Genesis 34:18

Posted on February 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 34:18 Placuit oblatio eorum Hemor, et Sichem filio eius:

Their proposal pleased Hemor and his son Sichem;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Placuit pleased / was pleasing 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 oblatio proposal / offering NOM.SG.F
3 eorum their / of them GEN.PL.M
4 Hemor Hamor NOM.SG.M (PROPN)
5 et and CONJ
6 Sichem Shechem NOM.SG.M (PROPN)
7 filio to the son DAT.SG.M
8 eius his GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Placuit oblatio eorum Hemor, et Sichem filio eius — “Their proposal pleased Hemor and his son Sichem.”
• Verb: Placuit — perfect indicative, expressing completed satisfaction.
• Subject: oblatio eorum — nominative subject, meaning “their offer” or “proposal.”
• Dative Complements: Hemor and Sichem filio eius — indirect objects governed by “placuit,” indicating who was pleased.
• Conjunction: et — connects two dative nouns: “Hamor and his son Shechem.”

Morphology

  1. Placuit — Lemma: placeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “pleased / was pleasing”; Notes: Takes dative of the person pleased, expressing satisfaction or approval.
  2. oblatio — Lemma: oblatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of “placuit”; Translation: “proposal / offering”; Notes: Derived from “offero,” here meaning the offer or proposal made by Jacob’s sons.
  3. eorum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possessive modifier of “oblatio”; Translation: “their”; Notes: Refers to the sons of Jacob, the speakers of the proposal.
  4. Hemor — Lemma: Hemor; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine (contextually); Function: indirect object of “placuit”; Translation: “to Hamor”; Notes: Name of Shechem’s father, a Hivite prince.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: joins indirect objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links father and son as joint recipients of the satisfaction.
  6. Sichem — Lemma: Sichem; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of “placuit”; Translation: “to Shechem”; Notes: The prince who desired Dinah; paired with his father Hamor in approval.
  7. filio — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: apposition to “Sichem,” specifying his relationship to Hamor; Translation: “to the son”; Notes: Clarifies familial connection in context.
  8. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifying “filio”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to Hamor, identifying Shechem as his son.

 

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.