Genesis 25:10

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 25:10 quem emerat a filiis Heth: ibi sepultus est ipse, et Sara uxor eius.

whom he had bought from the sons of Heth; there he himself was buried, and Sara his wife.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 quem whom REL.PRON.ACC.SG.M
2 emerat had bought 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
3 a from PREP+ABL
4 filiis sons NOUN.DAT/ABL.PL.M
5 Heth Heth PROPN.ABL.PL.M
6 ibi there ADV
7 sepultus buried PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
8 est was 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 ipse himself PRON.NOM.SG.M
10 et and CONJ
11 Sara Sarah PROPN.NOM.SG.F
12 uxor wife NOUN.NOM.SG.F
13 eius his PRON.POSS.GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: ipse (subject) + sepultus est (verb phrase, perfect passive indicative).
quem emerat a filiis Heth is a relative clause modifying an implied noun (“place” or “field”), describing the location of burial.
ibi functions as an adverb indicating place.
et Sara uxor eius serves as a coordinated nominative phrase linked by et (“and”) to the subject of the verb, expressing shared burial.

Morphology

  1. quem — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “emerat”; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Introduces the relative clause referring to the place bought.
  2. emerat — Lemma: emo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had bought”; Notes: Describes an action completed before burial.
  3. a — Lemma: a; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces the ablative complement “filiis Heth”; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates source or origin.
  4. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative or ablative plural masculine; Function: object of preposition “a”; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers to the descendants of Heth from whom the land was purchased.
  5. Heth — Lemma: Heth; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative plural masculine (in context); Function: genitive complement of “filiis”; Translation: “Heth”; Notes: Ancestral name of the Hittites.
  6. ibi — Lemma: ibi; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adverb of place; Translation: “there”; Notes: Refers to the location of burial.
  7. sepultus — Lemma: sepelio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “buried”; Notes: Completes the passive verb phrase with “est.”
  8. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: auxiliary verb; Translation: “was”; Notes: Used with “sepultus” to form the perfect passive.
  9. ipse — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: “himself”; Notes: Adds emphasis to the subject of burial.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links clauses or subjects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins Sara to the burial statement.
  11. Sara — Lemma: Sara; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject joined to “ipse”; Translation: “Sara”; Notes: Wife of Abraham, buried in the same place.
  12. uxor — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: apposition to “Sara”; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Clarifies Sara’s relationship to the subject.
  13. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun (possessive); Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifier of “uxor”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Expresses possession referring to Abraham.

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.