Genesis 23:19

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 23:19 Atque ita sepelivit Abraham Saram uxorem suam in spelunca agri duplici, quæ respiciebat Mambre. Hæc est Hebron in terra Chanaan.

And thus Abraham buried Sara his wife in the cave of the double field which faced Mambre. This is Hebron in the land of Chanaan.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Atque and thus / and so CONJ
2 ita thus / in this way ADV
3 sepelivit buried 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
4 Abraham Abraham NOM.SG.M (INDECL. NAME)
5 Saram Sarah ACC.SG.F (INDECL. NAME)
6 uxorem wife ACC.SG.F
7 suam his REFL.PRON.ACC.SG.F
8 in in PREP+ABL
9 spelunca cave ABL.SG.F
10 agri of the field GEN.SG.M
11 duplici double ABL.SG.M
12 quæ which REL.PRON.NOM.SG.F
13 respiciebat faced / was facing 3SG.IMPF.ACT.IND
14 Mambre Mamre ACC.SG (INDECL. PLACE NAME)
15 Hæc this DEM.PRON.NOM.SG.F
16 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
17 Hebron Hebron NOM.SG.F (INDECL. PLACE NAME)
18 in in PREP+ABL
19 terra land ABL.SG.F
20 Chanaan Canaan GEN.SG.F (INDECL. PLACE NAME)

Syntax

Main Clause: Atque ita sepelivit Abraham Saram uxorem suam — the conjunction atque ita links to the preceding legal act, summarizing the final deed; perfect tense (sepelivit) marks completed burial.
Prepositional Phrase: in spelunca agri duplici — expresses location of burial, “in the cave of the double field.”
Relative Clause: quæ respiciebat Mambre — “which faced Mamre,” gives geographical orientation.
Independent Sentence: Hæc est Hebron in terra Chanaan — identification clause, situating Mamre within Hebron in the land of Chanaan.
Overall Syntax: The verse concludes the burial narrative with a solemn closure: legal acquisition becomes sacred fulfillment, locating Sarah’s grave in Hebron, the ancestral site of patriarchal faith.

Morphology

  1. Atque — Lemma: atque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects this final act to the preceding deed; Translation: “and thus / and so”; Notes: Adds emphasis to the completion of the covenantal sequence.
  2. ita — Lemma: ita; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies sepelivit; Translation: “thus”; Notes: Expresses logical consequence or summary action.
  3. sepelivit — Lemma: sepelio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “buried”; Notes: The act of burial formalizes ownership and covenant promise.
  4. Abraham — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative masculine singular (indeclinable); Function: subject; Translation: “Abraham”; Notes: Patriarch performing the burial.
  5. Saram — Lemma: Sara; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative feminine singular (indeclinable); Function: direct object; Translation: “Sarah”; Notes: The deceased wife; personalizes the covenantal fulfillment.
  6. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: appositive of Saram; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Clarifies relationship; legal designation in burial record.
  7. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive adjective; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: modifies uxorem; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive referring to Abraham, denoting personal possession.
  8. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Locative preposition marking burial site.
  9. spelunca — Lemma: spelunca; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative feminine singular; Function: object of in; Translation: “cave”; Notes: Refers to the Cave of Machpelah.
  10. agri — Lemma: ager; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: dependent genitive with spelunca; Translation: “of the field”; Notes: Indicates ownership context of burial land.
  11. duplici — Lemma: duplex; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: modifies agri; Translation: “double”; Notes: Traditional epithet of Machpelah (“the double cave”).
  12. quæ — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: subject of respiciebat; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers to spelunca.
  13. respiciebat — Lemma: respicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect indicative active third person singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “was facing”; Notes: Continuous description of the cave’s position relative to Mamre.
  14. Mambre — Lemma: Mambre; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular (indeclinable); Function: object of respiciebat; Translation: “Mamre”; Notes: Local topographical marker near Hebron.
  15. Hæc — Lemma: hic, haec, hoc; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: subject; Translation: “this”; Notes: Introduces identification clause.
  16. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative active third person singular; Function: linking verb; Translation: “is”; Notes: Simple copula of identification.
  17. Hebron — Lemma: Hebron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative feminine singular (indeclinable); Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “Hebron”; Notes: Identifies Mamre region as Hebron.
  18. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Locative use.
  19. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative feminine singular; Function: object of in; Translation: “land”; Notes: Refers to geographical setting.
  20. Chanaan — Lemma: Chanaan; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive feminine singular (indeclinable); Function: dependent genitive with terra; Translation: “of Chanaan”; Notes: Defines covenantal territory; equivalent to Hebrew Kena’an.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.