Genesis 40:16

Posted on February 9, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 40:16 Videns pistorum magister quod prudenter somnium dissolvisset, ait: Et ego vidi somnium, Quod tria canistra farinæ haberem super caput meum:

The chief of the bakers, when he saw that he had interpreted the dream wisely, said: “I also saw a dream, That I had three baskets of flour upon my head;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Videns seeing V.PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
2 pistorum of the bakers NOUN.GEN.PL.M
3 magister master NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 quod that CONJ
5 prudenter wisely ADV
6 somnium dream NOUN.ACC.SG.N
7 dissolvisset had interpreted V.3SG.PLUPERF.SUBJ.ACT
8 ait he said V.3SG.PERF.IND.ACT
9 Et and CONJ
10 ego I PRON.NOM.SG
11 vidi I saw V.1SG.PERF.IND.ACT
12 somnium a dream NOUN.ACC.SG.N
13 Quod that CONJ
14 tria three ADJ.NUM.ACC.PL.N
15 canistra baskets NOUN.ACC.PL.N
16 farinæ of flour NOUN.GEN.SG.F
17 haberem I had V.1SG.IMPERF.SUBJ.ACT
18 super upon PREP+ACC
19 caput head NOUN.ACC.SG.N
20 meum my ADJ.POSS.ACC.SG.N

Syntax

Participial frame:
Videns pistorum magister quod prudenter somnium dissolvisset — “The chief of the bakers, seeing that he (Joseph) had interpreted the dream wisely…”
• Subject of the participle: magister (the chief baker)
• Participle: Videns — circumstantial, “when he saw / seeing”
• Object clause: quod prudenter somnium dissolvisset — “that he had wisely interpreted the dream” (subject in context = Joseph)
• Object inside clause: somnium

Main speech verb:
ait — “he said.”

Quoted statement 1:
Et ego vidi somnium — “And I also saw a dream.”
• Explicit subject ego for emphasis.
• Perfect verb vidi narrating his own dream.

Quoted statement 2 (object clause of vidi):
Quod tria canistra farinæ haberem super caput meum — “that I had three baskets of flour upon my head.”
• Verb: haberem (subjunctive in object clause)
• Object: tria canistra
• Genitive of content: farinæ
• Prepositional phrase: super caput meum — location (“upon my head”).

Morphology

  1. Videns — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial participle modifying magister; Translation: “seeing / when he saw”; Notes: Sets up the causal/temporal frame for the chief baker’s speech.
  2. pistorum — Lemma: pistor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possessive genitive with magister; Translation: “of the bakers”; Notes: Identifies his role as chief over the bakers.
  3. magister — Lemma: magister; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of the participial phrase and of ait; Translation: “master / chief”; Notes: This is the chief baker mentioned in the narrative.
  4. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces an object clause (“that …”); Translation: “that”; Notes: Later Latin prefers this over classical accusative + infinitive in many contexts.
  5. prudenter — Lemma: prudenter; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies dissolvisset; Translation: “wisely”; Notes: Evaluates the quality of Joseph’s interpretation.
  6. somnium — Lemma: somnium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of dissolvisset; Translation: “(the) dream”; Notes: Refers to the cupbearer’s dream just interpreted by Joseph.
  7. dissolvisset — Lemma: dissolvo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular pluperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of the object clause introduced by quod; Translation: “had interpreted”; Notes: In biblical Latin, dissolvere is often used in the sense “to interpret (a dream).” The understood subject here is Joseph, not the chief baker.
  8. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active; Function: main narrative verb of speaking; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Defective verb used regularly in reported speech.
  9. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the quoted clause; Translation: “and / and also”; Notes: Here adds emphasis: “and I too…”.
  10. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: explicit subject of vidi; Translation: “I”; Notes: Expressed for emphasis, contrasting with the cupbearer.
  11. vidi — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person singular perfect indicative active; Function: main verb of the chief baker’s report; Translation: “I saw”; Notes: Perfect used as narrative past.
  12. somnium — Lemma: somnium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of vidi; Translation: “a dream”; Notes: Repeated noun ties his experience to that of the cupbearer.
  13. Quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces an object clause dependent on the idea of “I saw (that…)”; Translation: “that”; Notes: Marks the content of the dream.
  14. tria — Lemma: tres; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: modifies canistra; Translation: “three”; Notes: Agrees with the neuter plural noun.
  15. canistra — Lemma: canistrum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object of haberem; Translation: “baskets”; Notes: The three baskets are the key symbolic elements of this dream.
  16. farinæ — Lemma: farina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of content with canistra; Translation: “of flour”; Notes: Indicates what the baskets contained.
  17. haberem — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person singular imperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of the object clause introduced by Quod; Translation: “I had”; Notes: Subjunctive used in indirect discourse reporting the content of the dream.
  18. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces a spatial phrase; Translation: “upon / over”; Notes: Marks the location of the baskets.
  19. caput — Lemma: caput; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of super; Translation: “head”; Notes: Physical place where the baskets are carried.
  20. meum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: modifies caput; Translation: “my”; Notes: Stresses personal involvement in the symbolic scene.

 

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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