.

and Bathuel, from whom Rebecca was born: these eight Melcha bore to Nachor, Abraham’s brother.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 ac and CONJ
2 Bathuel Bethuel ACC.SG.M
3 de from PREP+ABL
4 quo from whom ABL.SG.M REL.PRON
5 nata born PERF.PASS.PTCP.NOM.SG.F
6 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND (AUX)
7 Rebecca Rebecca NOM.SG.F
8 octo eight INDECL.NUM
9 istos these ACC.PL.M DEM.PRON
10 genuit bore 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 Melcha Milcah NOM.SG.F
12 Nachor Nahor DAT.SG.M
13 fratri brother DAT.SG.M
14 Abrahæ Abraham GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Clause 1: ac Bathuel — continuation of the genealogical list; Bathuel (Bethuel) is the last of Milcah’s sons mentioned.
Relative Clause: de quo nata est Rebecca — “from whom Rebecca was born”; the preposition de with relative pronoun quo (ablative masculine singular) refers back to Bathuel, with nata est forming a perfect passive verb phrase and Rebecca as the subject.
Summary Statement: octo istos genuit Melcha, Nachor fratri Abrahæ — main clause summarizing the genealogy: “these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother.”
The dative phrase Nachor fratri Abrahæ expresses the person to whom the children were born, with fratri in apposition to Nachor and Abrahæ in the genitive of possession.
Overall Function: The verse concludes the lineage of Nahor and Milcah, emphasizing Rebecca’s descent from this family, connecting her later marriage to Yitsḥaq (Isaac) within the Abrahamic line.

Morphology

  1. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects this final name to the preceding list; Translation: “and”; Notes: Slightly more emphatic than “et.”
  2. Bathuel — Lemma: Bathuel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: direct object of implied “genuisset”; Translation: “Bethuel”; Notes: Father of Rebecca; final in list of Milcah’s sons.
  3. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Marks source of birth in the relative clause.
  4. quo — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: refers to Bathuel; Translation: “from whom”; Notes: Links subordinate clause to antecedent.
  5. nata — Lemma: nascor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle nominative feminine singular; Function: predicate with est; Translation: “born”; Notes: Deponent in origin, passive in form.
  6. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: present indicative active third person singular; Function: forms perfect passive with nata; Translation: “was”; Notes: Used in periphrastic construction.
  7. Rebecca — Lemma: Rebecca; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: subject of nata est; Translation: “Rebecca”; Notes: Important genealogical link to Isaac’s wife.
  8. octo — Lemma: octo; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies istos; Translation: “eight”; Notes: Total number of sons Milcah bore.
  9. istos — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: direct object of genuit; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers to the eight sons enumerated.
  10. genuit — Lemma: gigno; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active third person singular; Function: main verb of the clause; Translation: “bore”; Notes: Indicates completed genealogical act.
  11. Melcha — Lemma: Melcha; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: subject of genuit; Translation: “Milcah”; Notes: Wife of Nahor and mother of eight sons.
  12. Nachor — Lemma: Nachor; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: dative of reference; Translation: “to Nahor”; Notes: Recipient of Milcah’s offspring.
  13. fratri — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: apposition to Nachor; Translation: “brother”; Notes: Clarifies familial relationship.
  14. Abrahæ — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of Abraham”; Notes: Identifies Nahor as Abraham’s brother, linking lineages.

 

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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