Genesis 34:7

Posted on February 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 34:7 ecce filii eius veniebant de agro: auditoque quod acciderat, irati sunt valde, eo quod fœdam rem operatus esset in Israel et, violata filia Iacob, rem illicitam perpetrasset.

behold, his sons came from the field; and when they heard what had happened, they were very angry, because he had done a vile thing in Israel and, having violated Jacob’s daughter, had committed an unlawful deed.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 ecce behold INTERJ
2 filii sons NOM.PL.M
3 eius his GEN.SG.M (PRON)
4 veniebant were coming 3PL.IMPERF.ACT.IND
5 de from PREP+ABL
6 agro field ABL.SG.M
7 auditoque and when it had been heard ABL.ABS + ENCLITIC -QUE
8 quod what NOM/ACC.SG.N (REL.PRON)
9 acciderat had happened 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
10 irati angry NOM.PL.M (PERF.PTCP)
11 sunt were 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
12 valde greatly / very ADV
13 eo because ABL.SG.N (ADV. CAUSAL)
14 quod that / because CONJ
15 fœdam vile / disgraceful ACC.SG.F (ADJ)
16 rem thing / deed ACC.SG.F
17 operatus had done / committed PERF.PTCP.NOM.SG.M (DEP)
18 esset had been 3SG.PLUPERF.SUBJ (AUX)
19 in in PREP+ABL
20 Israel Israel ABL.SG (PROPN.INDECL)
21 et and CONJ
22 violata having violated PERF.PTCP.ABL.SG.F
23 filia daughter ABL.SG.F
24 Iacob Jacob GEN.SG.M (PROPN)
25 rem thing / act ACC.SG.F
26 illicitam unlawful ACC.SG.F (ADJ)
27 perpetrasset had committed 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Main Clause: ecce filii eius veniebant de agro — “Behold, his sons were coming from the field.”
• Verb: veniebant — imperfect tense, continuous motion.
• Subject: filii eius — nominative phrase “his sons.”
• Prepositional Phrase: de agro — ablative of source, “from the field.”

Ablative Absolute: auditoque quod acciderat — “and when they had heard what had happened.”
• audito — perfect participle, indicating action prior to the main verb.
• quod acciderat — object clause of “audito,” a factual statement of what was heard.

Result/Reason Clause: irati sunt valde, eo quod fœdam rem operatus esset in Israel — “they were very angry because he had done a vile thing in Israel.”
• eo quod — causal phrase “because.”
• fœdam rem operatus esset — perfect deponent construction expressing moral wrongdoing.

Final Clause: et, violata filia Iacob, rem illicitam perpetrasset — “and, having violated Jacob’s daughter, had committed an unlawful deed.”
• violata filia Iacob — ablative absolute, marking prior violation.
• rem illicitam perpetrasset — main verb phrase of the final clause, “had committed an unlawful deed.”

Morphology

  1. ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: invariable; Function: calls attention to new action; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Introduces a vivid narrative moment.
  2. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s sons returning from the field.
  3. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to Jacob.
  4. veniebant — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “were coming”; Notes: Continuous imperfect, depicting ongoing motion.
  5. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses motion from; Translation: “from”; Notes: Common preposition of origin.
  6. agro — Lemma: ager; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “field”; Notes: Specifies location of activity.
  7. auditoque — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: participle + enclitic; Form: perfect passive participle, ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “and when it had been heard”; Notes: Temporal, linking clauses.
  8. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: relative/conjunctive pronoun; Form: nominative/accusative singular neuter; Function: introduces object clause; Translation: “what”; Notes: Refers to Shechem’s sin.
  9. acciderat — Lemma: accido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “had happened”; Notes: Refers to the event already completed.
  10. irati — Lemma: irascor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: perfect participle, nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “angry”; Notes: Describes state of Jacob’s sons.
  11. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect indicative active, 3rd plural; Function: auxiliary with participle; Translation: “were”; Notes: Forms perfect of deponent verb “irasci.”
  12. valde — Lemma: valde; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: intensifier; Translation: “very”; Notes: Emphasizes emotional intensity.
  13. eo — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun (adverbial use); Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: causal conjunction with “quod”; Translation: “because”; Notes: Literally “for this reason that.”
  14. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: “that / because”; Notes: Used with “eo” to introduce reason.
  15. fœdam — Lemma: fœdus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies “rem”; Translation: “vile / disgraceful”; Notes: Conveys moral impurity.
  16. rem — Lemma: res; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “thing / deed”; Notes: Refers to Shechem’s act.
  17. operatus — Lemma: operor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: perfect participle, nominative singular masculine; Function: with “esset” forms pluperfect; Translation: “had done”; Notes: Deponent used in moral contexts.
  18. esset — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: pluperfect subjunctive, 3rd singular; Function: completes deponent periphrasis; Translation: “had been / had done”; Notes: Subjunctive in causal clause.
  19. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: Refers to moral context within Israelite society.
  20. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: The covenant community.
  21. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links subsequent ablative absolute.
  22. violata — Lemma: violo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle, ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “having violated”; Notes: Refers to Shechem’s action toward Dina.
  23. filia — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: complement in ablative absolute; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: Accompanies “violata.”
  24. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of Jacob”; Notes: Specifies lineage.
  25. rem — Lemma: res; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of “perpetrasset”; Translation: “thing / act”; Notes: Refers to the crime committed.
  26. illicitam — Lemma: illicitus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies “rem”; Translation: “unlawful”; Notes: Describes the moral and legal violation.
  27. perpetrasset — Lemma: perpetro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active subjunctive, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “had committed”; Notes: Subjunctive under “eo quod” expressing reason.

 

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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