Genesis 1:10

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

10 Et vocavit Deus aridam, Terram, congregationesque aquarum appellavit Maria. Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum.

And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et And CONJ
2 vocavit called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Deus God NOM.SG.M
4 aridam dry land ACC.SG.F
5 Terram Earth ACC.SG.F
6 congregationesque and gatherings ACC.PL.F
7 aquam of waters GEN.PL.F
8 appellavit called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 Maria Seas ACC.PL.N
10 Et And CONJ
11 vidit saw 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
12 Deus God NOM.SG.M
13 quod that ACC.SG.N.REL
14 esset was 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
15 bonum good ACC.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Deus (Subject) + vocavit (Verb) + aridam (Object) + Terram (Predicate accusative — new name)
Main Clause 2: congregationes aquarum… appellavit Maria — renaming of gathered waters
Main Clause 3: Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum — divine evaluation
Subordinate Clause: quod esset bonum — content clause, expressing judgment of goodness

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links narrative units; Translation: “And”; Notes: Standard Genesis connective.
  2. vocavit — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “called”; Notes: Naming action conveying dominion.
  3. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Repeated agent of creation.
  4. aridam — Lemma: arida (terra); Part of Speech: Noun (substantivized adjective); Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Object of naming; Translation: “dry land”; Notes: Emerging landmass receives title.
  5. Terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Predicate accusative; Translation: “Earth”; Notes: New designation of land.
  6. congregationesque — Lemma: congregatio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural feminine; Function: Object of naming; Translation: “gatherings”; Notes: -que attaches to first word of phrase.
  7. aquam — Lemma: aqua; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural feminine; Function: Possessive/genitive of specification; Translation: “of waters”; Notes: Specifies what is gathered.
  8. appellavit — Lemma: appello; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “called”; Notes: Parallel to vocavit.
  9. Maria — Lemma: mare; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural neuter; Function: Predicate accusative; Translation: “Seas”; Notes: Naming plural bodies of water.
  10. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Introduces evaluative statement; Translation: “And”; Notes: Marks next narrative phase.
  11. vidit — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “saw”; Notes: Divine inspection of creation.
  12. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Evaluator.
  13. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: Conjunction/relative; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Introduces content clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: Clausal object of vidit.
  14. esset — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Imperfect active subjunctive 3rd singular; Function: Verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “was”; Notes: Subjunctive reflects indirect discourse.
  15. bonum — Lemma: bonus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Predicate complement; Translation: “good”; Notes: Moral/qualitative assessment.

 

 

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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