Genesis 25:26

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 25:26 Sexagenarius erat Isaac quando nati sunt ei parvuli.

Isaac was sixty years old when the children were born to him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Sexagenarius sixty years old ADJ.NOM.SG.M
2 erat was 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
3 Isaac Isaac PROPN.NOM.SG.M
4 quando when CONJ
5 nati born PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.PL.M
6 sunt were 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
7 ei to him PRON.DAT.SG.M
8 parvuli children NOUN.NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Sexagenarius erat Isaac — Sexagenarius (predicate adjective) + Isaac (subject) + erat (verb), stating age equivalence: “Isaac was sixty years old.”
Subordinate Clause: quando nati sunt ei parvuli — temporal clause introduced by quando, meaning “when the children were born to him.” nati sunt (verb) forms a perfect passive, with ei as the indirect object, and parvuli as the subject.

Morphology

  1. Sexagenarius — Lemma: sexagenarius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate adjective with “erat”; Translation: “sixty years old”; Notes: From sexaginta (sixty), denotes age.
  2. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: copula; Translation: “was”; Notes: Describes continuous state in past.
  3. Isaac — Lemma: Isaac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “erat”; Translation: “Isaac”; Notes: The patriarch, father of Esau and Jacob.
  4. quando — Lemma: quando; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Marks the time of event.
  5. nati — Lemma: nascor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: perfect participle nominative plural masculine; Function: part of perfect passive periphrasis; Translation: “born”; Notes: Refers to the twins’ birth.
  6. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person plural; Function: auxiliary verb; Translation: “were”; Notes: Forms periphrastic perfect passive with “nati.”
  7. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Indicates beneficiary of the birth.
  8. parvuli — Lemma: parvulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “nati sunt”; Translation: “children / little ones”; Notes: Refers to the newborn twins, Esau and Jacob.

 

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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