Genesis 1:13

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 1:13 Et factum est vespere et mane, dies tertius.

And there was evening and morning, the third day.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et And CONJ
2 factum was made NOM.SG.N.PTCP.PERF.PASS
3 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
4 vespere evening ABL.SG.M
5 et and CONJ
6 mane morning ABL.SG.N
7 dies day NOM.SG.M
8 tertius third NOM.SG.M.ADJ

Syntax

Impersonal Clause: factum est — idiom marking the passage of time
Ablative Nouns: vespere and mane — ablative of time
Noun Phrase: dies tertius — identifies ordinal day of creation

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Connective; Translation: “And”; Notes: Temporal narrative sequence.
  2. factum — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Perfect passive participle nominative singular neuter; Function: Predicate complement in impersonal construction; Translation: “was made”; Notes: Formula of day completion.
  3. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Auxiliary; Translation: “was”; Notes: Forms periphrastic passive.
  4. vespere — Lemma: vesper; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Ablative of time; Translation: “evening”; Notes: Standard day-marker.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Function: Coordinating; Translation: “and”; Notes: Pairs evening and morning.
  6. mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Ablative of time; Translation: “morning”; Notes: Closure of a cycle.
  7. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject complement; Translation: “day”; Notes: Temporal unit.
  8. tertius — Lemma: tertius; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Ordinal modifying dies; Translation: “third”; Notes: Marks sequential order of creation.

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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