Genesis 28:7

Posted on January 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

7 quodque obediens Iacob parentibus suis isset in Syriam:

and that Jacob, being obedient to his parents, had gone into Syria;

# Latin Gloss GRAMMAR TAG
1 quodque and that CONJ
2 obediens obedient PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.M
3 Iacob Jacob NOM.SG.M
4 parentibus to (his) parents DAT.PL.M
5 suis his DAT.PL.M.REFL.ADJ
6 isset had gone 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
7 in into PREP+ACC
8 Syriam Syria ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Subordinate Clause: quodque obediens Iacob parentibus suis isset in Syriam — Introduced by quodque (“and that”), continuing the series of subordinate indirect statements dependent on Esau’s perception (videns). The pluperfect subjunctive isset reports completed action within indirect discourse.
Participial Phrase: obediens Iacob parentibus suis — The participle obediens functions as a predicate adjective describing Jacob’s character as obedient toward his parents, forming a causal or descriptive nuance.
Prepositional Phrase: in Syriam — Expresses direction toward a geographic location, completing the motion verb isset.

Morphology

  1. quodque — Lemma: quod + -que; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariant; Function: introduces another subordinate indirect statement joined by the enclitic “-que”; Translation: “and that”; Notes: Continues Esau’s perception chain, adding another clause of reported observation.
  2. obediens — Lemma: oboedio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies “Iacob”; Translation: “obedient”; Notes: Describes Jacob’s moral attitude toward his parents, underscoring filial piety and submission to Isaac’s instructions.
  3. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “isset”; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Central figure of the narrative, characterized here by obedience rather than deceit.
  4. parentibus — Lemma: parens; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object of “obediens”; Translation: “to (his) parents”; Notes: Dative of reference, expressing to whom Jacob’s obedience is directed.
  5. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive adjective; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: modifies “parentibus”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflects reflexive possession, referring to Jacob’s own parents (Isaac and Rebekah).
  6. isset — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect subjunctive active 3rd person singular; Function: verb of indirect statement; Translation: “had gone”; Notes: Subjunctive marks reported perception; denotes completion of the journey toward Syria.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “into”; Notes: Indicates directional movement into a region.
  8. Syriam — Lemma: Syria; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “Syria”; Notes: Refers to Aram, land of Laban; highlights the obedience that fulfills Isaac’s directive to avoid Kenaʾanite marriages.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.