Genesis 42:11

Posted on February 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 42:11 Omnes filii unius viri sumus: pacifici venimus, nec quidquam famuli tui machinantur mali.

We are all sons of one man; we have come in peace, and your servants are devising nothing evil.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Omnes all NOM.PL.M
2 filii sons NOM.PL.M
3 unius of one GEN.SG.M
4 viri man GEN.SG.M
5 sumus we are 1PL.PRES.ACT.IND
6 pacifici peaceful NOM.PL.M
7 venimus we have come 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
8 nec nor CONJ
9 quidquam anything ACC.SG.N.INDEF
10 famuli servants NOM.PL.M
11 tui your NOM.PL.M.POSS
12 machinantur devise 3PL.PRES.DEP.IND
13 mali evil GEN.SG.N

Syntax

Identity Statement:
• Omnes filii unius viri sumus — “We are all sons of one man.”
— Omnes modifies filii.
— unius viri = genitive of source/parentage.

Statement of Peaceful Intent:
• pacifici venimus — “we have come in peace.”
— pacifici = predicate adjective.

Negative Assertion:
• nec quidquam famuli tui machinantur mali
— “and your servants are devising nothing evil.”
— nec links with denial.
— quidquam = indefinite object.
— machinantur = deponent verb meaning “to contrive/plot.”
— mali = genitive of description: “evil.”

Morphology

  1. Omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective/pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies filii; Translation: “all”; Notes: emphasizes unity.
  2. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “sons”; Notes: stresses common lineage.
  3. unius — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies viri; Translation: “of one”; Notes: expresses single paternal origin.
  4. viri — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: complements unius; Translation: “of a man”; Notes: refers to Jacob.
  5. sumus — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative first person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “we are”; Notes: identity declaration.
  6. pacifici — Lemma: pacificus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate modifier of sumus (understood); Translation: “peaceful”; Notes: indicates peaceful intent.
  7. venimus — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative first person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “we have come”; Notes: completed arrival in Egypt.
  8. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces negative addition; Translation: “nor”; Notes: expresses contrastive denial.
  9. quidquam — Lemma: quisquam; Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: “anything”; Notes: standard in negative clauses.
  10. famuli — Lemma: famulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of machinantur; Translation: “servants”; Notes: is honorific self-reference.
  11. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies famuli; Translation: “your”; Notes: expresses humility before Joseph.
  12. machinantur — Lemma: machinor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: present indicative third person plural; Function: main verb of negative clause; Translation: “are devising”; Notes: deponent with active meaning.
  13. mali — Lemma: malum; Part of Speech: noun/adjective used substantively; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: genitive of specification (“anything of evil”); Translation: “evil”; Notes: expresses moral character of action denied.

 

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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