Genesis 24:28

Posted on January 24, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 24:28 Cucurrit itaque puella, et nunciavit in domum matris suæ omnia quæ audierat.

The girl therefore ran and reported in her mother’s house all that she had heard.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cucurrit ran 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 itaque therefore CONJ
3 puella girl NOM.SG.F
4 et and CONJ
5 nunciavit reported / announced 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 in in / into PREP+ACC
7 domum house ACC.SG.F
8 matris of (her) mother GEN.SG.F
9 suæ her GEN.SG.F POSS.PRON
10 omnia all things ACC.PL.N
11 quæ which / that NOM.PL.N REL.PRON
12 audierat had heard 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Cucurrit itaque puella — verb Cucurrit (perfect) with nominative subject puella (“the girl ran”), joined by the inferential conjunction itaque (“therefore”).
Coordinated Clause: et nunciavit in domum matris suæ omnia quæ audierat — conjunction et links the second verb nunciavit to the first; prepositional phrase in domum matris suæ expresses destination; direct object omnia is further defined by the relative clause quæ audierat.
The sentence structure reflects swift narrative movement: running (action) followed by testimony (speech).

Morphology

  1. Cucurrit — Lemma: curro; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect Active Indicative Third Person Singular; Function: Main verb of the first clause; Translation: “ran”; Notes: Perfect denotes completed action, narratively expressing quick movement following divine encounter.
  2. itaque — Lemma: itaque; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Inferential connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Indicates logical consequence of preceding events (Rebecca’s recognition of divine providence).
  3. puella — Lemma: puella; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative Singular Feminine; Function: Subject of both Cucurrit and nunciavit; Translation: “girl”; Notes: Refers to Rebecca, characterized by youthful energy and responsiveness.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates the two verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: Conjoins sequential actions: running and reporting.
  5. nunciavit — Lemma: nuncio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect Active Indicative Third Person Singular; Function: Main verb of the second clause; Translation: “reported / announced”; Notes: From root nuntio (“to announce”); perfect marks completed act of telling; narrative aoristic sense common in Vulgate.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs Accusative; Function: Marks motion toward; Translation: “into / in”; Notes: Indicates destination of the report (the mother’s house).
  7. domum — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative Singular Feminine; Function: Object of in; Translation: “house”; Notes: Represents domestic space where family resides.
  8. matris — Lemma: mater; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive Singular Feminine; Function: Possessive genitive modifying domum; Translation: “of (her) mother”; Notes: Hebrew idiom reflected—report given in matrilineal context (house of the mother).
  9. suæ — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Possessive pronoun; Form: Genitive Singular Feminine; Function: Modifies matris; Translation: “her”; Notes: Reflexive pronoun referring to the subject puella.
  10. omnia — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective functioning substantively; Form: Accusative Plural Neuter; Function: Direct object of nunciavit; Translation: “all (things)”; Notes: Summarizes the content of her testimony—everything she heard.
  11. quæ — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative Plural Neuter; Function: Subject of audierat within the relative clause; Translation: “which / that”; Notes: Refers back to omnia.
  12. audierat — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Pluperfect Active Indicative Third Person Singular; Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had heard”; Notes: Pluperfect expresses prior action relative to nunciavit, emphasizing temporal order: she first heard, then reported.

 

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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