Genesis 25:29

Posted on January 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 25:29 Coxit autem Iacob pulmentum: ad quem cum venisset Esau de agro lassus,

But Jacob cooked a stew, and when Esau came from the field, weary,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Coxit cooked 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem but / however CONJ
3 Iacob Jacob PROPN.NOM.SG.M
4 pulmentum stew / dish NOUN.ACC.SG.N
5 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
6 quem whom / to whom REL.PRON.ACC.SG.M
7 cum when CONJ
8 venisset had come 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
9 Esau Esau PROPN.NOM.SG.M
10 de from PREP+ABL
11 agro field NOUN.ABL.SG.M
12 lassus weary / tired ADJ.NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Coxit autem Iacob pulmentum — Iacob (subject) + Coxit (verb) + pulmentum (object), “But Jacob cooked a stew.” The conjunction autem provides mild contrast to the previous verse.
Subordinate Clause: ad quem cum venisset Esau de agro lassus — cum venisset (pluperfect subjunctive) introduces a temporal clause, “when Esau came from the field,” with lassus as a predicate adjective describing Esau’s condition.

Morphology

  1. Coxit — Lemma: coquo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “cooked”; Notes: Indicates completed action of preparing food.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: adversative connector; Translation: “but / however”; Notes: Introduces narrative contrast.
  3. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: The younger son of Isaac and Rebecca.
  4. pulmentum — Lemma: pulmentum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: “stew / dish”; Notes: Refers to a thick soup or cooked dish of lentils in context.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction or relation; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Indicates approach or relation toward “quem.”
  6. quem — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of preposition “ad”; Translation: “to whom”; Notes: Refers to Jacob as antecedent.
  7. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Subjunctive required by “cum” + temporal nuance.
  8. venisset — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active subjunctive 3rd person singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “had come”; Notes: Indicates completed prior action before Jacob’s cooking.
  9. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “venisset”; Translation: “Esau”; Notes: Elder twin, returning from hunting field.
  10. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source or origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates motion from a place.
  11. agro — Lemma: ager; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “field”; Notes: Refers to the hunting ground or countryside.
  12. lassus — Lemma: lassus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “weary / tired”; Notes: Describes Esau’s exhausted condition after hunting.

 

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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