Genesis 48:5

Posted on February 17, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 48:5 Duo ergo filii tui, qui nati sunt tibi in Terra Ægypti, antequam huc venirem ad te, mei erunt: Ephraim et Manasses, sicut Ruben et Simeon reputabuntur mihi.

So your two sons, who were born to you in the Land of Egypt before I came here to you, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasses shall be reckoned by me just as Ruben and Simeon.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Duo two NOM.PL.M.NUM
2 ergo therefore ADV
3 filii sons NOM.PL.M
4 tui your NOM.PL.M.ADJ
5 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL
6 nati born NOM.PL.M.PTCP.PERF.PASS
7 sunt were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
8 tibi to you DAT.SG.PRON
9 in in PREP+ABL
10 Terra the land ABL.SG.F
11 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F.PROP
12 antequam before CONJ
13 huc to here ADV
14 venerem I came 1SG.PERF.SUBJ.ACT
15 ad to PREP+ACC
16 te you ACC.SG.PRON
17 mei mine NOM.PL.M.PRON.POSS
18 erunt shall be 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
19 Ephraim Ephraim NOM.SG.M.PROP
20 et and CONJ
21 Manasses Manasseh NOM.SG.M.PROP
22 sicut as CONJ
23 Ruben Reuben NOM.SG.M.PROP
24 et and CONJ
25 Simeon Simeon NOM.SG.M.PROP
26 reputabuntur shall be reckoned 3PL.FUT.PASS.IND
27 mihi by me DAT.SG.PRON

Syntax

Main Clause:
Duo ergo filii tui … mei erunt — “Therefore your two sons … shall be mine.”
• Duo filii tui = subject noun phrase
• mei = predicate adjective/pronoun
• erunt = future verb of being

Relative Clause:
qui nati sunt tibi in Terra Ægypti — “who were born to you in the land of Egypt”
• qui = subject
• nati sunt = perfect passive verb
• tibi = dative of recipient
• in Terra Ægypti = locative phrase

Temporal Clause with antequam:
antequam huc venerem ad te
• antequam introduces a subjunctive of anticipation
• venerem = perfect subjunctive
• huc = adverb of motion
• ad te = prepositional phrase

Identification Formula:
Ephraim et Manasses … sicut Ruben et Simeon
Jacob declares tribal-spiritual adoption: Joseph’s sons get full patriarchal status.

Passive Future:
reputabuntur mihi — “shall be reckoned by me”
• mihi = dative of agent with passive

Morphology

  1. Duo — Lemma: duo; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: quantifies filii; Translation: “two”; Notes: Used here for enumeration.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces inference; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Logical connective.
  3. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers to Ephraim and Manasses.
  4. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies filii; Translation: “your”; Notes: Direct relation to Joseph.
  5. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of nati sunt; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces relative clause.
  6. nati — Lemma: nascor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate of relative clause; Translation: “born”; Notes: Deponent, passive in form.
  7. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present indicative third plural; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “were”; Notes: Forms perfect passive.
  8. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Recipient of birth.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Geographic placement.
  10. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “the land”; Notes: Locative.
  11. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies Terra; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: Region name.
  12. antequam — Lemma: antequam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordination; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “before”; Notes: Governs subjunctive.
  13. huc — Lemma: huc; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: indicates direction; Translation: “to here”; Notes: Motion toward speaker.
  14. venerem — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect subjunctive first singular; Function: verb in temporal clause; Translation: “I came”; Notes: Subjunctive of anticipation.
  15. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Motion toward you.
  16. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of ad; Translation: “you”; Notes: Emphatic.
  17. mei — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate complement; Translation: “mine”; Notes: Adoption formula.
  18. erunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “shall be”; Notes: Covenant declaration.
  19. Ephraim — Lemma: Ephraim; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Ephraim”; Notes: Listed first though younger.
  20. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins names; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connector.
  21. Manasses — Lemma: Manasses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Manasses”; Notes: Joseph’s eldest.
  22. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: comparative; Function: introduces analogy; Translation: “as”; Notes: Comparison.
  23. Ruben — Lemma: Ruben; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: comparison element; Translation: “Ruben”; Notes: Firstborn of Jacob.
  24. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins names; Translation: “and”; Notes: Pairing.
  25. Simeon — Lemma: Simeon; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: comparison element; Translation: “Simeon”; Notes: Jacob’s second son.
  26. reputabuntur — Lemma: reputo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future passive indicative third plural; Function: main verb of inheritance formula; Translation: “shall be reckoned”; Notes: Tribal adoption language.
  27. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: dative of agent; Translation: “by me”; Notes: Jacob as reckoning authority.

 

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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