Genesis 37:24

Posted on February 6, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 37:24 miseruntque eum in cisternam veterem, quæ non habebat aquam.

and they threw him into an old cistern, which had no water in it.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 miseruntque and they cast V.3PL.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 eum him PRON.PERS.ACC.SG.M
3 in into PREP+ACC
4 cisternam cistern NOUN.ACC.SG.F
5 veterem old ADJ.ACC.SG.F
6 quæ which PRON.REL.NOM.SG.F
7 non not ADV.NEG
8 habebat had V.3SG.IMPF.ACT.IND
9 aquam water NOUN.ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Main clause: miseruntque eum in cisternam veterem — The main verb miserunt (perfect indicative active) expresses the completed act of throwing Joseph. The direct object is eum (“him”), and the prepositional phrase in cisternam veterem (accusative for motion) marks the goal of the action.

Relative clause: quæ non habebat aquam — quæ refers to cisternam, introducing a relative clause that provides a defining detail. The verb habebat (imperfect indicative) expresses continuous or descriptive past condition. non negates the possession, and aquam functions as the direct object.

Enclitic -que: The -que on miseruntque connects this action to the previous clause (“they stripped him and cast him…”), maintaining narrative flow.

Morphology

  1. miseruntque — Lemma: mittō; Part of Speech: verb + enclitic; Form: 3rd person plural perfect indicative active + enclitic conjunction -que; Function: main verb connected by enclitic “and”; Translation: “and they cast / sent”; Notes: Perfect tense marks a completed event; enclitic links this verb to prior action for narrative continuity.
  2. eum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of miserunt; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Joseph, the victim of the brothers’ act.
  3. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward a place; Translation: “into”; Notes: With accusative to show direction or movement toward an object.
  4. cisternam — Lemma: cisterna; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of the preposition in; Translation: “cistern / pit”; Notes: Used literally for a water-storage pit; figuratively, a place of confinement.
  5. veterem — Lemma: vetus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies cisternam; Translation: “old”; Notes: Qualifies the cistern’s state — possibly abandoned, implying danger or neglect.
  6. quæ — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to cisternam, linking the clause that describes its condition.
  7. non — Lemma: nōn; Part of Speech: adverb (negation); Form: indeclinable; Function: negates the verb habebat; Translation: “not”; Notes: Simple adverb of negation emphasizing emptiness.
  8. habebat — Lemma: habeō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular imperfect indicative active; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had / contained”; Notes: Imperfect describes a continuous or descriptive condition of lacking water at the time.
  9. aquam — Lemma: aqua; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of habebat; Translation: “water”; Notes: Indicates literal dryness of the cistern — absence of water implies potential for confinement rather than drowning.

 

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.