Genesis 33:1

Posted on February 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 33:1 Elevans autem Iacob oculos suos, vidit venientem Esau, et cum eo quadringentos viros: divisitque filios Liæ et Rachel, ambarumque famularum:

And Jacob, lifting up his eyes, saw Esau coming, and with him four hundred men; and he divided the children of Lia and Rachel and of the two maidservants;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Elevans lifting up PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
2 autem and / however CONJ
3 Iacob Jacob NOM.SG.M (PROPN.INDECL)
4 oculos eyes ACC.PL.M
5 suos his ACC.PL.M (REFL.POSS.ADJ)
6 vidit he saw 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
7 venientem coming PRES.ACT.PTCP.ACC.SG.M
8 Esau Esau ACC.SG.M (PROPN.INDECL)
9 et and CONJ
10 cum with PREP+ABL
11 eo him ABL.SG.M (PRON)
12 quadringentos four hundred ACC.PL.M (NUM)
13 viros men ACC.PL.M
14 divisitque and he divided 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC -QUE
15 filios children / sons ACC.PL.M
16 Liæ of Leah GEN.SG.F (PROPN)
17 et and CONJ
18 Rachel Rachel GEN.SG.F (PROPN.INDECL)
19 ambarumque and of both GEN.PL.F (NUM.ADJ) + ENCLITIC -QUE
20 famularum maidservants GEN.PL.F

Syntax

Introductory Circumstantial Clause: Elevans autem Iacob oculos suos — “And Jacob, lifting up his eyes.”
• Participle: Elevans — circumstantial participle indicating the action preceding the main clause.
• Subject: Iacob — nominative, the agent of both lifting and seeing.
• Object: oculos suos — accusative, “his eyes,” reflexive to the subject.

Main Clause: vidit venientem Esau et cum eo quadringentos viros — “he saw Esau coming, and with him four hundred men.”
• Verb: vidit — perfect, indicating completed perception.
• Object: venientem Esau — participial phrase serving as object complement.
• Prepositional Phrase: cum eo — ablative of accompaniment.
• Accusative Phrase: quadringentos viros — object of preposition, specifying Esau’s retinue.

Coordinated Clause: divisitque filios Liæ et Rachel, ambarumque famularum — “and he divided the children of Leah and Rachel and of both maidservants.”
• Verb: divisitque — perfect, continuing narrative sequence.
• Objects: filios Liæ et Rachel — direct objects in genitive dependence.
• Additional Genitive: ambarumque famularum — “of both maidservants,” completes the grouping.

Morphology

  1. Elevans — Lemma: elevo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle, nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial participle modifying “Iacob”; Translation: “lifting up”; Notes: Expresses simultaneous or preceding action relative to “vidit.”
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connective/adversative; Translation: “and,” “however”; Notes: Postpositive connector continuing the narrative.
  3. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: subject of both verbs; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Serves as actor throughout the verse.
  4. oculos — Lemma: oculus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of “Elevans”; Translation: “eyes”; Notes: Literal vision indicating anticipation of Esau’s arrival.
  5. suos — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies “oculos”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive reference to Jacob himself.
  6. vidit — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he saw”; Notes: Introduces perception of Esau’s approach.
  7. venientem — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle, accusative singular masculine; Function: modifying “Esau”; Translation: “coming”; Notes: Dependent participle of motion.
  8. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: object of “vidit”; Translation: “Esau”; Notes: Hebrew name, kept indeclinable.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects clauses and phrases; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordinating conjunction.
  10. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: Introduces Esau’s companions.
  11. eo — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “cum”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers back to Esau.
  12. quadringentos — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies “viros”; Translation: “four hundred”; Notes: Exact number, often symbolic of large host.
  13. viros — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of “cum” (implied accompaniment); Translation: “men”; Notes: Describes Esau’s armed company.
  14. divisitque — Lemma: divido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular + enclitic -que; Function: main verb of coordination; Translation: “and he divided”; Notes: Continues narrative sequence by asyndeton linkage.
  15. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of “divisit”; Translation: “children”; Notes: Includes sons and possibly daughters by context.
  16. Liæ — Lemma: Lia; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of Leah”; Notes: Indicates maternal lineage.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects coordinate genitives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins Leah and Rachel.
  18. Rachel — Lemma: Rachel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine (indeclinable); Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of Rachel”; Notes: Second wife of Jacob.
  19. ambarumque — Lemma: ambo; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: genitive plural feminine + enclitic -que; Function: modifies “famularum”; Translation: “and of both”; Notes: Refers collectively to both maidservants Bilhah and Zilpah.
  20. famularum — Lemma: famula; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: completes genitive phrase; Translation: “of the maidservants”; Notes: Denotes female servants or concubines.

 

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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