Genesis 8:4

Posted on January 8, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 8:4 Requievitque arca mense septimo, vigesimo septimo die mensis super montes Armeniæ.

And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, upon the mountains of Armenia.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Requievitque and rested VERB.3SG.PERF.IND.ACT + ENCL
2 arca ark NOUN.NOM.SG.F
3 mense in the month NOUN.ABL.SG.M
4 septimo seventh ADJ.ABL.SG.M
5 vigesimo twentieth ADJ.ABL.SG.M
6 septimo seventh ADJ.ABL.SG.M
7 die day NOUN.ABL.SG.M
8 mensis of the month NOUN.GEN.SG.M
9 super upon PREP+ACC
10 montes mountains NOUN.ACC.PL.M
11 Armeniæ of Armenia NOUN.GEN.SG.F

Syntax

The main clause Requievitque arca employs the perfect verb Requievit with the enclitic -que, marking sequence and completion. The nominative subject arca performs the resting action.
The prepositional phrase mense septimo establishes the temporal setting in the ablative of time when, while vigesimo septimo die mensis specifies the exact date through ablative and genitive constructions.
The prepositional phrase super montes Armeniæ indicates spatial location with super governing the accusative, describing the ark’s resting place atop the mountain range associated with Armenia.
The structure conveys calm after chaos — divine stability replacing the turbulence of the flood.

Morphology

  1. Requievitque — Lemma: quiesco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect indicative active + enclitic -que; Function: main verb; Translation: and rested; Notes: perfect tense denotes completed rest after movement; enclitic adds connection to prior verse.
  2. arca — Lemma: arca; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: ark; Notes: subject performing the resting action.
  3. mense — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of time when; Translation: in the month; Notes: introduces temporal expression.
  4. septimo — Lemma: septimus; Part of Speech: Adjective (ordinal); Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies mense; Translation: seventh; Notes: marks the seventh month since the flood began.
  5. vigesimo — Lemma: vicesimus; Part of Speech: Adjective (ordinal); Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies die; Translation: twentieth; Notes: part of compound ordinal date.
  6. septimo — Lemma: septimus; Part of Speech: Adjective (ordinal); Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies die; Translation: seventh; Notes: continues numerical compound “twenty-seventh.”
  7. die — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of time when; Translation: day; Notes: specifies date of rest.
  8. mensis — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: partitive genitive with die; Translation: of the month; Notes: clarifies which month the day belongs to.
  9. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses position upon; Translation: upon; Notes: introduces location of resting.
  10. montes — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of super; Translation: mountains; Notes: geographical feature on which the ark rests.
  11. Armeniæ — Lemma: Armenia; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of place; Translation: of Armenia; Notes: identifies the region (traditionally “Ararat”).

 

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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