Genesis 47:22

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 47:22 præter terram sacerdotum, quæ a rege tradita fuerat eis: quibus et statuta cibaria ex horreis publicis præbebantur, et idcirco non sunt compulsi vendere possessiones suas.

except the land of the priests, which had been given to them by the king, and to whom appointed food rations were being supplied from the public storehouses, and therefore they were not compelled to sell their possessions.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 præter except PREP+ACC
2 terram land ACC.SG.F
3 sacerdotum of the priests GEN.PL.M
4 quæ which NOM.SG.F.REL
5 a by PREP+ABL
6 rege the king ABL.SG.M
7 tradita given NOM.SG.F.PPP
8 fuerat had been 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
9 eis to them DAT.PL.M
10 quibus to whom DAT.PL.M/F.REL
11 et and CONJ
12 statuta appointed NOM.PL.N.PPP
13 cibaria food rations NOM.PL.N
14 ex from PREP+ABL
15 horreis storehouses ABL.PL.N
16 publicis public ABL.PL.N.ADJ
17 præbebantur were being supplied 3PL.IMP.PASS.IND
18 et and CONJ
19 idcirco therefore ADV
20 non not ADV
21 sunt were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
22 compulsi compelled NOM.PL.M.PPP
23 vendere to sell PRES.ACT.INF
24 possessiones possessions ACC.PL.F
25 suas their ACC.PL.F.ADJ

Syntax

Prepositional Exception: præter terram sacerdotum — “except the land of the priests.”
Relative Clause: quæ a rege tradita fuerat eis — “which had been given to them by the king.”
• quæ = subject
• tradita fuerat = pluperfect passive
• a rege = agent
• eis = indirect object

Second Relative Clause: quibus … præbebantur — “to whom … were being supplied.”
Nominative Plural Subject: statuta cibaria — “appointed food rations.”
Source Phrase: ex horreis publicis — “from the public storehouses.”

Result / Reason Clause: et idcirco non sunt compulsi vendere possessiones suas
• idcirco = “therefore”
• sunt compulsi = perfect passive
• vendere possessiones suas = complementary infinitive phrase

Morphology

  1. præter — Lemma: præter; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces exception; Translation: “except”; Notes: Excludes the priests’ land.
  2. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of præter; Translation: “land”; Notes: Specific territory exempted from purchase.
  3. sacerdotum — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of the priests”; Notes: Priesthood in Egypt had unique privileges.
  4. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of tradita fuerat; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers to terram.
  5. a — Lemma: a/ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces agent; Translation: “by”; Notes: Standard ablative of agency.
  6. rege — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of agent; Translation: “the king”; Notes: Here: Pharaoh.
  7. tradita — Lemma: trado; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular feminine perfect passive participle; Function: part of periphrastic passive; Translation: “given”; Notes: Matches the gender of terram.
  8. fuerat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect indicative active third singular; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “had been”; Notes: Completed past action.
  9. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to them”; Notes: The priests benefited.
  10. quibus — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to whom”; Notes: Introduces next relative clause.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard coordinator.
  12. statuta — Lemma: statuo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural neuter perfect passive participle; Function: modifies cibaria; Translation: “appointed”; Notes: Means “fixed, prescribed.”
  13. cibaria — Lemma: cibarum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of præbebantur; Translation: “food rations”; Notes: Sustenance allocations.
  14. ex — Lemma: e/ex; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Stores from which rations were drawn.
  15. horreis — Lemma: horreum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of ex; Translation: “storehouses”; Notes: Granaries of Egypt.
  16. publicis — Lemma: publicus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: modifies horreis; Translation: “public”; Notes: State-owned supply.
  17. præbebantur — Lemma: præbeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect passive indicative third plural; Function: verb of the clause; Translation: “were being supplied”; Notes: Continuous distribution.
  18. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces result clause.
  19. idcirco — Lemma: idcirco; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: causal adverb; Function: expresses consequence; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Logical conclusion.
  20. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: negative; Function: negates verb; Translation: “not”; Notes: Standard negation.
  21. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third plural; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “were”; Notes: Forms perfect passive with compulsi.
  22. compulsi — Lemma: compello; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “compelled”; Notes: Describes lack of coercion.
  23. vendere — Lemma: vendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive; Translation: “to sell”; Notes: Dependent on compulsi sunt.
  24. possessiones — Lemma: possessio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of vendere; Translation: “possessions”; Notes: Their property.
  25. suas — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies possessiones; Translation: “their”; Notes: Refers back to the priests.

 

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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