Genesis 32:24

Posted on February 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

24 mansit solus: et ecce vir luctabatur cum eo usque mane.

he remained alone; and behold, a man wrestled with him until morning.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 mansit he remained 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 solus alone NOM.SG.M
3 et and CONJ
4 ecce behold INTERJ
5 vir a man NOM.SG.M
6 luctabatur was wrestling 3SG.IMP.DEP.IND
7 cum with PREP+ABL
8 eo him ABL.SG.M (PRON)
9 usque until PREP+ACC
10 mane morning ACC.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause 1: mansit solus — perfect active indicative expressing completed state: “He remained alone.”
• Subject: implied Iacob.
• Verb: mansit — perfect tense, denoting completed isolation.
• Predicate adjective: solus — nominative masculine singular, describing the subject.

Main Clause 2: et ecce vir luctabatur cum eo usque mane — vivid narrative clause introduced by ecce (“behold”), “and behold, a man was wrestling with him until morning.”
• Verb: luctabatur — deponent verb in the imperfect tense, describing ongoing struggle.
• Prepositional phrase: cum eo — ablative of accompaniment, “with him.”
• Temporal phrase: usque mane — “until morning,” indicating duration.
• Conjunction: et — connects sequential actions, marking narrative progression.
• Interjection: ecce — introduces dramatic or divine appearance.

Morphology

  1. mansit — Lemma: maneo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he remained”; Notes: Indicates completed state or action.
  2. solus — Lemma: solus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “alone”; Notes: Agrees with the implied subject “he.”
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Marks narrative continuation.
  4. ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: invariable; Function: introduces vivid or surprising scene; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Common in narrative revelation contexts.
  5. vir — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “luctabatur”; Translation: “a man”; Notes: The identity of the man is left mysterious.
  6. luctabatur — Lemma: luctor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: imperfect indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of second clause; Translation: “was wrestling”; Notes: Deponent with active meaning; imperfect for ongoing action.
  7. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: Introduces the companion or opponent.
  8. eo — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “cum”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Jacob as the one wrestled with.
  9. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: preposition/adverb; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates extent or duration; Translation: “until”; Notes: Temporal marker of the struggle’s length.
  10. mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: noun (indeclinable in classical Latin, accusative here); Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of “usque”; Translation: “morning”; Notes: Denotes the temporal endpoint of the wrestling.

 

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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