Genesis 42:8

Posted on February 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 42:8 Et tamen fratres ipse cognoscens, non est cognitus ab eis.

And yet, though he himself recognized his brothers, he was not recognized by them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 tamen yet ADV
3 fratres brothers ACC.PL.M
4 ipse he himself NOM.SG.M.INTENS
5 cognoscens recognizing NOM.SG.M.PRES.ACT.PTCP
6 non not ADV
7 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
8 cognitus recognized NOM.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP
9 ab by PREP+ABL
10 eis them ABL.PL.M

Syntax

Concessive Frame:
• Et tamen fratres ipse cognoscens — “And yet, though he himself recognized his brothers…”
— ipse intensifies the subject (“he himself”).
— cognoscens is a circumstantial participle describing Joseph’s state.

Main Passive Clause:
• non est cognitus ab eis — “he was not recognized by them.”
— est cognitus = perfect passive.
— ab eis = agent.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects with previous sentence; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple connective.
  2. tamen — Lemma: tamen; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: marks concession; Translation: “yet”; Notes: emphasizes contrast.
  3. fratres — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of participle; Translation: “brothers”; Notes: refers to Joseph’s siblings.
  4. ipse — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun/adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: intensifies the subject; Translation: “he himself”; Notes: draws attention to Joseph personally.
  5. cognoscens — Lemma: cognosco; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine present active participle; Function: descriptive participle modifying the subject; Translation: “recognizing”; Notes: contrasts Joseph’s recognition with theirs.
  6. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negates the verb; Translation: “not”; Notes: standard negation.
  7. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: present active indicative third person singular; Function: auxiliary for perfect passive; Translation: “was”; Notes: forms perfect passive with participle.
  8. cognitus — Lemma: cognosco; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate in passive construction; Translation: “recognized”; Notes: describes completed passive action.
  9. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: marks agent; Translation: “by”; Notes: required with passive.
  10. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: agent of passive verb; Translation: “them”; Notes: Joseph’s brothers fail to recognize him.

 

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.