Genesis 46:20

Posted on February 15, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 46:20 Natique sunt Ioseph filii in Terra Ægypti, quos genuit ei Aseneth filia Putiphare sacerdotis Heliopoleos: Manasses et Ephraim.

And sons were born to Joseph in the Land of Egypt, whom Aseneth the daughter of Putiphare the priest of Heliopolis bore to him: Manasses and Ephraim.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Natique and born PPP.NOM.PL.M + ENCLITIC
2 sunt were 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Ioseph to Joseph DAT.SG.M
4 filii sons NOM.PL.M
5 in in PREP+ABL
6 Terra land ABL.SG.F
7 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F
8 quos whom ACC.PL.M
9 genuit bore 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 ei to him DAT.SG.M
11 Aseneth Asenath NOM.SG.F
12 filia daughter NOM.SG.F
13 Putiphare of Potiphera GEN.SG.M
14 sacerdotis priest GEN.SG.M
15 Heliopoleos of On GEN.SG.F
16 Manasses Manasseh NOM.SG.M
17 et and CONJ
18 Ephraim Ephraim NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause:
• Natique sunt: passive periphrastic meaning “and were born”
• filii: nominative subject
• Ioseph: dative of reference (“to Joseph”)
• in Terra Ægypti: locative prepositional phrase

Relative Clause:
• quos: object of genuit referring to the sons
• genuit: main verb
• ei: indirect object (“to him”)
• Aseneth: subject
• filia Putiphare sacerdotis Heliopoleos: appositive chain describing Aseneth’s lineage

Appositional Final Pair:
• Manasses et Ephraim stand as nominative apposition naming the two sons explicitly.

Morphology

  1. Natique — Lemma: natus + que; Part of Speech: participle + enclitic conjunction; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle with enclitic “-que”; Function: part of a passive verbal construction “were born”; Translation: “and born”; Notes: -que connects this clause to prior narrative flow.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative active (used in passive construction with PPP); Function: auxiliary to Natique; Translation: “were”; Notes: forms the perfect passive.
  3. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: dative of reference (“to Joseph”); Translation: “to Joseph”; Notes: indicates beneficiary of the birth.
  4. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of Natique sunt; Translation: “sons”; Notes: core of the genealogical statement.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: marks spatial setting.
  6. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of preposition in; Translation: “land”; Notes: part of the locative phrase.
  7. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular; Function: genitive of place; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: specifies which land.
  8. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of genuit; Translation: “whom”; Notes: refers to the sons born.
  9. genuit — Lemma: gigno; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the relative clause; Translation: “bore”; Notes: Aseneth is the subject.
  10. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to him”; Notes: refers to Joseph.
  11. Aseneth — Lemma: Aseneth; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of genuit; Translation: “Aseneth”; Notes: Egyptian wife of Joseph.
  12. filia — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: apposition to Aseneth; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: indicates lineage.
  13. Putiphare — Lemma: Putiphar; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive/genitive of relationship; Translation: “of Putiphar”; Notes: identifies Aseneth’s father.
  14. sacerdotis — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: apposition to Putiphare; Translation: “priest”; Notes: describes his occupation.
  15. Heliopoleos — Lemma: Heliopolis; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of place; Translation: “of Heliopolis”; Notes: Egyptian city (On).
  16. Manasses — Lemma: Manasses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: appositional identification of one of the sons; Translation: “Manasses”; Notes: firstborn of Joseph.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links Manasses and Ephraim; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple coordination.
  18. Ephraim — Lemma: Ephraim; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: second son in the appositional pair; Translation: “Ephraim”; Notes: younger son of 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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.