Genesis 3:13

Posted on January 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 3:13 Et dixit Dominus Deus ad mulierem: Quare hoc fecisti? Quæ respondit: Serpens decepit me, et comedi.

And the LORD God said to the woman: “Why have you done this?” And she answered: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
4 Deus God NOM.SG.M
5 ad to / toward PREP+ACC
6 mulierem woman ACC.SG.F
7 Quare why INTERROG.ADV
8 hoc this ACC.SG.N.DEMON.PRON
9 fecisti you have done 2SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 Quæ who NOM.SG.F.REL.PRON
11 respondit answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
12 Serpens serpent NOM.SG.M
13 decepit deceived 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
14 me me ACC.SG.1P.PRON
15 et and CONJ
16 comedi I ate 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Et dixit Dominus Deus ad mulierem — “And the LORD God said to the woman.”
Direct Question: Quare hoc fecisti? — “Why have you done this?” Introduces divine interrogation of Eve. The perfect tense (fecisti) emphasizes completed guilt.
Main Clause 2: Quæ respondit — “And she answered.” The relative pronoun quæ functions as a conjunction introducing Eve’s response.
Reported Speech: Serpens decepit me, et comedi — “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The verb decepit expresses the deception, and comedi concludes the confession.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Connects with previous narrative clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Sequential connector between divine actions.
  2. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “said”; Notes: Introduces divine interrogation.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH; hence rendered in small caps.
  4. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Apposition to Dominus; Translation: “God”; Notes: Compound title “LORD God.”
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Direction / target; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces indirect object mulierem.
  6. mulierem — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “woman”; Notes: Refers to Eve as the addressee of God’s question.
  7. Quare — Lemma: quare; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Interrogative adverb; Translation: “why”; Notes: Seeks explanation or motive for the act.
  8. hoc — Lemma: hic, haec, hoc; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Object of fecisti; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers to the act of disobedience.
  9. fecisti — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 2nd singular; Function: Main verb of question; Translation: “you have done”; Notes: Perfect tense denotes completed wrongdoing.
  10. Quæ — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject of respondit; Translation: “who / and she”; Notes: Acts as connective for Eve’s response.
  11. respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “answered”; Notes: Introduces Eve’s defense statement.
  12. Serpens — Lemma: serpens; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of decepit; Translation: “serpent”; Notes: Identifies agent of deception.
  13. decepit — Lemma: decipio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “deceived”; Notes: Perfect tense marks completed act of deception.
  14. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative singular; Function: Direct object of decepit; Translation: “me”; Notes: Expresses Eve’s self-reference as victim.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Connects coordinate clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the admission (comedi) to the cause (decepit).
  16. comedi — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 1st singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “I ate”; Notes: Marks acknowledgment of sin through a simple declarative confession.

 

 

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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