Genesis 32:21

Posted on February 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 32:21 Præcesserunt itaque munera ante eum, ipse vero mansit nocte illa in castris.

Therefore the gifts went before him, but he himself stayed that night in the camp.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Præcesserunt went before 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
2 itaque therefore CONJ
3 munera gifts NOM.PL.N
4 ante before PREP+ACC
5 eum him ACC.SG.M
6 ipse he himself NOM.SG.M (INTENSIVE PRON.)
7 vero but CONJ/ADV
8 mansit stayed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 nocte night ABL.SG.F
10 illa that ABL.SG.F (DEMONS.ADJ)
11 in in PREP+ABL
12 castris camp ABL.PL.N

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Præcesserunt itaque munera ante eum — perfect active indicative, “Therefore the gifts went before him.”
• Subject: munera (nominative plural neuter).
• Verb: Præcesserunt — denotes completed movement in time sequence.
• Prepositional phrase: ante eum — “before him,” indicating spatial precedence.
Connector: itaque — introduces logical or narrative result.
Main Clause 2: ipse vero mansit nocte illa in castris — contrastive clause, “but he himself stayed that night in the camp.”
• Subject: ipse — intensive pronoun emphasizing contrast.
• Verb: mansit — perfect active indicative, simple narrative past.
• Temporal phrase: nocte illa — ablative of time when.
• Locative phrase: in castris — ablative of place where.
• Conjunction: vero — adds contrast, “but” or “however.”

Morphology

  1. Præcesserunt — Lemma: præcedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: main verb of first clause; Translation: “went before”; Notes: Compound of prae + cedo, indicating precedence in motion.
  2. itaque — Lemma: itaque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces consequence or result; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Common in narrative transition.
  3. munera — Lemma: munus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of “Præcesserunt”; Translation: “gifts”; Notes: Neuter plural subject in agreement with plural verb.
  4. ante — Lemma: ante; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses spatial precedence; Translation: “before”; Notes: Common preposition of position or time.
  5. eum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “ante”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Jacob.
  6. ipse — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “mansit”; Translation: “he himself”; Notes: Emphasizes contrast with the gifts.
  7. vero — Lemma: vero; Part of Speech: adverb/conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces contrast; Translation: “but”; Notes: Often postpositive; marks narrative opposition.
  8. mansit — Lemma: maneo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of second clause; Translation: “stayed”; Notes: Perfect tense of completed action.
  9. nocte — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of time when; Translation: “night”; Notes: Indicates time of the action.
  10. illa — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies “nocte”; Translation: “that”; Notes: Specifies particular night.
  11. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative (of place where); Function: introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Common locative preposition.
  12. castris — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “camp”; Notes: Plural in form, singular in meaning (“military camp”).

 

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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