Genesis 9:21

Posted on January 9, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 9:21 Bibensque vinum inebriatus est, et nudatus in tabernaculo suo.

And drinking the wine, he became drunk and was uncovered in his tent.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Bibensque and drinking PART.PRES.ACT.NOM.SG.M
2 vinum wine N.ACC.SG.N
3 inebriatus became drunk PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
4 est was 3SG.PRES.IND.ACT
5 et and CONJ
6 nudatus was uncovered PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
7 in in PREP+ABL
8 tabernaculo tent N.ABL.SG.N
9 suo his ADJ.POSS.ABL.SG.N

Syntax

Participial Phrase: Bibensque vinum — temporal participle, “and while drinking the wine,” indicating the cause or circumstance of the following actions.
Main Clause 1: inebriatus est — perfect passive, “he became drunk.”
Coordinated Clause: et nudatus in tabernaculo suo — elliptical perfect passive phrase, “and was uncovered in his tent,” sharing the auxiliary est understood from the first clause.
Word Order: Latin places the participle first for narrative flow, connecting cause (drinking) with result (drunkenness and exposure).

Morphology

  1. Bibensque — Lemma: bibo + que; Part of Speech: Participle (present active, with enclitic conjunction); Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Temporal participle modifying subject Noah; Translation: “and drinking”; Notes: Indicates the action simultaneous with becoming drunk.
  2. vinum — Lemma: vinum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Direct object of Bibens; Translation: “wine”; Notes: Refers to the product of Noah’s vineyard, previously planted.
  3. inebriatus — Lemma: inebrio; Part of Speech: Participle (perfect passive); Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Predicate with est; Translation: “became drunk”; Notes: Indicates completed result of the participial action.
  4. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present indicative active 3rd person singular; Function: Auxiliary forming perfect passive; Translation: “was” or “became”; Notes: Links Noah’s state of intoxication.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable; Function: Connects coordinate phrases; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links successive narrative results.
  6. nudatus — Lemma: nudo; Part of Speech: Participle (perfect passive); Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Predicate participle; Translation: “was uncovered”; Notes: Describes the secondary result of intoxication.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Expresses location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Indicates where the action took place.
  8. tabernaculo — Lemma: tabernaculum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Object of in; Translation: “tent”; Notes: Refers to Noah’s dwelling, symbol of human habitation after the Flood. Here tabernaculum clearly means an ordinary dwelling tent, not the sacred sanctuary. The ablative tabernaculo suo is required by the preposition in (location). Jerome consistently uses tabernaculum for Hebrew ohel (“tent”), so the same Latin word serves both everyday and cultic contexts.  So the literal translation of “tabernaculo suo” is “in his tent.”
  9. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Adjective (possessive); Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Modifies tabernaculo; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflects personal possession, emphasizing privacy violated by later narrative actions.

 

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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