Genesis 41:16

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

16 Respondit Ioseph: Absque me Deus respondebit prospera Pharaoni.

Joseph answered: “Apart from me God will answer prosperous things to Pharao.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Respondit answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M
3 Absque apart from PREP+ABL
4 me me ABL.SG.1P.PRON
5 Deus God NOM.SG.M
6 respondebit will answer 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
7 prospera prosperous things ACC.PL.N
8 Pharaoni to Pharaoh DAT.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause:
Subject: Ioseph — performer of the action
Verb: Respondit — main finite verb “answered”

Subsequent Clause:
Phrase: Absque me — prepositional phrase expressing Joseph’s denial of personal ability
Main Verb: respondebit — future action
Subject: Deus — God as the one who will answer
Object: prospera — the things answered
Indirect Object: Pharaoni — the recipient of the answer

Morphology

  1. Respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb of reporting; Translation: “answered”; Notes: perfect expresses completed action.
  2. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of respondit; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: indeclinable Hebrew name adapted to Latin case endings.
  3. Absque — Lemma: absque; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: forms prepositional phrase excluding the speaker; Translation: “apart from”; Notes: conveys the idea of lack of personal credit.
  4. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular first person; Function: object of absque; Translation: “me”; Notes: ablative required by the preposition.
  5. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of respondebit; Translation: “God”; Notes: emphasized as the true source of the interpretation.
  6. respondebit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb of the second clause; Translation: “will answer”; Notes: future tense expresses divine forthcoming action.
  7. prospera — Lemma: prosperus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object of respondebit; Translation: “prosperous things”; Notes: neuter plural adjective often functions as a noun.
  8. Pharaoni — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to Pharaoh”; Notes: dative of recipient.

 

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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