Genesis 26:18

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 26:18 rursum fodit alios puteos, quos foderant servi patris sui Abraham, et quos, illo mortuo, olim obstruxerant Philisthiim: appellavitque eos eisdem nominibus quibus ante pater vocaverat.

and he dug again other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had dug, and which the Philistines had previously stopped up after his death; and he called them by the same names by which his father had formerly called them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 rursum again ADV
2 fodit he dug 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 alios other ADJ.ACC.PL.M
4 puteos wells NOUN.ACC.PL.M
5 quos which REL.PRON.ACC.PL.M
6 foderant had dug 3PL.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
7 servi servants NOUN.NOM.PL.M
8 patris of (the) father NOUN.GEN.SG.M
9 sui his REFL.PRON.GEN.SG.M
10 Abraham Abraham NOUN.GEN.SG.M
11 et and CONJ
12 quos which REL.PRON.ACC.PL.M
13 illo that DEM.ADJ.ABL.SG.M
14 mortuo after his death PPP.ABL.SG.M
15 olim formerly / previously ADV
16 obstruxerant had stopped up 3PL.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
17 Philisthiim Philistines NOUN.NOM.PL.M
18 appellavitque and he called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
19 eos them PRON.ACC.PL.M
20 eisdem the same DEM.ADJ.ABL.PL.N
21 nominibus names NOUN.ABL.PL.N
22 quibus by which REL.PRON.ABL.PL.N
23 ante before / formerly ADV
24 pater father NOUN.NOM.SG.M
25 vocaverat had called 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clauses:
rursum fodit alios puteos — primary statement showing Isaac’s action of reopening wells.
appellavitque eos eisdem nominibus quibus ante pater vocaverat — coordinated result clause indicating renaming by Isaac.

Relative Clauses:
quos foderant servi patris sui Abraham — defines wells first dug by Abraham’s servants.
et quos, illo mortuo, olim obstruxerant Philisthiim — adds historical clause showing the Philistines’ obstruction after Abraham’s death.

Ablative Absolute: illo mortuo — expresses time or circumstance (“after his death”).
Phrases: eisdem nominibus quibus ante pater vocaverat — ablative of means with relative clause explaining the manner of naming.

Morphology

  1. rursum — Lemma: rursum; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: —; Function: modifies fodit; Translation: “again”; Notes: Indicates repetition of prior action.
  2. fodit — Lemma: fodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he dug”; Notes: Denotes Isaac’s restoration of the wells.
  3. alios — Lemma: alius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies puteos; Translation: “other”; Notes: Distinguishes newly reopened wells.
  4. puteos — Lemma: puteus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of fodit; Translation: “wells”; Notes: Literal water wells.
  5. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers to the wells already mentioned.
  6. foderant — Lemma: fodio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd person plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “had dug”; Notes: Earlier completed action by Abraham’s servants.
  7. servi — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of foderant; Translation: “servants”; Notes: Refers to Abraham’s household workers.
  8. patris — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of (the) father”; Notes: Links to sui and Abraham.
  9. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies patris; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to Isaac’s own father.
  10. Abraham — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: apposition to patris sui; Translation: “Abraham”; Notes: Identifies Isaac’s father.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: joins relative clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordinates additional description.
  12. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: introduces second relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers again to the wells.
  13. illo — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies mortuo; Translation: “that”; Notes: Used in ablative absolute.
  14. mortuo — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: participle (deponent); Form: perfect participle ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative absolute with illo; Translation: “after his death”; Notes: Temporal reference.
  15. olim — Lemma: olim; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: —; Function: modifies obstruxerant; Translation: “formerly”; Notes: Indicates a past event long ago.
  16. obstruxerant — Lemma: obstruo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd person plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “had stopped up”; Notes: Refers to the Philistines’ obstruction.
  17. Philisthiim — Lemma: Philisthiim; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine (Hebraism); Function: subject of obstruxerant; Translation: “Philistines”; Notes: Foreign term for the Philistine people.
  18. appellavitque — Lemma: appello; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person singular with enclitic -que; Function: main verb of final clause; Translation: “and he called”; Notes: Expresses naming action linked to previous events.
  19. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of appellavitque; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the wells.
  20. eisdem — Lemma: idem; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: modifies nominibus; Translation: “the same”; Notes: Expresses identity of names.
  21. nominibus — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: ablative of means; Translation: “names”; Notes: Indicates the manner of naming.
  22. quibus — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “by which”; Notes: Refers to nominibus.
  23. ante — Lemma: ante; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: —; Function: modifies vocaverat; Translation: “before / formerly”; Notes: Temporal adverb.
  24. pater — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of vocaverat; Translation: “father”; Notes: Refers to Abraham.
  25. vocaverat — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: verb of final relative clause; Translation: “had called”; Notes: Refers to Abraham’s original naming of the wells.

 

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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