Genesis 25:11

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 25:11 Et post obitum illius benedixit Deus Isaac filio eius, qui habitabat iuxta puteum nomine Viventis et videntis.

And after his death, God blessed Isaac his son, who lived near the well called of the Living and the Seeing.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et And CONJ
2 post after PREP+ACC
3 obitum death NOUN.ACC.SG.M
4 illius of him PRON.POSS.GEN.SG.M
5 benedixit blessed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 Deus God NOUN.NOM.SG.M
7 Isaac Isaac PROPN.DAT.SG.M
8 filio to son NOUN.DAT.SG.M
9 eius his PRON.POSS.GEN.SG.M
10 qui who REL.PRON.NOM.SG.M
11 habitabat lived 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
12 iuxta near PREP+ACC
13 puteum well NOUN.ACC.SG.M
14 nomine by name NOUN.ABL.SG.N
15 Viventis of the Living PART.PRES.GEN.SG.M
16 et and CONJ
17 videntis of the Seeing PART.PRES.GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Deus (subject) + benedixit (verb) + Isaac filio eius (indirect object phrase, “blessed Isaac his son”).
The prepositional phrase post obitum illius functions as a temporal adverbial, specifying when the blessing occurred.
The relative clause qui habitabat iuxta puteum nomine Viventis et videntis modifies Isaac, describing his place of residence.
Within this relative clause, habitabat is the verb, qui is the subject, and iuxta puteum nomine Viventis et videntis expresses location.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: connects this clause to the preceding context; Translation: “And”; Notes: Links this event to Abraham’s death narrative.
  2. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: temporal preposition; Translation: “after”; Notes: Indicates sequence of events.
  3. obitum — Lemma: obitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “post”; Translation: “death”; Notes: Refers to Abraham’s passing.
  4. illius — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun (demonstrative); Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying “obitum”; Translation: “of him”; Notes: Refers back to Abraham.
  5. benedixit — Lemma: benedico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb of the sentence; Translation: “blessed”; Notes: Denotes completed divine action.
  6. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Refers to the LORD as the one performing the blessing.
  7. Isaac — Lemma: Isaac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of “benedixit”; Translation: “Isaac”; Notes: Receives the divine blessing.
  8. filio — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: apposition to “Isaac”; Translation: “to (his) son”; Notes: Reinforces Isaac’s relationship to Abraham.
  9. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun (possessive); Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier of “filio”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers again to Abraham as father.
  10. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to Isaac.
  11. habitabat — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: predicate of the relative clause; Translation: “lived”; Notes: Expresses ongoing residence.
  12. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses proximity; Translation: “near”; Notes: Denotes closeness to a physical location.
  13. puteum — Lemma: puteus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “iuxta”; Translation: “well”; Notes: Refers to a geographical feature of significance.
  14. nomine — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of specification (“by name”); Translation: “by name”; Notes: Introduces the title of the well.
  15. Viventis — Lemma: vivo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive complement of “nomine”; Translation: “of the Living”; Notes: Reflects divine attribute of life-giving power.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins two genitives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the two descriptive titles of the well.
  17. videntis — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive complement of “nomine”; Translation: “of the Seeing”; Notes: Completes the sacred title “of the Living and the Seeing.”

 

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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