Genesis 43:34

Posted on February 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 43:34 sumptis partibus quas ab eo acceperant: maiorque pars venit Beniamin, ita ut quinque partibus excederet. Biberuntque et inebriati sunt cum eo.

they received the portions which they had taken from him; and a greater portion came to Benjamin, so that it exceeded by five portions. And they drank and became merry with him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 sumptis having been taken ABL.PL.F.PPP
2 partibus portions ABL.PL.F
3 quas which ACC.PL.F.REL
4 ab from PREP+ABL
5 eo him ABL.SG.M.PRON
6 acceperant they had received 3PL.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
7 maiorque and greater NOM.SG.F.ADJ + ENCLITIC
8 pars portion NOM.SG.F
9 venit came 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 Beniamin Benjamin DAT.SG.M
11 ita so ADV
12 ut that CONJ.SUBORD
13 quinque five NUM.INDECL
14 partibus portions ABL.PL.F
15 excederet it exceeded 3SG.IMPFT.SUBJ.ACT
16 Biberuntque and they drank 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
17 et and CONJ
18 inebriati having become drunk NOM.PL.M.PPP
19 sunt they were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
20 cum with PREP+ABL
21 eo him ABL.SG.M.PRON

Syntax

Ablative absolute: sumptis partibus — “when the portions had been taken,” setting up the context for allocation.
Relative clause: quas ab eo acceperant — describes the portions as those “which they had received from him.”
Main clause: maiorque pars venit Beniamin — “and a greater portion came to Benjamin,” with pars as subject.
Result clause: ita ut quinque partibus excederet — “so that it exceeded by five portions,” expressing degree.
Final clause: Biberuntque et inebriati sunt cum eo — coordinated perfect verbs showing completion: they drank and became merry/drunk with him.

Morphology

  1. sumptis — Lemma: sumo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural feminine perfect passive participle; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “having been taken”; Notes: refers to the portions distributed at table.
  2. partibus — Lemma: pars; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object in ablative absolute; Translation: “portions”; Notes: food portions at Joseph’s table.
  3. quas — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of acceperant; Translation: “which”; Notes: agrees with partes understood.
  4. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: with ablative; Function: marks agency; Translation: “from”; Notes: classical variant of a before vowels.
  5. eo — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of ab; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers to Joseph as distributor.
  6. acceperant — Lemma: accipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “they had received”; Notes: action prior to seating.
  7. maiorque — Lemma: maior; Part of Speech: adjective (comparative) + enclitic -que; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies pars, subject; Translation: “and a greater”; Notes: -que joins this clause to previous.
  8. pars — Lemma: pars; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of venit; Translation: “portion”; Notes: refers to Benjamin’s serving.
  9. venit — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “came”; Notes: perfective, complete delivery of portion.
  10. Beniamin — Lemma: Beniamin; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object (“to Benjamin”); Translation: “Benjamin”; Notes: Hebrew name used indeclinably in Latin except in this adapted form.
  11. ita — Lemma: ita; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces result clause; Translation: “so”; Notes: prepares for ut.
  12. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating; Function: introduces result clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: used after ita to express degree.
  13. quinque — Lemma: quinque; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: numeral modifying partibus; Translation: “five”; Notes: specific measure of excess.
  14. partibus — Lemma: pars; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: ablative of comparison; Translation: “(than) portions”; Notes: Latin comparative construction.
  15. excederet — Lemma: excedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive 3rd singular; Function: verb of result clause; Translation: “it exceeded”; Notes: subjunctive mandated by result construction.
  16. Biberuntque — Lemma: bibo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd plural + enclitic -que; Function: main verb; Translation: “and they drank”; Notes: enclitic ties to next clause.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links drinking and becoming merry; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple coordination.
  18. inebriati — Lemma: inebrio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: complement with sunt; Translation: “having become drunk / made merry”; Notes: expresses resulting state.
  19. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd plural; Function: auxiliary with participle; Translation: “they were”; Notes: forms perfect passive.
  20. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: shows shared fellowship.
  21. eo — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of cum; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers to Joseph.

 

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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