Genesis 42:23

Posted on February 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 42:23 Nesciebant autem quod intelligeret Ioseph: eo quod per interpretem loqueretur ad eos.

But they did not know that Joseph understood, because he spoke to them through an interpreter.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Nesciebant they did not know 3PL.IMP.FACT.IND
2 autem however ADV
3 quod that CONJ
4 intelligeret he understood 3SG.IMP.ACT.SUBJ
5 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M
6 eo because ABL.SG.M
7 quod that CONJ
8 per through PREP+ACC
9 interpretem an interpreter ACC.SG.M
10 loqueretur he was speaking 3SG.IMP.DEP.SUBJ
11 ad to PREP+ACC
12 eos them ACC.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause:
• Nesciebant autem — “But they did not know.”
— Nesciebant = imperfect indicating ongoing ignorance.
— autem adds contrast.

Content Clause:
• quod intelligeret Ioseph — “that Joseph understood.”
— quod introduces what they did not know.
— intelligeret subjunctive in indirect statement.

Causal Clause:
• eo quod per interpretem loqueretur — “because he spoke through an interpreter.”
— eo quod = causal conjunction.
— loqueretur = deponent in subjunctive, standard after eo quod.

Prepositional Phrase:
• ad eos — “to them.”
— complements loqueretur.

Morphology

  1. Nesciebant — Lemma: nescio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative third person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “they did not know”; Notes: continuous ignorance.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: contrastive marker; Translation: “however”; Notes: soft contrast.
  3. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces indirect statement; Translation: “that”; Notes: classical use of quod for content clauses.
  4. intelligeret — Lemma: intellego; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive third person singular; Function: verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “he understood”; Notes: subjunctive required by indirect speech.
  5. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of intelligeret; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: retained Hebrew name.
  6. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: part of idiom eo quod; Translation: “because”; Notes: ablative of cause fused with quod.
  7. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: completes idiom eo quod; Translation: “that/because”; Notes: introduces causal clause.
  8. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates agency/instrument; Translation: “through”; Notes: tool of communication.
  9. interpretem — Lemma: interpres; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of per; Translation: “interpreter”; Notes: implies Egyptian translator.
  10. loqueretur — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: imperfect subjunctive third person singular; Function: verb of causal clause; Translation: “he was speaking”; Notes: deponent with active meaning.
  11. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: complements communication verb.
  12. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “them”; Notes: Joseph’s brothers.

 

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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