Genesis 33:5

Posted on February 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 33:5 Levatisque oculis, vidit mulieres et parvulos earum, et ait: Quid sibi volunt isti? et si ad te pertinent? Respondit: Parvuli sunt, quos donavit mihi Deus servo tuo.

And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their little ones, and said: “What do these mean to themselves? and are they yours?” He answered: “They are the children whom God has given to your servant.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Levatisque and having lifted PERF.PTCP.ABL.PL.M + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 oculis eyes ABL.PL.M
3 vidit he saw 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
4 mulieres women ACC.PL.F
5 et and CONJ
6 parvulos little ones / children ACC.PL.M
7 earum their GEN.PL.F (POSS.PRON)
8 et and CONJ
9 ait he said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 Quid what INTERROG.PRON.NOM/ACC.SG.N
11 sibi to themselves / to him DAT.SG.REFL.PRON
12 volunt they wish / mean 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
13 isti these NOM.PL.M (DEM.PRON)
14 et and CONJ
15 si if COND.CONJ
16 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
17 te you ACC.SG (PERS.PRON)
18 pertinent they belong / pertain 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
19 Respondit he answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
20 Parvuli children / little ones NOM.PL.M
21 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
22 quos whom ACC.PL.M (REL.PRON)
23 donavit has given 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
24 mihi to me DAT.SG.1P (PERS.PRON)
25 Deus God NOM.SG.M
26 servo servant DAT.SG.M
27 tuo your DAT.SG.M (POSS.ADJ)

Syntax

Introductory Clause: Levatisque oculis, vidit mulieres et parvulos earum — “And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their little ones.”
• Ablative Absolute: Levatisque oculis — “and his eyes having been lifted.”
• Main Verb: vidit — perfect, expressing completed perception.
• Direct Objects: mulieres et parvulos earum — “the women and their children.”

Question Clause: Quid sibi volunt isti? et si ad te pertinent? — “What do these mean to themselves? and are they yours?”
• Interrogative Pronoun: Quid — introduces question about purpose or identity.
• Reflexive Dative: sibi — dative of interest, “to themselves / to you.”
• Verb: volunt — literally “they wish,” idiomatic sense “they mean.”
• Conditional Question: si ad te pertinent — “if they belong to you.”

Response Clause: Parvuli sunt, quos donavit mihi Deus servo tuo — “They are the children whom God has given to your servant.”
• Subject: Parvuli — nominative plural, “children.”
• Relative Clause: quos donavit mihi Deus servo tuo — defines the children as divine gift.
• Verb: donavit — perfect tense, completed act of giving.
• Indirect Object: mihi — dative, “to me.”
• Dative of Reference: servo tuo — “to your servant,” showing humility.

Morphology

  1. Levatisque — Lemma: levo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle, ablative plural masculine + enclitic -que; Function: part of ablative absolute; Translation: “and having lifted”; Notes: Refers to Esau lifting his eyes before speaking.
  2. oculis — Lemma: oculus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: noun in ablative absolute; Translation: “eyes”; Notes: Completes ablative absolute construction.
  3. vidit — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he saw”; Notes: Marks perception event beginning dialogue.
  4. mulieres — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “women”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s wives.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects direct objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connector.
  6. parvulos — Lemma: parvulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “little ones / children”; Notes: Diminutive expressing tenderness.
  7. earum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: possessive; Translation: “their”; Notes: Refers to the women’s children.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links narrative clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects perception to speech.
  9. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: verb of speaking; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
  10. Quid — Lemma: quis, quid; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative/accusative singular neuter; Function: interrogative pronoun; Translation: “what”; Notes: Introduces inquiry of meaning or intent.
  11. sibi — Lemma: sui; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: dative of interest; Translation: “to themselves / to him”; Notes: Idiomatic with “volo” to mean “mean / signify.”
  12. volunt — Lemma: volo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: main verb of question; Translation: “they mean / they will”; Notes: Idiomatic in Latin interrogatives.
  13. isti — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “volunt”; Translation: “these”; Notes: Refers to the women and children observed.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects the second question; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordinating connector.
  15. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces conditional question; Translation: “if”; Notes: Marks uncertainty.
  16. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates relation or possession; Translation: “to / toward”; Notes: Part of idiom “ad te pertinere.”
  17. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of “ad”; Translation: “you”; Notes: Personal pronoun referring to Jacob.
  18. pertinent — Lemma: pertineo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: predicate; Translation: “they belong / pertain”; Notes: Denotes ownership or relation.
  19. Respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: introduces reply; Translation: “he answered”; Notes: Marks Jacob’s respectful response.
  20. Parvuli — Lemma: parvulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “sunt”; Translation: “children”; Notes: Denotes tenderness and humility in tone.
  21. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: copula; Translation: “are”; Notes: Simple existential statement.
  22. quos — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of “donavit”; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Introduces relative clause.
  23. donavit — Lemma: dono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “has given”; Notes: Perfect aspect emphasizes completed gift.
  24. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Indicates recipient of divine favor.
  25. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “donavit”; Translation: “God”; Notes: Agent of the gift, reflecting piety.
  26. servo — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: dative of reference; Translation: “servant”; Notes: Indicates Jacob’s humility before Esau.
  27. tuo — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: modifies “servo”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Respectful reference addressing Esau as superior.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.