Genesis 46:4

Posted on February 15, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 46:4 Ego descendam tecum illuc, et ego inde adducam te revertentem: Ioseph quoque ponet manus suas super oculos tuos.

I will go down with you there, and I will bring you back from there returning, and Joseph also will place his hands over your eyes.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ego I PRON.NOM.SG
2 descendam I will go down 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
3 tecum with you PREP+PRON.ABL.SG
4 illuc to there ADV
5 et and CONJ
6 ego I PRON.NOM.SG
7 inde from there ADV
8 adducam I will bring 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
9 te you PRON.ACC.SG
10 revertentem returning PRES.ACT.PTCP.ACC.SG.M
11 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M
12 quoque also ADV
13 ponet will place 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
14 manus hands ACC.PL.F
15 suas his REFL.PRON.ACC.PL.F
16 super over PREP+ACC
17 oculos eyes ACC.PL.M
18 tuos your POSS.ADJ.ACC.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Ego (subject) + descendam (verb); tecum (prepositional phrase: accompaniment); illuc (adverb of direction).
Main Clause 2: ego (subject) + adducam (verb) + te revertentem (object with participial modifier); inde (adverbial source).
Main Clause 3: Ioseph (subject) + ponet (verb) + manus suas (direct object) + super oculos tuos (prepositional phrase of location).

Morphology

  1. Ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: emphatic subject pronoun.
  2. descendam — Lemma: descendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “I will go down”; Notes: future expresses divine assurance.
  3. tecum — Lemma: te + cum; Part of Speech: preposition + pronoun; Form: cum + ablative singular; Function: accompaniment; Translation: “with you”; Notes: enclitic form of cum.
  4. illuc — Lemma: illuc; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: —; Function: adverb of direction; Translation: “to there”; Notes: points to destination.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: clause connector; Translation: “and”; Notes: coordinates parallel divine actions.
  6. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: repetition adds reassurance.
  7. inde — Lemma: inde; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: —; Function: adverb of source; Translation: “from there”; Notes: contrasts with illuc.
  8. adducam — Lemma: adduco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “I will bring”; Notes: indicates divine promise of return.
  9. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “you”; Notes: object of adducam.
  10. revertentem — Lemma: revertens; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies te; Translation: “returning”; Notes: describes the state in which the person is brought back.
  11. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Ioseph”; Notes: classical Latin keeps Hebrew name uninflected.
  12. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: —; Function: adds emphasis; Translation: “also”; Notes: modifies the entire clause.
  13. ponet — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “will place”; Notes: prophetic future.
  14. manus — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “hands”; Notes: irregular fourth-declension noun.
  15. suas — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies manus; Translation: “his”; Notes: reflexive indicates ownership by the subject Ioseph.
  16. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: spatial relation; Translation: “over”; Notes: expresses physical placement.
  17. oculos — Lemma: oculus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of preposition; Translation: “eyes”; Notes: complement of super.
  18. tuos — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies oculos; Translation: “your”; Notes: second-person possession.

 

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.