Genesis 35:1

Posted on February 4, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 35:1 Interea locutus est Deus ad Iacob: Surge, et ascende Bethel, et habita ibi, facque altare Deo qui apparuit tibi quando fugiebas Esau fratrem tuum.

Meanwhile God spoke to Jacob: “Arise, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make an altar to God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from Esau your brother.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Interea meanwhile ADV
2 locutus having spoken PERF.PASS.PTCP.NOM.SG.M (DEP)
3 est was / has 3SG.PRES.IND.AUX
4 Deus God NOUN.NOM.SG.M
5 ad to PREP+ACC
6 Iacob Jacob NOUN.ACC.SG.M (PROP)
7 Surge arise 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
8 et and CONJ
9 ascende go up 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
10 Bethel Bethel NOUN.ACC.SG.N (PROP)
11 et and CONJ
12 habita dwell 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
13 ibi there ADV
14 facque and make 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP + ENCLITIC -QUE
15 altare altar NOUN.ACC.SG.N
16 Deo to God NOUN.DAT.SG.M
17 qui who REL.PRON.NOM.SG.M
18 apparuit appeared 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
19 tibi to you PRON.DAT.SG.2ND
20 quando when CONJ
21 fugiebas you were fleeing 2SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
22 Esau Esau NOUN.ABL.SG.M (PROP)
23 fratrem brother NOUN.ACC.SG.M
24 tuum your ADJ.ACC.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Interea locutus est Deus ad Iacob — subject Deus + deponent verb locutus est + prepositional phrase ad Iacob (indirect object).
Direct Speech: commands to Jacob —

  • Surge, et ascende Bethel, et habita ibi — a sequence of imperatives urging action.
  • facque altare Deo qui apparuit tibi — main imperative with relative clause defining God as “the one who appeared to you.”
  • quando fugiebas Esau fratrem tuum — temporal clause describing the past situation prompting divine revelation.

Morphology

  1. Interea — Lemma: interea; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: N/A; Function: Temporal marker; Translation: “meanwhile”; Notes: Connects this divine speech with prior narrative events.
  2. locutus — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent); Form: Perfect participle, nominative singular masculine; Function: Part of compound verb locutus est; Translation: “having spoken”; Notes: Deponent verb taking active meaning.
  3. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Auxiliary verb; Form: Present indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Auxiliary for deponent perfect; Translation: “was / has”; Notes: Helps form perfect tense.
  4. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Speaker of the divine command.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Marks direction or recipient; Translation: “to”; Notes: Indicates Jacob as recipient of divine speech.
  6. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Patriarchal figure addressed by God.
  7. Surge — Lemma: surgo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperative present active, 2nd person singular; Function: Command; Translation: “arise”; Notes: First of three divine imperatives.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Connective; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links commands.
  9. ascende — Lemma: ascendo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperative present active, 2nd person singular; Function: Command; Translation: “go up”; Notes: Refers to ascent to Bethel’s high elevation.
  10. Bethel — Lemma: Bethel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Object of ascende; Translation: “Bethel”; Notes: Site of Jacob’s earlier vision.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Connects imperatives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues sequence of divine instructions.
  12. habita — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperative present active, 2nd person singular; Function: Command; Translation: “dwell”; Notes: Implies prolonged residence.
  13. ibi — Lemma: ibi; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: N/A; Function: Locative adverb; Translation: “there”; Notes: Refers to Bethel as destination.
  14. facque — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperative present active, 2nd person singular, with enclitic -que; Function: Command; Translation: “and make”; Notes: Adds further command to build an altar.
  15. altare — Lemma: altare; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Direct object of facque; Translation: “altar”; Notes: Sacrificial structure to honor God.
  16. Deo — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative singular masculine; Function: Indirect object; Translation: “to God”; Notes: The one to whom the altar is dedicated.
  17. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to God as the one who appeared.
  18. apparuit — Lemma: appareo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect indicative active, 3rd person singular; Function: Verb of relative clause; Translation: “appeared”; Notes: Refers to earlier divine manifestation.
  19. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Dative singular; Function: Indirect object; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Jacob as recipient of the vision.
  20. quando — Lemma: quando; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: N/A; Function: Introduces temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Connects to Jacob’s flight narrative.
  21. fugiebas — Lemma: fugio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperfect indicative active, 2nd person singular; Function: Verb of temporal clause; Translation: “you were fleeing”; Notes: Continuous action in the past.
  22. Esau — Lemma: Esau; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Object of fugiebas; Translation: “from Esau”; Notes: Marks the person Jacob fled from.
  23. fratrem — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Apposition to Esau; Translation: “brother”; Notes: Further identifies Esau.
  24. tuum — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: Adjective (possessive); Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Modifies fratrem; Translation: “your”; Notes: Stresses familial relationship in Jacob’s flight.

 

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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