Genesis 2:21

Posted on January 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 2:21 Immisit ergo Dominus Deus soporem in Adam: cumque obdormisset, tulit unam de costis eius, et replevit carnem pro ea.

Then the LORD God sent a deep sleep upon Adam; and when he had slept, He took one of his ribs and filled up flesh in its place.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Immisit sent / caused to fall 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ergo therefore / then ADV
3 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
4 Deus God NOM.SG.M
5 soporem deep sleep ACC.SG.M
6 in upon / into PREP+ACC
7 Adam Adam ACC.SG.M (PROPER)
8 cumque and when CONJ
9 obdormisset had fallen asleep 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
10 tulit took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 unam one ACC.SG.F
12 de of / from PREP+ABL
13 costis ribs ABL.PL.F
14 eius his GEN.SG.M.PRON
15 et and CONJ
16 replevit filled up 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
17 carnem flesh ACC.SG.F
18 pro in place of / instead of PREP+ABL
19 ea it / her ABL.SG.F.PRON

Syntax

Main Clause: Immisit ergo Dominus Deus soporem in Adam — “Then the LORD God sent a deep sleep upon Adam.”
The verb Immisit (from immittere) governs the accusative soporem and prepositional phrase in Adam.
Temporal Clause: cumque obdormisset — “and when he had fallen asleep,” introduces a time condition preceding the main event.
Subsequent Action: tulit unam de costis eius, et replevit carnem pro ea — “He took one of his ribs and filled up flesh in its place.”
The structure shows a perfective sequence typical of narrative: divine causation, human passivity, and creative substitution.

Morphology

  1. Immisit — Lemma: immitto; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “sent / caused to fall”; Notes: Expresses divine initiation of Adam’s deep sleep.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Connective particle; Translation: “then / therefore”; Notes: Indicates consequence in the narrative sequence.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH, rendered “LORD.”
  4. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Apposition to Dominus; Translation: “God”; Notes: Identifies the divine subject as YHWH Elohim.
  5. soporem — Lemma: sopor; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object of Immisit; Translation: “deep sleep”; Notes: Indicates supernatural sleep from God.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Introduces object affected; Translation: “upon / into”; Notes: Marks direction of divine action.
  7. Adam — Lemma: Adam; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of in; Translation: “Adam”; Notes: The man upon whom divine sleep is imposed.
  8. cumque — Lemma: cum + que; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Introduces temporal subordinate clause; Translation: “and when”; Notes: The enclitic “-que” links clauses closely.
  9. obdormisset — Lemma: obdormio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Pluperfect active subjunctive 3rd singular; Function: Verb of temporal clause; Translation: “he had fallen asleep”; Notes: Subjunctive per rule of cum clauses.
  10. tulit — Lemma: fero; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “took”; Notes: Describes the divine act of removal.
  11. unam — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: Numeral adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies costis; Translation: “one”; Notes: Indicates singular selection from plurality.
  12. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Source / origin; Translation: “from / out of”; Notes: Indicates extraction.
  13. costis — Lemma: costa; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural feminine; Function: Object of de; Translation: “ribs”; Notes: Anatomical source of the woman’s creation.
  14. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Genitive singular masculine; Function: Possessive genitive; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to Adam as possessor of the ribs.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Connective; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links sequential divine actions.
  16. replevit — Lemma: repleo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb of second action; Translation: “filled up”; Notes: Describes restoration of flesh after removal.
  17. carnem — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Direct object of replevit; Translation: “flesh”; Notes: Material of restoration.
  18. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Indicates substitution; Translation: “in place of / instead of”; Notes: Marks exchange of tissue for rib.
  19. ea — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Ablative singular feminine; Function: Object of pro; Translation: “it / her”; Notes: Refers to the rib that had been taken out.

 

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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