Genesis 31:50

Posted on January 31, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 31:50 si afflixeris filias meas, et si introduxeris alias uxores super eas: nullus sermonis nostri testis est absque Deo, qui præsens respicit.

if you afflict my daughters, or if you bring in other wives over them, there is no witness to our word except God, who is present and sees.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 si if CONJUNCTION CONDITIONAL
2 afflixeris you afflict VERB 2SG FUTURE PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE
3 filias daughters NOUN ACC.PL.F
4 meas my POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE ACC.PL.F
5 et and / or CONJUNCTION
6 si if CONJUNCTION CONDITIONAL
7 introduxeris you bring in VERB 2SG FUTURE PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE
8 alias other ADJECTIVE ACC.PL.F
9 uxores wives NOUN ACC.PL.F
10 super over PREPOSITION + ACC
11 eas them PRONOUN ACC.PL.F
12 nullus no ADJECTIVE NOM.SG.M
13 sermonis of word / speech NOUN GEN.SG.M
14 nostri our POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE GEN.SG.M
15 testis witness NOUN NOM.SG.M
16 est is VERB 3SG PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE
17 absque without / except PREPOSITION + ABL
18 Deo God NOUN ABL.SG.M
19 qui who RELATIVE PRONOUN NOM.SG.M
20 præsens present ADJECTIVE NOM.SG.M
21 respicit sees / observes VERB 3SG PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE

Syntax

Conditional Clauses: The verse begins with two parallel protases:
– si afflixeris filias meas (“if you afflict my daughters”)
– et si introduxeris alias uxores super eas (“and if you bring in other wives over them”).
Both use the *future perfect* (afflixeris, introduxeris) to express a real future condition in Latin legal style.
Main Clause: nullus sermonis nostri testis est absque Deo — literally “no witness of our word exists apart from God”; nullus is the subject, testis the predicate nominative, and absque Deo the ablative of separation (“except God”).
Relative Clause: qui præsens respicit — modifies Deo; the present participle præsens emphasizes divine immediacy, and respicit (“sees / watches”) expresses God’s awareness of their covenant.
Syntax Summary: The structure is judicial and covenantal: two conditional warnings followed by a declaration of divine witness. The syntax mirrors a formal oath formula, with YHWH as the only ultimate guarantor of fidelity.

Morphology

  1. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces conditional clause; Translation: “if”; Notes: Marks the protasis of a future real condition.
  2. afflixeris — Lemma: affligo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of first protasis; Translation: “you afflict”; Notes: Indicates action completed before the consequence is judged.
  3. filias — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of “afflixeris”; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Refers to Laban’s daughters Leah and Rachel.
  4. meas — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: agrees with “filias”; Translation: “my”; Notes: Possessive reference emphasizing paternal authority.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: joins parallel clauses; Translation: “and / or”; Notes: Serves as connective between two conditions.
  6. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces second conditional clause; Translation: “if”; Notes: Reiterates hypothetical situation.
  7. introduxeris — Lemma: introduco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of second protasis; Translation: “you bring in”; Notes: Connotes taking additional wives into the household.
  8. alias — Lemma: alius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies “uxores”; Translation: “other”; Notes: Emphasizes new or additional wives.
  9. uxores — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of “introduxeris”; Translation: “wives”; Notes: Suggests potential polygamy against Laban’s daughters’ rights.
  10. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses authority or preference; Translation: “over”; Notes: Indicates marital or household precedence.
  11. eas — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of “super”; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to Laban’s daughters.
  12. nullus — Lemma: nullus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “est”; Translation: “no / none”; Notes: Emphasizes the exclusivity of divine witness.
  13. sermonis — Lemma: sermo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: partitive genitive; Translation: “of word / speech”; Notes: Refers to covenant or spoken agreement.
  14. nostri — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: agrees with “sermonis”; Translation: “our”; Notes: Indicates mutual covenant between the two men.
  15. testis — Lemma: testis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate nominative with “est”; Translation: “witness”; Notes: Legal and covenantal sense.
  16. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: copula linking subject and predicate; Translation: “is”; Notes: Denotes present state of affairs.
  17. absque — Lemma: absque; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses exclusion; Translation: “without / except”; Notes: Introduces exception clause.
  18. Deo — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “absque”; Translation: “God”; Notes: Refers to YHWH as the only valid witness.
  19. qui — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “respicit”; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to “Deo.”
  20. præsens — Lemma: præsens; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifier of “qui”; Translation: “present”; Notes: Emphasizes God’s immediate presence at covenant.
  21. respicit — Lemma: respicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “sees / observes”; Notes: Suggests divine oversight and moral awareness.

 

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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