Genesis 24:10

Posted on January 24, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

10 Tulitque decem camelos de grege domini sui, et abiit, ex omnibus bonis eius portans secum, profectusque perrexit in Mesopotamiam ad urbem Nachor.

And he took ten camels from the herd of his lord, and went away, carrying with him from all his goods, and he set out and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tulitque and he took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + CONJ
2 decem ten NUM.CARD
3 camelos camels ACC.PL.M
4 de from PREP+ABL
5 grege herd ABL.SG.M
6 domini of (his) lord GEN.SG.M
7 sui his GEN.SG.M.REFL.PRON
8 et and CONJ
9 abiit went away 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 ex from PREP+ABL
11 omnibus all ABL.PL.N
12 bonis goods ABL.PL.N
13 eius his GEN.SG.M.PRON
14 portans carrying PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
15 secum with himself ADV + REFLEX.PRON
16 profectusque and having set out PERF.PTCP.NOM.SG.M + CONJ
17 perrexit went on / continued 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
18 in into PREP+ACC
19 Mesopotamiam Mesopotamia ACC.SG.F
20 ad to PREP+ACC
21 urbem city ACC.SG.F
22 Nachor Nahor GEN.SG.M.PROPN

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Tulitque decem camelos de grege domini sui — compound clause describing the servant’s action; Tulitque (verb) governs direct object decem camelos, with de grege domini sui indicating source.
Main Clause 2: et abiit — simple narrative continuation, “and he went away.”
Participial Clause: ex omnibus bonis eius portans secum — ablative phrase of accompaniment and participle; “carrying with him from all his goods.”
Final Clause: profectusque perrexit in Mesopotamiam ad urbem Nachor — sequential narrative, “and having set out, he went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.”
The structure presents a chain of actions leading from preparation to purposeful travel, underscoring obedience and divine mission.

Morphology

  1. Tulitque — Lemma: fero; Part of Speech: Verb + Conjunction; Form: Perfect Active Indicative 3rd Person Singular + enclitic -que; Function: Main verb of the narrative; Translation: “and he took”; Notes: -que links with the next narrative action.
  2. decem — Lemma: decem; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Quantifier modifying camelos; Translation: “ten”; Notes: Cardinal number, indeclinable in all cases.
  3. camelos — Lemma: camelus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative Plural Masculine; Function: Direct object of Tulitque; Translation: “camels”; Notes: Common noun of trade animals.
  4. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs Ablative; Function: Introduces source phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates origin of camels.
  5. grege — Lemma: grex; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative Singular Masculine; Function: Object of de; Translation: “herd”; Notes: Ablative of separation.
  6. domini — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive Singular Masculine; Function: Possessive modifier of grege; Translation: “of (his) lord”; Notes: Refers to Abraham.
  7. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Reflexive Pronoun; Form: Genitive Singular Masculine; Function: Modifies domini; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflects possession by servus.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links sequential actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: Narrative connector.
  9. abiit — Lemma: abeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect Active Indicative 3rd Person Singular; Function: Main verb of departure; Translation: “went away”; Notes: Marks first travel action.
  10. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs Ablative; Function: Introduces phrase of source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Expresses partial separation.
  11. omnibus — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Ablative Plural Neuter; Function: Modifies bonis; Translation: “all”; Notes: Denotes entirety of goods.
  12. bonis — Lemma: bonum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative Plural Neuter; Function: Object of ex; Translation: “goods”; Notes: Material possessions of Abraham.
  13. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Genitive Singular Masculine; Function: Possessive modifying bonis; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers again to Abraham.
  14. portans — Lemma: porto; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine; Function: Circumstantial participle; Translation: “carrying”; Notes: Describes manner of travel.
  15. secum — Lemma: se + cum; Part of Speech: Adverbial phrase; Form: —; Function: Adverbial of accompaniment; Translation: “with him”; Notes: Reflexive referring to the servant.
  16. profectusque — Lemma: proficiscor; Part of Speech: Deponent Verb (Participle) + Conjunction; Form: Perfect Participle Nominative Singular Masculine + enclitic -que; Function: Temporal participle; Translation: “and having set out”; Notes: Marks transition between departure and arrival.
  17. perrexit — Lemma: pergo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect Active Indicative 3rd Person Singular; Function: Main verb of motion; Translation: “went on / continued”; Notes: Denotes persistence of journey.
  18. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs Accusative; Function: Indicates direction; Translation: “into”; Notes: Expresses motion toward Mesopotamia.
  19. Mesopotamiam — Lemma: Mesopotamia; Part of Speech: Proper Noun; Form: Accusative Singular Feminine; Function: Object of in; Translation: “Mesopotamia”; Notes: The region between the rivers, Abraham’s homeland.
  20. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs Accusative; Function: Introduces goal; Translation: “to”; Notes: Expresses final destination.
  21. urbem — Lemma: urbs; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative Singular Feminine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “city”; Notes: Specifies urban destination.
  22. Nachor — Lemma: Nachor; Part of Speech: Proper Noun; Form: Genitive Singular Masculine; Function: Possessive modifier of urbem; Translation: “of Nahor”; Notes: The city associated with Abraham’s kin.

 

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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