Genesis 44:20

Posted on February 13, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 44:20 et nos respondimus tibi domino meo: Est nobis pater senex, et puer parvulus, qui in senectute illius natus est; cuius uterinus frater mortuus est: et ipsum solum habet mater sua, pater vero tenere diliget eum.

and we answered you, my lord: ‘We have an old father and a little boy who was born to him in his old age, whose uterine brother is dead, and his mother has him alone, but his father will love him tenderly.’

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 nos we NOM.PL.PRON
3 respondimus we answered 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
4 tibi to you DAT.SG.2ND.PRON
5 domino lord DAT.SG.M.NOUN
6 meo my DAT.SG.M.ADJ
7 Est there is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
8 nobis to us DAT.PL.1ST.PRON
9 pater father NOM.SG.M.NOUN
10 senex old NOM.SG.M.ADJ
11 et and CONJ
12 puer boy NOM.SG.M.NOUN
13 parvulus very small / little NOM.SG.M.ADJ
14 qui who NOM.SG.M.REL.PRON
15 in in PREP+ABL
16 senectute old age ABL.SG.F.NOUN
17 illius of him GEN.SG.M.DEMONSTR
18 natus born NOM.SG.M.PPP
19 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
20 cuius whose GEN.SG.M.REL.PRON
21 uterinus uterine NOM.SG.M.ADJ
22 frater brother NOM.SG.M.NOUN
23 mortuus dead NOM.SG.M.PPP
24 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
25 et and CONJ
26 ipsum him ACC.SG.M.PRON
27 solum alone / only ACC.SG.M.ADJ
28 habet has 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
29 mater mother NOM.SG.F.NOUN
30 sua his own NOM.SG.F.ADJ
31 pater father NOM.SG.M.NOUN
32 vero however ADV
33 tenere tenderly ADV
34 diliget will love 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
35 eum him ACC.SG.M.PRON

Syntax

Main reporting clause:
• et nos respondimus tibi domino meo — “and we answered you, my lord.”
• Subject: nos
• Verb: respondimus
• Indirect object: tibi domino meo (“to you, my lord”).

Content of the answer (reported description):
1. Est nobis pater senex — dative of possession, “we have an old father.”
2. et puer parvulus — coordination; a second subject “and a little boy.”
3. qui in senectute illius natus est — relative clause modifying puer parvulus, “who was born in his old age.”
4. cuius uterinus frater mortuus est — relative clause, “whose uterine brother is dead.”
5. et ipsum solum habet mater sua — “and his mother has him alone.”
6. pater vero tenere diliget eum — “but his father will love him tenderly,” with vero marking contrast and tenere as an adverb intensifying diliget.

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating, indeclinable; Function: links this clause with the preceding narrative; Translation: “and”; Notes: marks continuation of Judah’s speech.
  2. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative plural; Function: explicit subject of respondimus; Translation: “we”; Notes: subject is often implicit in Latin but emphasized here.
  3. respondimus — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 1st person plural; Function: main verb of the reporting clause; Translation: “we answered”; Notes: perfect tense marks completed action in the past.
  4. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object of respondimus; Translation: “to you”; Notes: refers to Joseph as the recipient of their answer.
  5. domino — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: in apposition to tibi, specifying the person addressed; Translation: “lord”; Notes: human lord (Joseph), so rendered “lord,” not “LORD.”
  6. meo — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: modifies domino; Translation: “my”; Notes: expresses deferential subordination.
  7. Est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: existential verb in a dative-of-possession structure; Translation: “there is”; Notes: introduces possession with the dative nobis.
  8. nobis — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: dative of possession with Est; Translation: “for us / we have”; Notes: idiomatic Latin way of saying “we have.”
  9. pater — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: logical subject of Est in the possessive construction; Translation: “father”; Notes: refers to Jacob.
  10. senex — Lemma: senex; Part of Speech: adjective (used substantively); Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: attributive adjective modifying pater; Translation: “old”; Notes: underscores the father’s frailty and age.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links the second subject puer parvulus with pater senex; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple additive coordination.
  12. puer — Lemma: puer; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject (coordinated with pater) in the possessive construction; Translation: “boy”; Notes: denotes Benjamin.
  13. parvulus — Lemma: parvulus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: attributive adjective modifying puer; Translation: “very small / little”; Notes: diminutive form enhances sense of youth and tenderness.
  14. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of natus est in the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: antecedent is puer parvulus.
  15. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces ablative of circumstance; Translation: “in”; Notes: used with senectute to express “in his old age.”
  16. senectute — Lemma: senectus / senectus, senectutis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in expressing the time/circumstance; Translation: “old age”; Notes: abstract noun for advanced age.
  17. illius — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying senectute; Translation: “of him”; Notes: refers back to the father.
  18. natus — Lemma: nascor; Part of Speech: perfect participle (deponent); Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate participle with est in the relative clause; Translation: “born”; Notes: deponent verb with passive form but active sense.
  19. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: auxiliary/coproverb with natus; Translation: “is / was”; Notes: functions as part of the perfect periphrastic construction.
  20. cuius — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive in the next relative clause; Translation: “whose”; Notes: refers back to the “little boy.”
  21. uterinus — Lemma: uterinus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: attributive adjective modifying frater; Translation: “uterine”; Notes: specifies same mother (full brother by the same womb).
  22. frater — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of mortuus est; Translation: “brother”; Notes: indicates the close kinship.
  23. mortuus — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: perfect participle (deponent); Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate participle with est; Translation: “dead”; Notes: expresses resultant state.
  24. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: copula with mortuus; Translation: “is / has become”; Notes: forms a perfect-like periphrasis “has died / is dead.”
  25. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: introduces a further clause about the boy’s situation; Translation: “and”; Notes: continuing the description.
  26. ipsum — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of habet; Translation: “him”; Notes: emphatic: “him himself / him alone.”
  27. solum — Lemma: solus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: adjective modifying ipsum; Translation: “alone / only”; Notes: stresses that he is the only remaining son of that mother.
  28. habet — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb of the clause; Translation: “has”; Notes: simple present describing current situation.
  29. mater — Lemma: mater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of habet; Translation: “mother”; Notes: refers to the boy’s mother (Rachel in context).
  30. sua — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies mater; Translation: “his own”; Notes: reflexive, referring back to the boy as possessor.
  31. pater — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of diliget; Translation: “father”; Notes: again Jacob, now as acting subject.
  32. vero — Lemma: vero; Part of Speech: adverb / particle; Form: indeclinable; Function: contrastive adverb marking a slight shift (“however / indeed”); Translation: “however”; Notes: highlights the father’s special affection.
  33. tenere — Lemma: tenere; Part of Speech: adverb (from tener); Form: indeclinable adverbial form; Function: adverb modifying diliget; Translation: “tenderly”; Notes: intensifies the emotional quality of the father’s love.
  34. diliget — Lemma: diligo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb of the closing clause; Translation: “will love”; Notes: future tense may express persistent or sure affection (“will surely love him”).
  35. eum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of diliget; Translation: “him”; Notes: points back to the “little boy,” emphasizing him as the object of special love.

 

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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