Genesis 47:1

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 47:1 Ingressus ergo Ioseph nunciavit Pharaoni, dicens: Pater meus et fratres, oves eorum et armenta, et cuncta quæ possident, venerunt de Terra Chanaan: et ecce consistunt in Terra Gessen.

Then Joseph entered and announced to Pharao, saying:  “My father and brothers, their sheep and their herds, and all the things they possess, have come from the Land of Chanaan, and behold, they are standing in the Land of Gessen.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ingressus having entered NOM.SG.M; PERF.PTCP.ACT
2 ergo therefore ADV
3 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M
4 nunciavit announced 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
5 Pharaoni to Pharaoh DAT.SG.M
6 dicens saying PRES.PTCP.ACT.NOM.SG.M
7 Pater father NOM.SG.M
8 meus my NOM.SG.M.ADJ
9 et and CONJ
10 fratres brothers NOM.PL.M
11 oves sheep NOM.PL.F
12 eorum their GEN.PL.M/F
13 et and CONJ
14 armenta herds NOM.PL.N
15 et and CONJ
16 cuncta all things NOM.PL.N
17 quæ which NOM.PL.N.REL
18 possidēnt they possess 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
19 venerunt they came 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
20 de from PREP+ABL
21 Terra Land ABL.SG.F
22 Chanaan Canaan ABL.SG.F
23 et and CONJ
24 ecce behold INTERJ
25 consistunt they stand 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
26 in in PREP+ABL
27 Terra land ABL.SG.F
28 Gessen Goshen ABL.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Ioseph (subject) + nunciavit (verb) + Pharaoni (indirect object).
Participial Clause: Ingressus modifies Ioseph, giving prior action.
Reported Speech: Introduced by dicens.
Sub-Clause: Pater meus et fratres … venerunt forms a full clause inside the report.
Additional Clause: et ecce consistunt in Terra Gessen gives present-time location.

Morphology

  1. Ingressus — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial participle modifying Joseph; Translation: “having entered”; Notes: expresses action prior to the main verb.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: adverbial; Function: logical connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: signals continuation of narrative flow.
  3. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: proper name indeclinable in form.
  4. nunciavit — Lemma: nuntio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “announced”; Notes: carries the narrative action.
  5. Pharaoni — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to Pharaoh”; Notes: receives the announcement.
  6. dicens — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces reported speech; Translation: “saying”; Notes: contemporaneous with main verb.
  7. Pater — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of reported clause; Translation: “father”; Notes: part of compound subject.
  8. meus — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies Pater; Translation: “my”; Notes: possessive adjective.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins coordinated elements; Translation: “and”; Notes: multi-use connective.
  10. fratres — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: part of compound subject; Translation: “brothers”; Notes: coordinates with Pater.
  11. oves — Lemma: ovis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of sub-clause; Translation: “sheep”; Notes: forms new subject for “venerunt.”
  12. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural; Function: possession; Translation: “their”; Notes: modifies oves and armenta.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: connective.
  14. armenta — Lemma: armentum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject; Translation: “herds”; Notes: coordinated with oves.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins elements; Translation: “and”; Notes: connective.
  16. cuncta — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject; Translation: “all things”; Notes: forms third portion of coordinated subject.
  17. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter relative; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: agrees with cuncta.
  18. possident — Lemma: possideo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “they possess”; Notes: refers to Jacob and brothers.
  19. venerunt — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person plural; Function: verb of the subordinate clause; Translation: “they came”; Notes: perfective action.
  20. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: standard ablative construction.
  21. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of preposition; Translation: “land”; Notes: geographic term.
  22. Chanaan — Lemma: Chanaan; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular; Function: modifies Terra; Translation: “Chanaan”; Notes: place name.
  23. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: connective.
  24. ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: demonstrative; Function: introduces emphasis; Translation: “behold”; Notes: signals vivid narration.
  25. consistunt — Lemma: consisto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person plural; Function: main verb of new clause; Translation: “they stand / are positioned”; Notes: emphasizes presence.
  26. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses location; Translation: “in”; Notes: standard locative construction.
  27. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “land”; Notes: parallels earlier use.
  28. Gessen — Lemma: Gessen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: place in which; Translation: “Gessen”; Notes: region granted by Pharaoh.

 

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.