Genesis 5:27

Posted on January 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 5:27 Et facti sunt omnes dies Mathusala nongenti sexaginta novem anni, et mortuus est.

And all the days of Mathusala were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 facti were made PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.PL.M
3 sunt were VERB.3PL.PERF.IND.PASS
4 omnes all ADJ.NOM.PL.M
5 dies days NOUN.NOM.PL.M
6 Mathusala of Mathusala PROPN.GEN.SG.M
7 nongenti nine hundred NUM.NOM.PL.M
8 sexaginta sixty NUM.INDECL
9 novem nine NUM.INDECL
10 anni years NOUN.NOM.PL.M
11 et and CONJ
12 mortuus died PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
13 est was VERB.3SG.PERF.IND.ACT

Syntax

The main clause Et facti sunt omnes dies Mathusala nongenti sexaginta novem anni summarizes Mathusala’s total lifespan.
The predicate facti sunt is a perfect passive periphrasis functioning idiomatically (“were in total” or “amounted to”), with dies as the nominative subject and Mathusala in the genitive expressing possession.
The numeral phrase nongenti sexaginta novem anni stands in apposition to dies, specifying the total number of years.
The closing clause et mortuus est concludes the genealogy formula, recording the death of Mathusala with a perfect passive verb phrase (“and he died”).

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: connects with previous genealogical statement; Translation: and; Notes: introduces the summative clause.
  2. facti — Lemma: fio; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate element with “sunt”; Translation: were made/were; Notes: periphrastic with “sunt,” expressing result or total.
  3. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative; Function: auxiliary verb completing “facti sunt”; Translation: were; Notes: conveys completed state or total lifespan.
  4. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies “dies”; Translation: all; Notes: emphasizes completeness of life span.
  5. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “facti sunt”; Translation: days; Notes: Hebrew idiom for “years of life.”
  6. Mathusala — Lemma: Mathusala; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying “dies”; Translation: of Mathusala; Notes: identifies the patriarch.
  7. nongenti — Lemma: nongenti; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: nine hundred; Notes: first component of the numeric phrase.
  8. sexaginta — Lemma: sexaginta; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: sixty; Notes: middle element of the compound number.
  9. novem — Lemma: novem; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: nine; Notes: completes the total number 969.
  10. anni — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: appositive to “dies”; Translation: years; Notes: indicates the measure of lifespan.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins the concluding clause; Translation: and; Notes: links the final event.
  12. mortuus — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate participle with “est”; Translation: died; Notes: expresses completed action of death.
  13. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular perfect indicative; Function: auxiliary forming perfect passive; Translation: was; Notes: completes the periphrastic verb “mortuus est.”

 

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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