Genesis 1:12

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 1:12 Et protulit terra herbam virentem, et facientem semen iuxta genus suum, lignumque faciens fructum, et habens unumquodque sementem secundum speciem suam. Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum.

And the earth brought forth green vegetation, and plants producing seed according to their kind, and trees producing fruit, and each one having its seed according to its species. And God saw that it was good.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et And CONJ
2 protulit brought forth 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 terra earth NOM.SG.F
4 herbam vegetation ACC.SG.F
5 virentem green ACC.SG.F.PTCP.PRES.ACT
6 et and CONJ
7 facientem producing ACC.SG.F.PTCP.PRES.ACT
8 semen seed ACC.SG.N
9 iuxta according to PREP+ACC
10 genus kind ACC.SG.N
11 suum its own ACC.SG.N.POSS
12 lignumque and tree ACC.SG.N
13 faciens producing NOM.SG.N.PTCP.PRES.ACT
14 fructum fruit ACC.SG.M
15 et and CONJ
16 habens having NOM.SG.N.PTCP.PRES.ACT
17 unumquodque each one NOM.SG.N.INDEF
18 sementem seed ACC.SG.F
19 secundum according to PREP+ACC
20 speciem species ACC.SG.F
21 suam its own ACC.SG.F.POSS
22 Et And CONJ
23 vidit saw 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
24 Deus God NOM.SG.M
25 quod that ACC.SG.N.REL
26 esset was 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
27 bonum good ACC.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause: protulit terra — earth as productive agent
Objects of production: herbam virentem, facientem semen, lignum… faciens fructum
Qualifying phrase: iuxta genus suum — reproductive boundaries
Participial clause: et habens unumquodque sementem secundum speciem suam — biological continuity
Evaluation clause: Et vidit Deus quod esset bonum — divine approval

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links narrative units; Translation: “And”; Notes: Genesis stylistic signature.
  2. protulit — Lemma: profero; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “brought forth”; Notes: Creative emergence.
  3. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject; Translation: “earth”; Notes: Personified as fertile.
  4. herbam — Lemma: herba; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Object; Translation: “vegetation”; Notes: First class of plant life.
  5. virentem — Lemma: virens; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Present active participle accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifier; Translation: “green”; Notes: Indicates life and growth.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Function: Adds second class; Notes: Parallel structure.
  7. facientem — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Present active participle accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies herbam; Translation: “producing”; Notes: Seed capacity.
  8. semen — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Object; Translation: “seed”; Notes: Reproductive unit.
  9. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: Preposition; Function: Genus conformity; Notes: Taxonomic order.
  10. genus — Lemma: genus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Object of iuxta; Notes: Classification term.
  11. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Modifies genus; Translation: “its own”.
  12. lignumque — Lemma: lignum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Object of verb; Notes: -que enclitic.
  13. faciens — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Present active participle nominative singular neuter; Function: Describes tree; Translation: “producing”.
  14. fructum — Lemma: fructus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object; Translation: “fruit”.
  15. et — Conjunction — continues pattern.
  16. habens — Present active participle nominative singular neuter; Subject modifier; “having”.
  17. unumquodque — Indefinite pronoun nominative singular neuter; Subject; “each one”.
  18. sementem — Noun accusative singular feminine; Object; “seed”; Notes: Non-standard form but accepted as provided.
  19. secundum — Preposition governing accusative; standard phrase “according to”.
  20. speciem — Noun accusative singular feminine; classification; “species”.
  21. suam — Possessive adjective accusative singular feminine; modifies speciem; “its own”.
  22. Et — Conjunction introducing evaluation.
  23. vidit — Perfect active indicative 3rd singular; divine observation; “saw”.
  24. Deus — Nominative singular masculine; Subject; “God”.
  25. quod — Conjunction/relative; introduces indirect speech; “that”.
  26. esset — Imperfect active subjunctive; content clause; “was”.
  27. bonum — Accusative singular neuter; Predicate adjective; moral verdict “good”.

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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