Genesis 30:39

Posted on January 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 30:39 Factumque est ut in ipso calore coitus, oves intuerentur virgas, et parerent maculosa, et varia, et diverso colore respersa.

And it came to pass that at the very heat of mating, the sheep looked at the rods and bore young that were spotted, variegated, and sprinkled with different color.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Factumque and it came to pass PERF.PASS.PTCP.NOM.SG.N+ENCLITIC
2 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 ut that CONJ.RESULT
4 in in PREP+ABL
5 ipso the very ABL.SG.M.PRON
6 calore heat ABL.SG.M
7 coitus of mating GEN.SG.M
8 oves sheep NOM.PL.F
9 intuerentur looked at 3PL.IMPF.DEP.SUBJ
10 virgas rods ACC.PL.F
11 et and CONJ
12 parerent bore 3PL.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
13 maculosa spotted ACC.PL.N.ADJ
14 et and CONJ
15 varia variegated ACC.PL.N.ADJ
16 et and CONJ
17 diverso different ABL.SG.M.ADJ
18 colore color ABL.SG.M
19 respersa sprinkled ACC.PL.N.PERF.PASS.PTCP

Syntax

Main Clause: Factumque est ut… — The periphrastic passive Factum est introduces a result clause (“and it came to pass that…”).
Result Clause: in ipso calore coitus oves intuerentur virgas et parerent maculosa… — The temporal-conditional phrase in ipso calore coitus sets the scene (“in the very heat of mating”), while intuerentur and parerent function as parallel subjunctives expressing resultant action.
Predicate Complements: maculosa, varia, diverso colore respersa describe the condition of the offspring, expanding by degrees of diversity — from spots to complex mixed colorations.

Morphology

  1. Factumque — Lemma: facio (+ -que); Part of Speech: participle with enclitic conjunction; Form: perfect passive participle nominative singular neuter, joined with enclitic -que; Function: impersonal predicate element with est introducing a result clause; Translation: “and it came to pass”; Notes: The neuter participle with est forms a periphrastic idiom common in Biblical Latin; -que links this statement to the prior narrative.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: auxiliary completing the periphrastic predicate with Factum; Translation: “was / came to pass”; Notes: Finite verb that licenses the following ut-clause of result.
  3. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: subordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a clause of result; Translation: “that”; Notes: Governs the subjunctives intuerentur and parerent expressing the effect of the preceding event.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs the ablative; Function: marks circumstance/time; Translation: “in / at”; Notes: With the ablative it denotes the temporal situation of the action.
  5. ipso — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: intensifier modifying calore; Translation: “the very”; Notes: Heightens precision: “at the very heat.”
  6. calore — Lemma: calor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of the preposition in; Translation: “heat”; Notes: Ablative of time/circumstance indicating the estrus period.
  7. coitus — Lemma: coitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of specification with calore; Translation: “of mating”; Notes: Specifies what kind of “heat” is meant.
  8. oves — Lemma: ovis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of both intuerentur and parerent; Translation: “sheep”; Notes: Refers to the breeding ewes in the scene.
  9. intuerentur — Lemma: intueor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: imperfect subjunctive, 3rd person plural; Function: first predicate in the ut-result clause; Translation: “they looked at”; Notes: Deponent with active sense; subjunctive required by the result construction.
  10. virgas — Lemma: virga; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of intuerentur; Translation: “rods”; Notes: The same peeled rods placed in the troughs in the preceding verse.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links coordinated verbs and complements; Translation: “and”; Notes: Balances the twin results (“looked” … “and bore”).
  12. parerent — Lemma: pario; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive, 3rd person plural; Function: second predicate in the ut-result clause; Translation: “they bore / brought forth”; Notes: Subjunctive parallels intuerentur, expressing the intended/resultant outcome.
  13. maculosa — Lemma: maculosus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: predicate accusative describing the offspring with parerent; Translation: “spotted (young)”; Notes: Neuter plural used substantively for “offspring/lambs.”
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links coordinated predicate complements; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues the descriptive series of coat patterns.
  15. varia — Lemma: varius; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: predicate accusative coordinated with maculosa; Translation: “variegated (young)”; Notes: Indicates multicolored patterning beyond simple spots.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links the final descriptive unit; Translation: “and”; Notes: Signals a climactic third descriptor.
  17. diverso — Lemma: diversus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: adjective modifying colore; Translation: “different”; Notes: Part of an ablative phrase of description indicating variety in hue.
  18. colore — Lemma: color; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of description with diverso; Translation: “color”; Notes: Specifies the attribute by which the offspring are distinguished.
  19. respersa — Lemma: respergo; Part of Speech: participle used adjectivally; Form: accusative plural neuter, perfect passive participle; Function: predicate complement with parerent, modifying the understood “offspring”; Translation: “sprinkled / speckled”; Notes: Completes the descriptive tricolon, evoking a mottled pattern across the coats.

 

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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