Genesis 27:40

Posted on January 27, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 27:40 erit benedictio tua. Vives in gladio, et fratri tuo servies: tempusque veniet, cum excutias, et solvas iugum eius de cervicibus tuis.

your dwelling shall be in the richness of the earth. You shall live by the sword, and you shall serve your brother; and the time will come when you will throw off and break his yoke from your neck.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 erit will be 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
2 benedictio blessing NOM.SG.F
3 tua your NOM.SG.F.POSS.ADJ
4 Vives you shall live 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
5 in in PREP+ABL
6 gladio by the sword ABL.SG.M
7 et and CONJ
8 fratri to your brother DAT.SG.M
9 tuo your DAT.SG.M.POSS.ADJ
10 servies you shall serve 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
11 tempusque and time NOM.SG.N + ENCLITIC
12 veniet will come 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
13 cum when CONJ
14 excutias you will throw off 2SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
15 et and CONJ
16 solvas you will loosen 2SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
17 iugum yoke ACC.SG.N
18 eius of him GEN.SG.M.PRON
19 de from PREP+ABL
20 cervicibus neck ABL.PL.F
21 tuis your ABL.PL.F.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause: erit benedictio tua — “Your blessing shall be.” Copular structure establishing Esau’s destiny.
Coordinated Futures: Vives … et servies — two parallel predictions of Esau’s future life: conflict and servitude.
Temporal Clause: cum excutias et solvas iugum eius de cervicibus tuis — subordinate clause expressing future time with the subjunctive, describing eventual liberation from subjugation.
The imagery of “yoke” and “neck” is metaphorical for political or familial dominance.

Morphology

  1. erit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “will be”; Notes: Predicts future state — Esau’s condition under divine decree.
  2. benedictio — Lemma: benedictio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “blessing”; Notes: Refers to Esau’s separate, earthly blessing distinct from Jacob’s covenantal one.
  3. tua — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies “benedictio”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Emphasizes personal share — a secondary blessing reserved for Esau.
  4. Vives — Lemma: vivo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future indicative active 2nd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “you shall live”; Notes: Indicates a harsh existence characterized by violence and struggle.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: prepositional phrase marker; Translation: “in / by”; Notes: Used instrumentally here with “gladio,” meaning “by means of the sword.”
  6. gladio — Lemma: gladius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of means; Translation: “by the sword”; Notes: Symbol of violence and survival through conflict — prophetic of Edom’s future.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the parallel destinies of Esau’s life — warfare and servitude.
  8. fratri — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to (your) brother”; Notes: Identifies Jacob as the one Esau must serve under divine arrangement.
  9. tuo — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: modifies “fratri”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Personalizes Esau’s subjection to his own brother — a bitter irony.
  10. servies — Lemma: servio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future indicative active 2nd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “you shall serve”; Notes: Indicates ongoing servitude; prophetic of Edom’s subjugation to Israel.
  11. tempusque — Lemma: tempus; Part of Speech: noun + enclitic; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject of “veniet”; Translation: “and time”; Notes: The enclitic “-que” connects the clause to the prior prediction, adding chronological development.
  12. veniet — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “will come”; Notes: Introduces prophetic shift — Esau’s eventual liberation.
  13. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: temporal conjunction introducing subjunctive clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Marks future time and conditional element within the prophecy.
  14. excutias — Lemma: excutio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present subjunctive active 2nd person singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “you will throw off”; Notes: Suggests rebellion or liberation — imagery of shaking off control.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links twin acts of emancipation: rejection and removal of subjugation.
  16. solvas — Lemma: solvo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present subjunctive active 2nd person singular; Function: coordinated verb; Translation: “you will loosen / release”; Notes: Parallels “excutias”; represents the breaking of Jacob’s yoke.
  17. iugum — Lemma: iugum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of “solvas”; Translation: “yoke”; Notes: Metaphor for servitude; recurring biblical image of bondage under another’s rule.
  18. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: “of him”; Notes: Refers to Jacob; marks Esau’s subjugation and eventual independence.
  19. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation or source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Introduces phrase of removal — the physical act of casting off.
  20. cervicibus — Lemma: cervix; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “neck”; Notes: Symbol of submission — removing the yoke signifies regained autonomy.
  21. tuis — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: modifies “cervicibus”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Directs the metaphor personally toward Esau, indicating his own eventual liberation.

 

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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