Genesis 47:5

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 47:5 Dixit itaque rex ad Ioseph: Pater tuus et fratres tui venerunt ad te.

And the king said to Joseph: “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dixit he said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 itaque therefore ADV
3 rex king NOM.SG.M
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Ioseph Joseph ACC.SG.M
6 Pater father NOM.SG.M
7 tuus your NOM.SG.M.ADJ
8 et and CONJ
9 fratres brothers NOM.PL.M
10 tui your NOM.PL.M.ADJ
11 venerunt they have come 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
12 ad to PREP+ACC
13 te you ACC.SG

Syntax

Main Clause: Dixit rex forms the core: “the king said.”
Prepositional Phrase: ad Ioseph marks the addressee.
Direct Speech: Introduced exactly by the Latin punctuation after Dixit.
Subject in Direct Quote: Pater tuus et fratres tui is a compound subject.
Verb: venerunt completes the thought inside the quotation.

Morphology

  1. Dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Introduces direct speech.
  2. itaque — Lemma: itaque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: adverbial; Function: logical connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Marks narrative consequence.
  3. rex — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “king”; Notes: Refers to Pharaoh.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks direction towards; Translation: “to”; Notes: Standard accusative preposition.
  5. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: Proper name.
  6. Pater — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of direct speech; Translation: “father”; Notes: First element of compound subject.
  7. tuus — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies Pater; Translation: “your”; Notes: Addressed to Joseph.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins subjects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard conjunction.
  9. fratres — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: second subject; Translation: “brothers”; Notes: Parallel to Pater.
  10. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies fratres; Translation: “your”; Notes: Consistent possession.
  11. venerunt — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person plural; Function: main verb of direct speech; Translation: “have come”; Notes: Perfect tense marks completed arrival.
  12. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: motion toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Creates parallel with earlier ad Ioseph.
  13. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of ad; Translation: “you”; Notes: Refers to 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.
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