Genesis 47:30

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 47:30 sed dormiam cum patribus meis, et auferas me de terra hac, condasque in sepulchro maiorum meorum. Cui respondit Ioseph: Ego faciam quod iussisti.

but I shall sleep with my fathers, and you shall carry me out of this land, and you shall bury me in the sepulcher of my ancestors.” And Joseph answered him: “I will do what you have commanded.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 sed but CONJ
2 dormiam I shall sleep 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
3 cum with PREP+ABL
4 patribus fathers ABL.PL.M
5 meis my ABL.PL.M.ADJ
6 et and CONJ
7 aueras you shall carry away 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
8 me me ACC.SG.PRON
9 de from PREP+ABL
10 terra land ABL.SG.F
11 hac this ABL.SG.F.DEM
12 condasque and you shall bury 2SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ + ENCLITIC -QUE
13 in in PREP+ABL
14 sepulchro sepulcher ABL.SG.N
15 maiorum of the ancestors GEN.PL.M
16 meorum my GEN.PL.M.ADJ
17 Cui to whom DAT.SG.M.REL
18 respondit answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
19 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M.PROP
20 Ego I NOM.SG.PRON
21 faciam I will do 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
22 quod what ACC.SG.N.REL
23 iussisti you have commanded 2SG.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Declaration: sed dormiam cum patribus meis — Jacob states his approaching death and burial intention.
• dormiam = verb (“I shall sleep,” idiom for death)
• cum patribus meis = ablative of accompaniment

Coordinated Future Actions Requested:
• et auferas me de terra hac — “and you shall carry me from this land”
• condasque in sepulchro maiorum meorum — “and you shall bury me in the sepulcher of my ancestors”

Relative Clause of Response:
Cui respondit Ioseph — “to whom Joseph answered”

Direct Speech:
Ego faciam quod iussisti — “I will do what you have commanded.”
• faciam = future promise
• quod iussisti = relative clause functioning as object

Morphology

  1. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: adversative; Function: contrasts prior statement; Translation: “but”; Notes: Introduces burial instructions.
  2. dormiam — Lemma: dormio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “I shall sleep”; Notes: Euphemism for death.
  3. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: Burial with ancestors.
  4. patribus — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of cum; Translation: “fathers”; Notes: Ancestors of Jacob.
  5. meis — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: modifies patribus; Translation: “my”; Notes: Belongs to Jacob.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Function: links burial requests; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connective.
  7. auferas — Lemma: aufero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative second singular; Function: command/promise request; Translation: “you shall carry out”; Notes: Part of oath obligation.
  8. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of auferas; Translation: “me”; Notes: Jacob himself.
  9. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Removal from Egypt.
  10. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: “land”; Notes: Egypt as burial site to avoid.
  11. hac — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies terra; Translation: “this”; Notes: Egypt, not his home.
  12. condasque — Lemma: condo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive second singular plus enclitic -que; Function: coordinated desired action; Translation: “and you shall bury”; Notes: Subjunctive of purpose/volition.
  13. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: Specifies tomb location.
  14. sepulchro — Lemma: sepulchrum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “sepulcher”; Notes: Burial place.
  15. maiorum — Lemma: maiores; Part of Speech: noun (plural comparative used substantively); Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies sepulchro; Translation: “of the ancestors”; Notes: Patriarchal lineage.
  16. meorum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies maiorum; Translation: “my”; Notes: Jacob’s ancestors.
  17. Cui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to whom”; Notes: Refers to Jacob.
  18. respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb of reply; Translation: “answered”; Notes: Joseph’s response.
  19. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of respondit; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: Speaker.
  20. Ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphasis on personal commitment.
  21. faciam — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular; Function: promise; Translation: “I will do”; Notes: Assurance of obedience.
  22. quod — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of iussisti; Translation: “what”; Notes: Introduces content of command.
  23. iussisti — Lemma: iubeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative second singular; Function: verb in relative clause; Translation: “you have commanded”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s request.

 

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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