Genesis 1:27

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 1:27 Et creavit Deus hominem ad imaginem suam: ad imaginem Dei creavit illum, masculum et feminam creavit eos.

And God created man according to His image: according to the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et And CONJ
2 creavit created 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Deus God NOM.SG.M
4 hominem man ACC.SG.M
5 ad according to PREP+ACC
6 imaginem image ACC.SG.F
7 suam: His ACC.SG.F.POSS
8 ad according to PREP+ACC
9 imaginem image ACC.SG.F
10 Dei of God GEN.SG.M
11 creavit created 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
12 illum, him ACC.SG.M.PRON
13 masculum male ACC.SG.M
14 et and CONJ
15 feminam female ACC.SG.F
16 creavit created 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
17 eos. them ACC.PL.M.PRON

Syntax

Main Clause: creavit Deus hominem — creation of humanity
Predicate Accusatives with ad: ad imaginem suam / ad imaginem Dei — standard/pattern of creation
Parallel Objects and Repetition: creavit illum … masculum et feminam … creavit eos — individual then collective specification

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects with preceding narrative; Translation: And; Notes: Standard Biblical connective.
  2. creavit — Lemma: creo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: Main verbal action; Translation: created; Notes: Completed creative act.
  3. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: God; Notes: Agent of creation.
  4. hominem — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object of creavit; Translation: man; Notes: Representative of humanity.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Introduces standard or goal; Translation: according to; Notes: Marks pattern of formation.
  6. imaginem — Lemma: imago; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Predicate accusative with ad; Translation: image; Notes: Paired below with Dei.
  7. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies imaginem; Translation: His; Notes: Reflexive to the subject God.
  8. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs accusative; Function: Restates the standard; Translation: according to; Notes: Creates emphatic parallelism.
  9. imaginem — Lemma: imago; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Predicate accusative with ad; Translation: image; Notes: Repetition for emphasis.
  10. Dei — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular masculine; Function: Genitive of possession/relationship; Translation: of God; Notes: Locked translation choice per user.
  11. creavit — Lemma: creo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: Resumes main action; Translation: created; Notes: Rhetorical repetition.
  12. illum — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object; Translation: him; Notes: The man as an individual.
  13. masculum — Lemma: masculus; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantively; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Complement specifying sex; Translation: male; Notes: One member of the human pair.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links paired complements; Translation: and; Notes: Balances the binary.
  15. feminam — Lemma: femina; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Complement specifying sex; Translation: female; Notes: Second member of the human pair.
  16. creavit — Lemma: creo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, third person singular; Function: Reiterated main verb; Translation: created; Notes: Closes the triplet.
  17. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object referring to the pair; Translation: them; Notes: Collective humanity as male and female.

 

 

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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