Genesis 41:47

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 41:47 Venitque fertilitas septem annorum: et in manipulos redactæ segetes congregatæ sunt in horrea Ægypti.

And the fertility of the seven years came, and the harvested crops, reduced into sheaves, were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Venitque and came 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + -QUE
2 fertilitas fertility NOM.SG.F
3 septem seven INDECL.NUM
4 annorum of years GEN.PL.M
5 et and CONJ
6 in into PREP+ACC
7 manipulos sheaves ACC.PL.M
8 redactae reduced NOM.PL.F.PERF.PASS.PTCP
9 segetes crops NOM.PL.F
10 congregatae gathered NOM.PL.F.PERF.PASS.PTCP
11 sunt were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
12 in into PREP+ACC
13 horrea storehouses ACC.PL.N
14 Aegypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause 1:
• Venitque fertilitas septem annorum — “And the fertility of seven years came.”
— Venitque = main verb.
— fertilitas = subject.
— septem annorum = genitive of measure (“of seven years”).

Main Clause 2:
• in manipulos redactae segetes congregatae sunt
— segetes = subject (“crops”).
— redactae = participle modifying segetes (“reduced into sheaves”).
— congregatae sunt = periphrastic passive (“were gathered”).
— in manipulos = result/direction (“into sheaves”).
— in horrea Aegypti = final location (“into the storehouses of Egypt”).

Morphology

  1. Venitque — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb + enclitic; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “and came”; Notes: -que links this action into the narrative chain.
  2. fertilitas — Lemma: fertilitas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “fertility”; Notes: refers to the agricultural abundance predicted.
  3. septem — Lemma: septem; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies annorum; Translation: “seven”; Notes: numeral of years.
  4. annorum — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of measure; Translation: “of years”; Notes: measures duration of abundance.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: introduces second major action.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates result/direction; Translation: “into”; Notes: used with transformation participles.
  7. manipulos — Lemma: manipulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “sheaves”; Notes: harvested units.
  8. redactae — Lemma: redigo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural feminine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies segetes; Translation: “reduced”; Notes: indicates processing of grain.
  9. segetes — Lemma: seges; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of congregatae sunt; Translation: “crops”; Notes: harvested produce.
  10. congregatae — Lemma: congrego; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural feminine perfect passive participle; Function: part of passive periphrasis; Translation: “gathered”; Notes: describes storage activity.
  11. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person plural; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “were”; Notes: completes passive construction.
  12. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion towards; Translation: “into”; Notes: denotes final placement.
  13. horrea — Lemma: horreum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “storehouses”; Notes: Egyptian granaries.
  14. Aegypti — Lemma: Aegyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: specifies the location; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: indicates national granary system.

 

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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