Genesis 34:8

Posted on February 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 34:8 Locutus est itaque Hemor ad eos: Sichem filii mei adhæsit anima filiæ vestræ: date eam illi uxorem:

And Hemor spoke to them, saying: “The soul of my son Sichem is attached to your daughter; give her to him as a wife;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Locutus having spoken PERF.PTCP.NOM.SG.M (DEP)
2 est was / has 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND (AUX)
3 itaque therefore / and so CONJ
4 Hemor Hamor NOM.SG (PROPN.INDECL)
5 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
6 eos them ACC.PL.M (PRON)
7 Sichem Shechem NOM.SG (PROPN.INDECL)
8 filii of (my) son GEN.SG.M
9 mei my GEN.SG.M (PRON)
10 adhæsit is attached / has cleaved 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 anima soul NOM.SG.F
12 filiæ of (your) daughter GEN.SG.F
13 vestræ your GEN.SG.F (ADJ)
14 date give 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
15 eam her ACC.SG.F (PRON)
16 illi to him DAT.SG.M (PRON)
17 uxorem as wife ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Locutus est itaque Hemor ad eos — “And Hamor spoke to them.”
• Verb: Locutus est — perfect deponent verb meaning “spoke.”
• Subject: Hemor — nominative subject of the verb.
• Prepositional Phrase: ad eos — “to them,” indicating the audience (Jacob’s sons).

Subordinate Clause (Quotation): Sichem filii mei adhæsit anima filiæ vestræ — “The soul of my son Shechem is attached to your daughter.”
• Subject: anima — nominative, “the soul.”
• Verb: adhæsit — perfect tense, indicating completed emotional attachment.
• Genitive of Possession: Sichem filii mei — “of my son Shechem.”
• Genitive of Relationship: filiæ vestræ — “of your daughter.”

Imperative Command: date eam illi uxorem — “give her to him as a wife.”
• Verb: date — 2nd person plural imperative, command to Jacob’s sons.
• Direct Object: eam — “her,” referring to Dinah.
• Indirect Object: illi — “to him,” referring to Shechem.
• Predicate Accusative: uxorem — “as wife,” complements “eam.”

Morphology

  1. Locutus — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: perfect participle, nominative singular masculine; Function: main verb (compound form with “est”); Translation: “having spoken”; Notes: Common deponent for “to speak.”
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: present indicative active, 3rd singular; Function: forms perfect tense of deponent; Translation: “was / has”; Notes: Auxiliary supporting deponent participle.
  3. itaque — Lemma: itaque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: marks logical or narrative continuation; Translation: “and so”; Notes: Connects to preceding events.
  4. Hemor — Lemma: Hemor; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject; Translation: “Hamor”; Notes: Father of Shechem.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces addressees of speech.
  6. eos — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of “ad”; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s sons.
  7. Sichem — Lemma: Sichem; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular (indeclinable); Function: modifies “filii mei”; Translation: “Shechem”; Notes: Appositive identification.
  8. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of (my) son”; Notes: Possessive of “anima.”
  9. mei — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies “filii”; Translation: “my”; Notes: Reinforces possession.
  10. adhæsit — Lemma: adhaereo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “has cleaved / is attached”; Notes: Describes emotional or relational bond.
  11. anima — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of “adhæsit”; Translation: “soul”; Notes: Denotes deep affection.
  12. filiæ — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of (your) daughter”; Notes: Refers to Dinah.
  13. vestræ — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies “filiæ”; Translation: “your”; Notes: Addressing Jacob’s family collectively.
  14. date — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: main verb of command; Translation: “give”; Notes: Imperative of request or demand.
  15. eam — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of “date”; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers to Dinah.
  16. illi — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to Shechem.
  17. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: predicate accusative; Translation: “as wife”; Notes: Completes double-accusative construction.

 

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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