Genesis 1:8

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 1:8 Vocavitque Deus firmamentum, Cælum: et factum est vespere et mane, dies secundus.

And God called the firmament Heaven; and there was evening and morning, the second day.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Vocavitque and called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Deus God NOM.SG.M
3 firmamentum firmament ACC.SG.N
4 Cælum Heaven ACC.SG.N
5 et and CONJ
6 factum made NOM.SG.N.PTCP.PERF.PASS
7 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
8 vespere evening ABL.SG.M
9 et and CONJ
10 mane morning ABL.SG.N
11 dies day NOM.SG.M
12 secundus second NOM.SG.M.ADJ

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Deus (Subject) + Vocavitque (Verb) + firmamentum (Object) + Cælum (Predicate accusative — name given)
Main Clause 2: factum est — impersonal expression introducing temporal framework
Ablative Phrases: vespere and mane — indicate the parts of the day
Noun Phrase: dies secundus — subject phrase identifying ordinal day

Morphology

  1. Vocavitque — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “and called”; Notes: -que joins to first word of clause.
  2. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Agent of naming.
  3. firmamentum — Lemma: firmamentum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Direct object of naming; Translation: “firmament”; Notes: Object being renamed.
  4. Cælum — Lemma: caelum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Predicate accusative after verb of naming; Translation: “Heaven”; Notes: New designation.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links result clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Sequential narrative style.
  6. factum — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb participle; Form: Perfect passive participle nominative singular neuter; Function: Predicate complement in idiom; Translation: “made”; Notes: Impersonal passive structure.
  7. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Auxiliary verb; Translation: “was”; Notes: Forms periphrastic passive.
  8. vespere — Lemma: vesper; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Ablative of time; Translation: “evening”; Notes: Marks part of day.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Connects parallel temporal nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins rhythmical pairing.
  10. mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Ablative of time; Translation: “morning”; Notes: Opposite complement to vesper.
  11. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “day”; Notes: Identifies new creation period.
  12. secundus — Lemma: secundus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Modifies dies; Translation: “second”; Notes: Ordinal marker of creation sequence.

 

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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