Genesis 1:26

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 1:26 et ait: Faciamus Hominem ad imaginem, et similitudinem nostram: et præsit piscibus maris, et volatilibus cæli, et bestiis, universæque terræ, omnique reptili, quod movetur in terra.

And He said: “Let Us make Man according to Our image and likeness, and let him rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of heaven, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every reptile that moves upon the earth.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 ait: said 3SG.PRES.IND.ACT
3 Faciamus let us make 1PL.PRES.SUBJ.ACT
4 Hominem Man ACC.SG.M
5 ad to PREP+ACC
6 imaginem, image ACC.SG.F
7 et and CONJ
8 similitudinem likeness ACC.SG.F
9 nostram: our ACC.SG.F.POSS
10 et and CONJ
11 præsit let him rule 3SG.PRES.SUBJ.ACT
12 piscibus fish DAT.PL.M
13 maris, of the sea GEN.SG.N
14 et and CONJ
15 volatilibus birds DAT.PL.N
16 cæli, of heaven GEN.SG.N
17 et and CONJ
18 bestiis, beasts DAT.PL.F
19 universæque and the whole DAT.SG.F.ADJ+ENCL
20 terræ, earth DAT.SG.F
21 omnique and every DAT.SG.N.ADJ+ENCL
22 reptili, creeping thing DAT.SG.N
23 quod which NOM.SG.N.REL
24 movetur moves 3SG.PRES.IND.PASS
25 in on PREP+ABL
26 terra. earth ABL.SG.F

Syntax

Speech + Cohortative: et ait: Faciamus Hominem — divine deliberation/edict
Predicate Accusatives with “ad”: ad imaginem … et similitudinem nostram — target pattern and likeness
Purpose/Intended Result: et præsit — intended dominion expressed by present subjunctive
Datives of Authority/Reference (six items): piscibus, volatilibus, bestiis, universæ terræ, omnique reptili
Relative Clause of Description: quod movetur in terra — specifies the final domain member

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating conjunction; Function: Links this clause to the prior narrative; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard Biblical connective.
  2. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present indicative active, third person singular; Function: Introduces divine speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: Historic present usage.
  3. Faciamus — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present subjunctive active, first person plural; Function: Cohortative/jussive invitation; Translation: “let us make”; Notes: Plural deliberative nuance.
  4. Hominem — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object of “Faciamus”; Translation: “Man”; Notes: Capitalization per user preference.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governing the accusative case; Function: Introduces goal/standard; Translation: “to/according to”; Notes: Takes predicate accusatives.
  6. imaginem — Lemma: imago; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Predicate accusative with “ad”; Translation: “image”; Notes: Paired with “similitudinem”.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating conjunction; Function: Links a second predicate accusative; Translation: “and”; Notes: Creates balanced doublet.
  8. similitudinem — Lemma: similitudo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Predicate accusative with “ad”; Translation: “likeness”; Notes: Complements “imaginem”.
  9. nostram — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies “similitudinem” (by sense also applying to “imaginem”); Translation: “our”; Notes: First person plural possession.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating conjunction; Function: Transitions to the intended-result clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Paratactic flow.
  11. præsit — Lemma: præsum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present subjunctive active, third person singular; Function: Jussive/purpose verb of dominion; Translation: “let him rule”; Notes: Governs the dative case.
  12. piscibus — Lemma: piscis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative plural masculine; Function: Dative of authority with “præsit”; Translation: “over the fish”; Notes: Maritime domain.
  13. maris — Lemma: mare; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular neuter; Function: Genitive of specification with “piscibus”; Translation: “of the sea”; Notes: Habitat indicator.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating conjunction; Function: Adds the next governed dative; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues the series.
  15. volatilibus — Lemma: volatile; Part of Speech: Substantivized adjective (used as a noun); Form: Dative plural (neuter used substantively); Function: Dative of authority with “præsit”; Translation: “over the winged creatures/birds”; Notes: Orthography per user.
  16. cæli — Lemma: cælum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular neuter; Function: Genitive of specification with “volatilibus”; Translation: “of heaven”; Notes: Domain of flight.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating conjunction; Function: Adds another governed dative; Translation: “and”; Notes: Parallel structure.
  18. bestiis — Lemma: bestia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative plural feminine; Function: Dative of authority with “præsit”; Translation: “over the beasts”; Notes: Wild land animals.
  19. universæque — Lemma: universus; Part of Speech: Adjective with enclitic -que; Form: Dative singular feminine; Function: Modifies “terræ” while adding coordination; Translation: “and the whole”; Notes: -que = “and”.
  20. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative singular feminine; Function: Dative of authority with “præsit”; Translation: “over the earth”; Notes: Total terrestrial domain.
  21. omnique — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective with enclitic -que; Form: Dative singular neuter; Function: Modifies “reptili” and continues coordination; Translation: “and every”; Notes: Enclitic ties to the list.
  22. reptili — Lemma: reptile; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative singular neuter; Function: Dative of authority with “præsit”; Translation: “over every creeping thing”; Notes: Comprehensive inclusion.
  23. quod — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular neuter; Function: Subject of the relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers to “reptile”.
  24. movetur — Lemma: moveo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present indicative passive, third person singular; Function: Main verb of the relative clause; Translation: “is moved / moves”; Notes: Passive with middle-like sense in Biblical Latin.
  25. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governing the ablative case; Function: Introduces locative phrase; Translation: “in/on”; Notes: Static location, not motion.
  26. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine; Function: Object of the preposition “in”; Translation: “earth”; Notes: Locative sense.

 

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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