Genesis 38:5

Posted on February 7, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 38:5 Tertium quoque peperit: quem appellavit Sela. quo nato, parere ultra cessavit.

And she also bore a third son, whom she called Sela. When he was born, she ceased giving birth further.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tertium third ADJ.ACC.SG.M
2 quoque also ADV
3 peperit bore V.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
4 quem whom PRON.REL.ACC.SG.M
5 appellavit called V.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 Sela Shelah NOUN.ACC.SG.M (proper)
7 quo when / with whom PRON.REL.ABL.SG.M
8 nato born PART.PERF.PASS.ABL.SG.M
9 parere to give birth V.PRES.INF.ACT
10 ultra further / any more ADV
11 cessavit ceased V.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main clause 1: Tertium quoque peperit — subject implied (Judah’s wife), predicate verb peperit (“she bore”), with modifier tertium (“a third [son]”) and adverb quoque (“also”) indicating continuity of births.

Relative clause: quem appellavit Sela — direct object pronoun quem referring to the son; perfect verb appellavit introduces naming act; Sela is the predicate accusative (name).

Temporal ablative absolute: quo nato — “when he was born,” with ablative participle nato (from nāscor) referring back to Sela.

Main clause 2: parere ultra cessavit — infinitive construction governed by cessavit, expressing “she ceased to give birth further.”

Morphology

  1. Tertium — Lemma: tertius; Part of Speech: adjective (ordinal); Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies implied noun filium; Translation: “third”; Notes: Indicates order in the series of sons (Er, Onan, Sela).
  2. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adds emphasis to the repetition of action; Translation: “also”; Notes: Indicates continuity in the birth sequence.
  3. peperit — Lemma: pariō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active; Function: main verb of clause; Translation: “she bore”; Notes: Perfect tense describes completed action of childbirth.
  4. quem — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of appellavit; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Refers to the newly born son.
  5. appellavit — Lemma: appellō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active; Function: predicate verb in naming clause; Translation: “called / named”; Notes: Standard Latin formula for naming.
  6. Sela — Lemma: Sēla (Shelah); Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object complement with appellavit; Translation: “Shelah”; Notes: Hebrew שֵׁלָה (*Shelāh*), Judah’s third son.
  7. quo — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: with nato forms ablative absolute; Translation: “when / with whom”; Notes: Introduces temporal clause.
  8. nato — Lemma: nāscor; Part of Speech: participle (deponent); Form: ablative singular masculine perfect passive in form, active in sense; Function: part of ablative absolute; Translation: “born”; Notes: Indicates completed event that frames following clause.
  9. parere — Lemma: pariō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present infinitive active; Function: infinitive complement of cessavit; Translation: “to give birth”; Notes: Governs meaning of “ceased to give birth.”
  10. ultra — Lemma: ultrā; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies parere; Translation: “further / any more”; Notes: Negates future repetition of action.
  11. cessavit — Lemma: cessō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active; Function: main verb of final clause; Translation: “ceased”; Notes: Perfect tense shows permanent cessation of childbirth after Sela’s birth.

 

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.