Genesis 41:10

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 41:10 Iratus rex servis suis, me et magistrum pistorum retrudi iussit in carcerem principis militum:

The king, being angry with his servants, ordered me and the chief of the bakers to be shut up in the prison of the commander of the guards.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Iratus angry NOM.SG.M.PTCP.PERF.PASS
2 rex king NOM.SG.M
3 servis to his servants DAT.PL.M
4 suis his DAT.PL.M
5 me me ACC.SG
6 et and CONJ
7 magistrum chief ACC.SG.M
8 pistorum of the bakers GEN.PL.M
9 retrudi to be shut up PRES.PASS.INF
10 iussit he ordered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 in into PREP+ACC
12 carcerem prison ACC.SG.M
13 principis of the chief GEN.SG.M
14 militum of the guards GEN.PL.M

Syntax

Subject: rex — “the king,” modified by the participle Iratus expressing emotional state.
Dative phrase: servis suis — indirect object indicating those with whom he was angry.
Main verb: iussit — “he ordered,” governing an infinitive construction.
Infinitive clause: me et magistrum pistorum retrudi — passive infinitive phrase functioning as the object of iussit.
Prepositional phrase: in carcerem principis militum — expresses destination (“into the prison of the commander of the guards”).

Morphology

  1. Iratus — Lemma: irascor (by meaning), participle formed from irrito/irascor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies rex; Translation: “angry”; Notes: expresses emotional cause for the command.
  2. rex — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “king”; Notes: Pharaoh as narrative subject.
  3. servis — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to (his) servants”; Notes: expresses those who provoked anger.
  4. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: modifies servis; Translation: “his”; Notes: reflexive, referring to the king.
  5. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of retrudi; Translation: “me”; Notes: first speaker within the narrative.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: links the two prisoners.
  7. magistrum — Lemma: magister; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: second object of retrudi; Translation: “chief”; Notes: refers to the chief baker.
  8. pistorum — Lemma: pistor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: dependent genitive modifying magistrum; Translation: “of the bakers”; Notes: identifies his office.
  9. retrudi — Lemma: retrudo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present passive infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive governed by iussit; Translation: “to be shut up”; Notes: expresses passive result of the king’s order.
  10. iussit — Lemma: iubeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “he ordered”; Notes: introduces an infinitive phrase.
  11. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion into; Translation: “into”; Notes: standard directional preposition.
  12. carcerem — Lemma: carcer; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “prison”; Notes: physical location of confinement.
  13. principis — Lemma: princeps; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies carcerem; Translation: “of the chief”; Notes: refers to senior military officer.
  14. militum — Lemma: miles; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: dependent genitive modifying principis; Translation: “of the guards”; Notes: identifies the chief’s command group.

 

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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