Genesis 31:31

Posted on January 31, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 31:31 Respondit Iacob: Quod inscio te profectus sum, timui ne violenter auferres filias tuas.

Jacob answered: “Because I departed without your knowledge, I feared lest you would violently take away your daughters.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Respondit answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Iacob: Jacob NOM.SG.M.PROP
3 Quod because CONJ
4 inscio without knowing ABL.SG.M.PTCP
5 te you ABL.SG.2P.PRON
6 profectus departed NOM.SG.M.PERF.PTCP.DEP
7 sum, I have 1SG.PRES.IND.ACT.AUX
8 timui I feared 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 ne lest CONJ.NEG
10 violenter violently ADV
11 auferres you would take away 2SG.IMPERF.ACT.SUBJ
12 filias daughters ACC.PL.F
13 tuas. your ACC.PL.F.POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Respondit Iacob — introduces Jacob’s direct reply, using perfect indicative to mark completed action.
Subordinate Clause 1: Quod inscio te profectus sum — causal clause explaining motive; literally “because I went away with you not knowing.”
Main Clause 2: Timui ne violenter auferres filias tuas — expresses fear using ne + subjunctive, typical Latin construction for “lest.”
Overall Syntax: The sentence unfolds in a cause-effect structure: Jacob explains his secrecy (cause) and his fear of Laban’s violence (effect).

Morphology

  1. Respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “answered”; Notes: Indicates narrative completion, marking Jacob’s speech response.
  2. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of respondit; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Hebrew patriarch’s Latinized name; subject of dialogue.
  3. Quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: “because”; Notes: Explains motive for Jacob’s flight.
  4. inscio — Lemma: inscius; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative absolute with te; Translation: “without knowing”; Notes: Marks circumstance or condition of the action in the ablative absolute.
  5. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular; Function: complement in ablative absolute; Translation: “you”; Notes: Refers to Laban, the unaware party in Jacob’s departure.
  6. profectus — Lemma: proficiscor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative singular masculine, perfect; Function: predicate of sum; Translation: “departed”; Notes: Deponent participle forming perfect tense with sum.
  7. sum — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: present active indicative, 1st person singular; Function: auxiliary forming perfect deponent; Translation: “I have”; Notes: Used with deponent participles to express perfect sense.
  8. timui — Lemma: timeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 1st person singular; Function: main verb of fear clause; Translation: “I feared”; Notes: Introduces subordinate clause of fear with ne.
  9. ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces negative purpose or fear clause; Translation: “lest”; Notes: Common with verbs of fearing to express avoidance of undesired outcome.
  10. violenter — Lemma: violenter; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies auferres; Translation: “violently”; Notes: Indicates anticipated coercive action; moral tone of fear and injustice.
  11. auferres — Lemma: aufero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive, 2nd person singular; Function: verb in subordinate clause introduced by ne; Translation: “you would take away”; Notes: Subjunctive of potential action under fear construction.
  12. filias — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of auferres; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Refers to Leah and Rachel, objects of potential abduction.
  13. tuas — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies filias; Translation: “your”; Notes: Emphasizes Laban’s claim of familial possession, underscoring conflict.

 

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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