Genesis 44:31

Posted on February 13, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 44:31 videritque eum non esse nobiscum, morietur, et deducent famuli tui canos eius cum dolore ad inferos.

and when he sees that he is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down his gray hairs with sorrow to the lower regions.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 videritque and will see 3SG.FUTPERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 eum him ACC.SG.M.PRON
3 non not NEG.ADV
4 esse to be PRES.ACT.INF
5 nobiscum with us ABL.PL.PRON + CUM
6 morietur he will die 3SG.FUT.DEP.IND
7 et and CONJ
8 deducent they will bring down 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
9 famuli servants NOM.PL.M
10 tui your NOM.PL.M.POSS
11 canos gray hairs ACC.PL.M
12 eius his GEN.SG.M.PRON
13 cum with PREP+ABL
14 dolore sorrow ABL.SG.M
15 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
16 inferos the lower regions ACC.PL.M

Syntax

Temporal–conditional clause: videritque eum non esse nobiscum — “and when he sees that he is not with us.”
• Verb: viderit (future perfect).
• Object: eum.
• Infinitive clause: non esse nobiscum with subject eum.

Main clause 1: morietur — “he will die.”
• Subject implied: Jacob.

Main clause 2: et deducent famuli tui canos eius cum dolore ad inferos — “and your servants will bring down his gray hairs with sorrow to the lower regions.”
• Subject: famuli tui.
• Verb: deducent.
• Object phrase: canos eius.
• Ablative of manner: cum dolore.
• Destination: ad inferos.

Morphology

  1. videritque — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active indicative 3rd singular + enclitic -que; Function: introduces an anticipatory temporal clause; Translation: “and he will see / when he has seen”; Notes: future-perfect often functions as “when” in temporal clauses.
  2. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: subject of infinitive esse; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers to Benjamin.
  3. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates esse; Translation: “not”; Notes: standard negation.
  4. esse — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb (infinitive); Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive in indirect statement; Translation: “to be”; Notes: takes eum as its subject accusative.
  5. nobiscum — Lemma: nos + cum; Part of Speech: pronoun + enclitic; Form: ablative plural; Function: adverbial phrase modifying esse; Translation: “with us”; Notes: classical contraction of “cum nobis.”
  6. morietur — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: future indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he will die”; Notes: refers to Jacob’s emotional collapse.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: narrative connector.
  8. deducent — Lemma: deduco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative 3rd plural; Function: main verb of second clause; Translation: “they will bring down”; Notes: expresses consequential action caused by Benjamin’s absence.
  9. famuli — Lemma: famulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of deducent; Translation: “servants”; Notes: Judah refers to himself and his brothers as Joseph’s servants.
  10. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies famuli; Translation: “your”; Notes: expresses subordination to Joseph.
  11. canos — Lemma: canus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of deducent; Translation: “gray hairs”; Notes: metonymy for “old age / life.”
  12. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifying canos; Translation: “his”; Notes: refers to Jacob.
  13. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces ablative of manner; Translation: “with”; Notes: expresses emotional accompaniment.
  14. dolore — Lemma: dolor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of manner; Translation: “sorrow”; Notes: highlights Jacob’s grief.
  15. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses destination; Translation: “to”; Notes: literal directional preposition.
  16. inferos — Lemma: inferi; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “the lower regions / the underworld”; Notes: idiom for the realm of the dead.

 

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.