Genesis 45:4

Posted on February 14, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 45:4 Ad quos ille clementer: Accedite, inquit, ad me. Et cum accessissent prope, Ego sum, ait, Ioseph, frater vester, quem vendidistis in Ægyptum.

And to them he said kindly: “Come near to me.” And when they had come near, “I am,” he said, “Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ad to PREP+ACC
2 quos whom ACC.PL.M.REL.PRON
3 ille he NOM.SG.M.DEM
4 clementer kindly ADV
5 Accedite come near 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
6 inquit he said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
7 ad to PREP+ACC
8 me me ACC.SG.1P.PRON
9 Et and CONJ
10 cum when CONJ
11 accessissent they had come near 3PL.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
12 prope near ADV
13 Ego I NOM.SG.1P.PRON
14 sum am 1SG.PRES.ACT.IND
15 ait he said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
16 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M
17 frater brother NOM.SG.M
18 vester your NOM.SG.M.POSS
19 quem whom ACC.SG.M.REL.PRON
20 vendidistis you sold 2PL.PERF.ACT.IND
21 in into PREP+ACC
22 Aegyptum Egypt ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Opening phrase: Ad quos ille clementer — “And to whom he kindly…”
• Preposition + relative pronoun ad quos introduces the addressed group.
• Subject: ille.
• Adverb: clementer modifies manner of speaking.

Direct command: Accedite … ad me — “Come near to me.”
• Imperative: Accedite.
• Prepositional phrase: ad me.

Temporal clause: cum accessissent prope — “when they had come near.”
• Verb: accessissent (pluperfect subjunctive, temporal).
• Adverb: prope.

Self-identification: Ego sum, ait, Ioseph, frater vester — “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said.
• Copular clause: Ego sum Ioseph.
• Apposition: frater vester.

Relative clause: quem vendidistis in Aegyptum — “whom you sold into Egypt.”
• Relative pronoun: quem.
• Verb: vendidistis.
• Directional phrase: in Aegyptum.

Morphology

  1. Ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces direction toward the addressed group; Translation: “to”; Notes: standard directional preposition.
  2. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad, relates to “brothers”; Translation: “whom”; Notes: continues narrative cohesion.
  3. ille — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “he”; Notes: refers to Joseph.
  4. clementer — Lemma: clementer; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies verbal speech act; Translation: “kindly”; Notes: expresses tone of compassion.
  5. Accedite — Lemma: accedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative 2nd plural; Function: command addressed to brothers; Translation: “come near”; Notes: direct invitation.
  6. inquit — Lemma: inquam; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: parenthetic speech marker; Translation: “he said”; Notes: formulaic narrative tag.
  7. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction toward speaker; Translation: “to”; Notes: repeated for emphasis.
  8. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of ad; Translation: “me”; Notes: direct invitation to Joseph.
  9. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links sequences; Translation: “and”; Notes: narrative continuation.
  10. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: introduces subjunctive temporal clause; Function: marks time; Translation: “when”; Notes: triggers pluperfect subjunctive.
  11. accessissent — Lemma: accedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active subjunctive 3rd plural; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “they had come near”; Notes: anterior to main action.
  12. prope — Lemma: prope; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies accessissent; Translation: “near”; Notes: specifies spatial closeness.
  13. Ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: dramatic re-revelation.
  14. sum — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 1st singular; Function: main verb of identity; Translation: “am”; Notes: linking verb.
  15. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: introduces repeated speech; Translation: “he said”; Notes: narrative marker.
  16. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: complement of sum; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: climactic self-disclosure.
  17. frater — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: apposition to Ioseph; Translation: “brother”; Notes: relationship focus.
  18. vester — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies frater; Translation: “your”; Notes: plural possessive.
  19. quem — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of vendidistis; Translation: “whom”; Notes: refers to Joseph.
  20. vendidistis — Lemma: vendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 2nd plural; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “you sold”; Notes: direct reminder of past sin.
  21. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “into”; Notes: directional use.
  22. Aegyptum — Lemma: Aegyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: place of Joseph’s exile and exaltation.

 

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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