Genesis 41:53

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 41:53 Igitur transactis septem ubertatis annis, qui fuerant in Ægypto:

Therefore, after the seven years of abundance had passed, which had been in Egypt;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Igitur therefore ADV
2 transactis having passed ABL.PL.N.PERF.PASS.PTCP
3 septem seven INDECL.NUM
4 ubertatis of abundance GEN.SG.F
5 annis years ABL.PL.M
6 qui which NOM.PL.M.REL
7 fuerant had been 3PL.PLUP.ACT.IND
8 in in PREP+ABL
9 Ægypto Egypt ABL.SG.F (proper)

Syntax

Adverbial Opening:
• Igitur — transitions narrative: “therefore.”

Ablative Absolute:
• transactis septem ubertatis annis — “after the seven years of abundance had passed.”
— transactis = perfect passive participle.
— annis = ablative noun.
— septem ubertatis = numeral + genitive (“seven years of abundance”).

Relative Clause:
• qui fuerant in Ægypto — “which had been in Egypt.”
— qui = subject of clause.
— fuerant = pluperfect verb.
— in Ægypto = location.

Morphology

  1. Igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: transitions to consequence; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: marks narrative shift.
  2. transactis — Lemma: transigo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural neuter perfect passive participle; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “having been completed / having passed”; Notes: passive in form, stative in sense.
  3. septem — Lemma: septem; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: invariable; Function: quantifies annis; Translation: “seven”; Notes: cardinal numeral.
  4. ubertatis — Lemma: ubertas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of quality; Translation: “of abundance”; Notes: describes years of plenty.
  5. annis — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “years”; Notes: completes ablative absolute construction.
  6. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: agrees with anni.
  7. fuerant — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative third person plural; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “had been”; Notes: marks completed past.
  8. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates location; Translation: “in”; Notes: static location.
  9. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: consistent Vulgate spelling.

 

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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