Genesis 44:9

Posted on February 13, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 44:9 Apud quemcumque fuerit inventum servorum tuorum quod quæris, moriatur, et nos erimus servi domini nostri.

With whomever of your servants what you seek shall be found, let him die, and we shall be the servants of our lord.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Apud with PREP+ACC
2 quemcumque whoever ACC.SG.M
3 fuerit shall have been 3SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
4 inventum found NOM.SG.N.PTCP.PERF.PASS
5 servorum of servants GEN.PL.M
6 tuorum your GEN.PL.M
7 quod what NOM.SG.N
8 quæris you seek 2SG.PRES.ACT.IND
9 moriatur let him die 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
10 et and CONJ
11 nos we NOM.PL
12 erimus we shall be 1PL.FUT.ACT.IND
13 servi servants NOM.PL.M
14 domini of the lord GEN.SG.M
15 nostri our GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Conditional-like Construction: Apud quemcumque fuerit inventum — prepositional phrase + future-perfect verb + passive participle forming a condition.
Genitive Phrase: servorum tuorum — specifying whose group is being searched.
Relative Clause: quod quæris — “what you seek,” functioning as the subject of fuerit inventum.
Main Subjunctive Command: moriatur — jussive subjunctive “let him die.”
Coordinated Vow: nos erimus servi domini nostri — promise of enslavement should the condition be fulfilled.

Morphology

  1. Apud — Lemma: apud; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates presence with a person; Translation: “with”; Notes: introduces possessor in whose belongings the object may be found.
  2. quemcumque — Lemma: quicumque; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of apud; Translation: “whoever”; Notes: very strong indefinite-relative form.
  3. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active indicative third singular; Function: part of periphrastic passive; Translation: “shall have been”; Notes: anticipates result of investigation.
  4. inventum — Lemma: invenio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular neuter perfect passive participle; Function: predicate with fuerit; Translation: “found”; Notes: neuter to match quod.
  5. servorum — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies tuorum; Translation: “of servants”; Notes: belonging to the group of brothers.
  6. tuorum — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: pronoun/adjective; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies servorum; Translation: “your”; Notes: refers to steward.
  7. quod — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject of fuerit inventum; Translation: “what”; Notes: refers to the stolen item.
  8. quæris — Lemma: quæro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative second singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “you seek”; Notes: steward’s active search.
  9. moriatur — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: present active subjunctive third singular; Function: jussive command; Translation: “let him die”; Notes: expresses their vow of severe penalty.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins two commitments; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple connective.
  11. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative plural; Function: subject of erimus; Translation: “we”; Notes: emphatic positioning.
  12. erimus — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “we shall be”; Notes: marks promised future state.
  13. servi — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “servants”; Notes: expresses voluntary submission.
  14. domini — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of the lord”; Notes: refers to Joseph → translate as “lord,” not “LORD.”
  15. nostri — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: pronoun/adjective; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies domini; Translation: “our”; Notes: reinforces allegiance.

 

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.