Genesis 41:57

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 41:57 Omnesque provinciæ veniebant in Ægyptum, ut emerent escas, et malum inopiæ temperarent.

And all the provinces came into Egypt to buy food and to ease the suffering of the poverty.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Omnesque and all NOM.PL.F + -QUE
2 provinciæ the provinces NOM.PL.F
3 veniebant were coming 3PL.IMPF.ACT.IND
4 in into PREP+ACC
5 Ægyptum Egypt ACC.SG.F
6 ut to CONJ (PURPOSE)
7 emerent they might buy 3PL.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
8 escas food ACC.PL.F
9 et and CONJ
10 malum the evil/suffering ACC.SG.N
11 inopiæ of poverty GEN.SG.F
12 temperarent they might ease 3PL.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Main Clause:
• Omnesque provinciæ veniebant in Ægyptum — “And all the provinces were coming into Egypt.”
— provinciæ = subject.
— veniebant = ongoing action.
— in Ægyptum = destination.

Purpose Clause 1:
• ut emerent escas — “to buy food.”
— subjunctive of purpose emerent.
— escas = direct object.

Purpose Clause 2:
• et malum inopiæ temperarent — “and to ease the evil of the poverty.”
— temperarent = second subjunctive of purpose.
— malum inopiæ = object with genitive defining the source of suffering.

Morphology

  1. Omnesque — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective + enclitic; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: modifies provinciæ; Translation: “and all”; Notes: enclitic -que links to previous narrative.
  2. provinciæ — Lemma: provincia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “provinces”; Notes: widespread regional action.
  3. veniebant — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative third person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “were coming”; Notes: continuous influx.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion; Translation: “into”; Notes: dynamic movement.
  5. Ægyptum — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: destination; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: famine epicenter.
  6. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “to”; Notes: standard purpose marker.
  7. emerent — Lemma: emo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive third person plural; Function: purpose verb; Translation: “they might buy”; Notes: subjunctive required after ut.
  8. escas — Lemma: esca; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “food”; Notes: refers to grain supplies.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links two purpose clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: equal connection.
  10. malum — Lemma: malum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of temperarent; Translation: “evil” / “misery”; Notes: refers to suffering caused by famine.
  11. inopiæ — Lemma: inopia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of source; Translation: “of poverty”; Notes: explains origin of the evil.
  12. temperarent — Lemma: tempero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive third person plural; Function: purpose verb; Translation: “they might ease / mitigate”; Notes: expresses intended relief.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.