Genesis 48:4

Posted on February 17, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 48:4 et ait: Ego te augebo et multiplicabo, et faciam te in turbas populorum: daboque tibi terram hanc, et semini tuo post te in possessionem sempiternam.

and he said: ‘I will increase you and multiply you, and I will make you into multitudes of peoples. And I will give to you this land, and to your offspring after you, as an everlasting possession.’

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 ait he said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 Ego I NOM.SG.PRON
4 te you ACC.SG.PRON
5 augebo I will increase 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
6 et and CONJ
7 multiplicabo I will multiply 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
8 et and CONJ
9 fariam I will make 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
10 te you ACC.SG.PRON
11 in into PREP+ACC
12 turbas multitudes ACC.PL.F
13 populorum of peoples GEN.PL.M
14 daboque and I will give 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC -QUE
15 tibi to you DAT.SG.PRON
16 terram land ACC.SG.F
17 hanc this ACC.SG.F.DEM
18 et and CONJ
19 semini to your offspring DAT.SG.N
20 tuo your DAT.SG.N.ADJ
21 post after PREP+ACC
22 te you ACC.SG.PRON
23 in into PREP+ACC
24 possessionem possession ACC.SG.F
25 sempiternam everlasting ACC.SG.F.ADJ

Syntax

Direct Speech introduced by verb of saying:
et ait: introduces the quoted divine promise.
English requires quotation marks: “ … ”

First-person future divine promises:
• Ego te augebo — subject + object + future verb
• et multiplicabo — coordinated future action
• et faciam te in turbas populorum — causative “make you into multitudes of peoples”

Coordinated promise with enclitic:
daboque tibi terram hanc = “and I will give to you this land”
-que links to previous clause.

Dative of advantage / inheritance:
semini tuo — “to your offspring”

Temporal prepositional phrase:
post te — “after you”

Final phrase of inheritance:
in possessionem sempiternam — “as an everlasting possession”

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard narrative connector.
  2. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third singular; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “he said”; Notes: Classical defective verb.
  3. Ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphatic position.
  4. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “you”; Notes: Repeated for clarity in coordinated clauses.
  5. augebo — Lemma: augeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular; Function: divine promise; Translation: “I will increase”; Notes: Futurity of blessing.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects blessings.
  7. multiplicabo — Lemma: multiplico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular; Function: divine promise; Translation: “I will multiply”; Notes: Parallel to augebo.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues sequence.
  9. fariam — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular; Function: causative action; Translation: “I will make”; Notes: Rare form appearing in Vulgate tradition.
  10. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object of fariam; Translation: “you”; Notes: Object of transformation.
  11. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates result; Translation: “into”; Notes: Marks outcome.
  12. turbas — Lemma: turba; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: complement of in; Translation: “multitudes”; Notes: Collective sense.
  13. populorum — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of kind; Translation: “of peoples”; Notes: Defines the multitudes.
  14. daboque — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular with enclitic -que; Function: coordinated divine promise; Translation: “and I will give”; Notes: -que links tightly to previous verb.
  15. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Recipient.
  16. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “land”; Notes: Object of the divine gift.
  17. hanc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies terram; Translation: “this”; Notes: Identifies Canaan.
  18. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links indirect object clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues promise.
  19. semini — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular neuter; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to your offspring”; Notes: Covenant terminology.
  20. tuo — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: dative singular neuter; Function: modifies semini; Translation: “your”; Notes: Possessive marker.
  21. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: temporal marker; Translation: “after”; Notes: Position in time.
  22. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of post; Translation: “you”; Notes: Marks succession.
  23. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates result; Translation: “into”; Notes: Expresses final state.
  24. possessionem — Lemma: possessio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: complement of in; Translation: “possession”; Notes: Legal inheritance term.
  25. sempiternam — Lemma: sempiternus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies possessionem; Translation: “everlasting”; Notes: Covenant permanence.

 

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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