Genesis 42:9

Posted on February 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 42:9 Recordatusque somniorum, quæ aliquando viderat, ait ad eos: Exploratores estis: ut videatis infirmiora terræ venistis.

And remembering the dreams which he had once seen, he said to them: “You are spies; you have come to see the weaker parts of the land.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Recordatusque and having remembered NOM.SG.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP + -QUE
2 somniorum of the dreams GEN.PL.N
3 quæ which NOM.PL.N.REL
4 aliquando at some time / once ADV
5 viderat he had seen 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
6 ait he said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND (HISTORIC)
7 ad to PREP+ACC
8 eos them ACC.PL.M
9 Exploratores spies NOM.PL.M
10 estis you are 2PL.PRES.ACT.IND
11 ut that / in order that CONJ
12 videatis you may see 2PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
13 infirmiora the weak places ACC.PL.N.COMP
14 terræ of the land GEN.SG.F
15 venistis you have come 2PL.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Ablative Absolute / Participial Frame:
• Recordatusque somniorum — “And having remembered the dreams…”
— Recordatus is a deponent perfect participle functioning circumstantially.
— somniorum = genitive object.

Relative Clause:
• quæ aliquando viderat — “which he had once seen.”
— quæ refers to somnia.
— viderat = pluperfect marking prior visions.

Main Clause:
• ait ad eos — “he said to them.”
— historic present ait.

Direct Accusation:
• Exploratores estis — “You are spies.”

Purpose/Result Clause:
• ut videatis infirmiora terræ — “that you may see the weaker parts of the land.”
— infirmiora = “the vulnerable spots,” comparative used substantively.
— terræ = objective genitive.

Perfect Statement of Arrival:
• venistis — “you have come” (completed arrival).

Morphology

  1. Recordatusque — Lemma: recordor; Part of Speech: participle (deponent); Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle + enclitic -que; Function: circumstantial modifier; Translation: “and having remembered”; Notes: introduces Joseph’s recollection of earlier dreams.
  2. somniorum — Lemma: somnium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural neuter; Function: genitive object after recordatus; Translation: “of the dreams”; Notes: Joseph’s prophetic dreams.
  3. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of subordinate clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: links back to somnia.
  4. aliquando — Lemma: aliquando; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: temporal modifier; Translation: “once / at some time”; Notes: indefinite past time.
  5. viderat — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative third person singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “he had seen”; Notes: refers to earlier prophetic visions.
  6. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person singular (historic present); Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “he said”; Notes: stylistic vividness.
  7. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates direction toward persons; Translation: “to”; Notes: common in speech formulas.
  8. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “them”; Notes: Joseph’s brothers.
  9. Exploratores — Lemma: explorator; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “spies”; Notes: accusation.
  10. estis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative second person plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “you are”; Notes: direct address.
  11. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “that / so that”; Notes: standard final construction.
  12. videatis — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive second person plural; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “you may see”; Notes: subordinate to accusation.
  13. infirmiora — Lemma: infirmus; Part of Speech: adjective (comparative used substantively); Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of videatis; Translation: “the weaker parts”; Notes: refers to vulnerable border regions.
  14. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: objective genitive; Translation: “of the land”; Notes: land = Egypt.
  15. venistis — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative second person plural; Function: completes accusation; Translation: “you have come”; Notes: completed arrival for alleged purpose.

 

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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