Genesis 30:14

Posted on January 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

14 Egressus autem Ruben tempore messis triticeæ in agrum, reperit mandragoras: quas matri Liæ detulit. Dixitque Rachel: Da mihi partem de mandragoris filii tui.

And Ruben went out at the time of the wheat harvest into the field, and found mandrakes, which he brought to his mother Lia. And Rachel said: “Give me a part of your son’s mandrakes.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Egressus having gone out NOM.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PART
2 autem but / and CONJ
3 Ruben Reuben NOM.SG.M.PROPN
4 tempore at the time ABL.SG.N
5 messis of harvest GEN.SG.F
6 triticeæ wheat GEN.SG.F.ADJ
7 in into / in PREP + ACC
8 agrum field ACC.SG.M
9 reperit he found 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 mandragoras mandrakes ACC.PL.F
11 quas which ACC.PL.F.REL.PRON
12 matri to (his) mother DAT.SG.F
13 Liæ Leah DAT.SG.F.PROPN
14 detulit brought 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
15 Dixitque and she said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCL.CONJ
16 Rachel Rachel NOM.SG.F.PROPN
17 Da give 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
18 mihi to me DAT.SG.1P.PRON
19 partem part ACC.SG.F
20 de of / from PREP + ABL
21 mandragoris mandrakes ABL.PL.F
22 filii of (your) son GEN.SG.M
23 tui your GEN.SG.M.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Ablative Absolute: Egressus autem Ruben tempore messis triticeæ — The participle Egressus (“having gone out”) with subject Ruben and temporal ablative tempore messis triticeæ (“at the time of the wheat harvest”) sets the temporal scene.
Main Clause: reperit mandragoras — Reperit (“found”) takes mandragoras as its direct object.
Relative Clause: quas matri Liæ detulit — Introduced by quas (“which”), referring to the mandrakes. The dative matri Liæ expresses the indirect object (“to his mother Leah”), and detulit completes the thought.
Second Sentence: Dixitque Rachel: Da mihi partem de mandragoris filii tui — Dixitque introduces Rachel’s request. The imperative Da governs partem (“a part”) as direct object, and the prepositional phrase de mandragoris filii tui specifies the source (“of your son’s mandrakes”).

Morphology

  1. Egressus — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent participle); Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle; Function: ablative absolute subject; Translation: “having gone out”; Notes: Marks action preceding the finding of the mandrakes.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces contrastive or connective clause; Translation: “and / but”; Notes: Continuative link in narrative sequence.
  3. Ruben — Lemma: Ruben; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of Egressus and reperit; Translation: “Reuben”; Notes: Leah’s eldest son.
  4. tempore — Lemma: tempus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of time when; Translation: “at the time”; Notes: Sets the harvest season context.
  5. messis — Lemma: messis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: complement of tempore; Translation: “of harvest”; Notes: Indicates the agricultural season.
  6. triticeæ — Lemma: triticeus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies messis; Translation: “of wheat”; Notes: Specifies the type of harvest.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “into”; Notes: Indicates direction of movement.
  8. agrum — Lemma: ager; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “field”; Notes: Refers to agricultural land.
  9. reperit — Lemma: reperio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he found”; Notes: Describes discovery of mandrakes.
  10. mandragoras — Lemma: mandragora; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of reperit; Translation: “mandrakes”; Notes: Symbolic plants often associated with fertility.
  11. quas — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun (relative); Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of detulit; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to mandragoras.
  12. matri — Lemma: mater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular feminine; Function: indirect object of detulit; Translation: “to (his) mother”; Notes: Refers to Leah.
  13. Liæ — Lemma: Lia; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular feminine; Function: proper name in apposition to matri; Translation: “Leah”; Notes: Clarifies identity of the recipient.
  14. detulit — Lemma: defero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “brought”; Notes: Conveys filial devotion.
  15. Dixitque — Lemma: dico + que; Part of Speech: verb + enclitic conjunction; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: introduces speech; Translation: “and she said”; Notes: Refers to Rachel speaking to Leah.
  16. Rachel — Lemma: Rachel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of Dixitque; Translation: “Rachel”; Notes: Sister of Leah and Jacob’s wife.
  17. Da — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative 2nd singular; Function: imperative command; Translation: “give”; Notes: Expresses direct request.
  18. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object of Da; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Marks recipient of gift.
  19. partem — Lemma: pars; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of Da; Translation: “part”; Notes: Refers to a share of the mandrakes.
  20. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source; Translation: “of / from”; Notes: Introduces partitive expression.
  21. mandragoris — Lemma: mandragora; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: “mandrakes”; Notes: Same plants mentioned earlier.
  22. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying mandragoris; Translation: “of (your) son”; Notes: Refers to Reuben.
  23. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective (possessive); Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: agrees with filii; Translation: “your”; Notes: Addresses Leah directly.

 

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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