Genesis 2:8

Posted on January 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 2:8 Plantaverat autem Dominus Deus Paradisum voluptatis a principio: in quo posuit hominem quem formaverat.

Now the LORD God had planted a garden of delight from the beginning, in which He placed the man whom He had formed.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Plantaverat had planted 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
2 autem now / moreover CONJ
3 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
4 Deus God NOM.SG.M
5 Paradisum garden / paradise ACC.SG.M
6 voluptatis of delight GEN.SG.F
7 a from PREP+ABL
8 principio the beginning ABL.SG.N
9 in in / within PREP+ABL
10 quo in which REL.PRON.ABL.SG.M
11 posuit he placed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
12 hominem the man ACC.SG.M
13 quem whom REL.PRON.ACC.SG.M
14 formaverat he had formed 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Plantaverat autem Dominus Deus Paradisum voluptatis a principio — “Now the LORD God had planted a garden of delight from the beginning.”
Subject: Dominus Deus — the LORD God, divine agent of creation.
Object: Paradisum voluptatis — direct object (“a garden of delight”).
Prepositional Phrase: a principio — ablative of time meaning “from the beginning.”
Relative Clause: in quo posuit hominem quem formaverat — “in which He placed the man whom He had formed.”
Nested Relative Clause: quem formaverat — describes the man as previously formed by the LORD God.

Morphology

  1. Plantaverat — Lemma: planto; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Pluperfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “had planted”; Notes: Expresses completed action prior to narrative time.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Postpositive; Function: Transitional connective; Translation: “now” or “moreover”; Notes: Introduces new but related event.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH; rendered in small caps convention when denoting the divine name.
  4. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Apposition to Dominus; Translation: “God”; Notes: Specifies the divine identity of YHWH.
  5. Paradisum — Lemma: Paradisus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object of Plantaverat; Translation: “garden / paradise”; Notes: Greek loanword meaning “enclosed garden.”
  6. voluptatis — Lemma: voluptas; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Genitive of quality; Translation: “of delight”; Notes: Describes the garden’s pleasant nature.
  7. a — Lemma: a (ab); Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Denotes origin or time from which; Translation: “from”; Notes: Expresses starting point.
  8. principio — Lemma: principium; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Object of a; Translation: “the beginning”; Notes: Refers to temporal starting point of creation.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Indicates location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Introduces relative clause setting.
  10. quo — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Introduces relative clause; Translation: “in which”; Notes: Refers back to Paradisum.
  11. posuit — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb of the relative clause; Translation: “he placed”; Notes: Marks the divine act of positioning man in the garden.
  12. hominem — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object of posuit; Translation: “the man”; Notes: Refers to the newly formed human.
  13. quem — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Introduces subordinate relative clause; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Refers to hominem.
  14. formaverat — Lemma: formo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Pluperfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “he had formed”; Notes: Refers back to God’s prior creative act in Genesis 2:7.

 

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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