Genesis 1:31

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 1:31 Viditque Deus cuncta quæ fecerat: et erant valde bona. Et factum est vespere et mane, dies sextus.

And God saw all the things which He had made: and they were very good. And it was done in the evening and in the morning, the sixth day.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Viditque And saw 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND+ENCL
2 Deus God NOM.SG.M
3 cuncta all things ACC.PL.N
4 quæ which ACC.PL.N.REL
5 fecerat He had made 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
6 et and CONJ
7 erant they were 3PL.IMP.ACT.IND
8 valde very ADV
9 bona. good NOM.PL.N
10 Et and CONJ
11 factum it was done NOM/ACC.SG.N.PTCP.PERF.PASS
12 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
13 vespere in the evening ABL.SG.M
14 et and CONJ
15 mane in the morning ABL.SG.N
16 dies day NOM.SG.F
17 sextus. sixth NOM.SG.F.ADJ

Syntax

Main clause: Deus (subject) + Vidit (main verb) + cuncta quæ fecerat (object clause)
Result clause: erant valde bona — judgment on creation
Closure formula: Et factum est… — fulfillment reaffirmed, time markers added
Temporal markers: vespere, mane — evening-morning formula
Nominal conclusion: dies sextus — structure of creation days complete

Morphology

  1. Viditque — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, third singular with enclitic -que; Function: Main verb linking to prior verse; Translation: “and saw”; Notes: -que attaches to verb.
  2. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Divine agent.
  3. cuncta — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative plural neuter; Function: Direct object; Translation: “all things”; Notes: Universal inclusion.
  4. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Pronoun (relative); Form: Accusative plural neuter; Function: Object of fecerat; Translation: “which”; Notes: Restrictive clause.
  5. fecerat — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Pluperfect active indicative, third singular; Function: Verb of relative clause; Translation: “he had made”; Notes: Completed action prior to seeing.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Introduces new related state; Translation: “and”; Notes: Parataxis.
  7. erant — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperfect indicative active, third plural; Function: Verb of state; Translation: “they were”; Notes: Ongoing condition.
  8. valde — Lemma: valde; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Intensifier; Translation: “very”; Notes: Strengthens evaluation.
  9. bona — Lemma: bonus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative plural neuter; Function: Predicate adjective; Translation: “good”; Notes: Creation evaluation.
  10. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Introduces closing formula; Translation: “and”; Notes: Hebrew-style vav-consecutive usage.
  11. factum — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Perfect passive participle nominative/accusative singular neuter; Function: Predicate with est; Translation: “was done”; Notes: Formulaic creation completion.
  12. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present indicative active, third singular; Function: Auxiliary verb; Translation: “was”; Notes: Forms periphrastic passive.
  13. vespere — Lemma: vesper; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Temporal ablative; Translation: “in the evening”; Notes: First part of time formula.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Connects temporal expressions; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard coordination.
  15. mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Temporal ablative; Translation: “in the morning”; Notes: Completes formula.
  16. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject complement; Translation: “day”; Notes: Day as period of creation.
  17. sextus — Lemma: sextus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Modifies dies; Translation: “sixth”; Notes: Final day of creative labor.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.