Genesis 1:5

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 1:5 Appellavitque lucem Diem, et tenebras Noctem: factumque est vespere et mane, dies unus.

And He called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night, and there came evening and morning: one day.

 

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Appellavitque and called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 lucem light ACC.SG.F
3 Diem Day ACC.SG.M
4 et and CONJ
5 tenebras darkness ACC.PL.F
6 Noctem Night ACC.SG.F
7 factumque and it happened PTCP.NOM.SG.N + ENCLITIC
8 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
9 vespere evening ABL.SG.N
10 et and CONJ
11 mane morning ABL.SG.N
12 dies day NOM.SG.M
13 unus one NOM.SG.M.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Appellavitque (Verb) + Deus (Implied Subject)
Object: lucem — renamed as Diem

Main Clause 2: Appellavit (implied) + tenebras — renamed as Noctem

Main Clause 3: factum est (Verb phrase)
Phrases: vespere et mane — ablative of time marking evening-to-morning period
Predicate: dies unus — first full day defined

Morphology

  1. Appellavitque — Lemma: appello; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular with enclitic –que; Function: Main naming action; Translation: “and He called”; Notes: Divine designation.
  2. lucem — Lemma: lux; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Direct object renamed; Translation: “light”; Notes: Object of naming.
  3. Diem — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Predicate accusative; Translation: “Day”; Notes: Renamed identity.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Narrative progression.
  5. tenebras — Lemma: tenebrae; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural feminine; Function: Direct object; Translation: “darkness”; Notes: Contrastive counterpart to light.
  6. Noctem — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Predicate accusative; Translation: “Night”; Notes: Title assigned to darkness.
  7. factumque — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Perfect passive participle nominative singular neuter + enclitic –que; Function: Part of impersonal passive construction; Translation: “and it happened”; Notes: Formulaic creation narrative marker.
  8. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Auxiliary; Translation: “was”; Notes: Marks completed event.
  9. vespere — Lemma: vesper; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Ablative of time; Translation: “evening”; Notes: Start of Hebrew day.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Joins paired temporal nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: Balances time markers.
  11. mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Ablative of time; Translation: “morning”; Notes: Completes day cycle.
  12. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject complement; Translation: “day”; Notes: Defined period after separation.
  13. unus — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Describes “dies”; Translation: “one”; Notes: First complete day.

 

 

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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