Genesis 11:11

Posted on January 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 11:11 Vixitque Sem postquam genuit Arphaxad, quingentis annis: et genuit filios et filias.

And Sem lived, after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Vixitque and lived 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 Sem Sem NOM.SG.M
3 postquam after CONJ.TEMP
4 genuit begot 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
5 Arphaxad Arphaxad ACC.SG.M
6 quingentis five hundred ABL.PL.M
7 annis years ABL.PL.M
8 et and CONJ
9 genuit begot 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 filios sons ACC.PL.M
11 et and CONJ
12 filias daughters ACC.PL.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Vixitque Sem — subject Sem and main verb vixit indicate continued life after the Flood.
Temporal Clause: postquam genuit Arphaxad — expresses the time after Sem begot his son.
Ablative Phrase: quingentis annis — ablative of duration, “for five hundred years.”
Coordinate Clause: et genuit filios et filias — describes Sem’s continued procreation over this period.

Morphology

  1. Vixitque — Lemma: vivo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd person singular + enclitic “-que”; Function: Main verb; Translation: “and lived”; Notes: Expresses duration of life, linking to prior verse with enclitic conjunction.
  2. Sem — Lemma: Sem; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “Sem”; Notes: Ancestor of the Semitic peoples.
  3. postquam — Lemma: postquam; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Temporal; Function: Introduces clause of prior event; Translation: “after”; Notes: Used with perfect tense to denote anterior action.
  4. genuit — Lemma: gigno; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: Verb in temporal clause; Translation: “begot”; Notes: Common genealogical verb for lineage records.
  5. Arphaxad — Lemma: Arphaxad; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Object of genuit; Translation: “Arphaxad”; Notes: Sem’s son, from whom postdiluvian line continues.
  6. quingentis — Lemma: quingenti; Part of Speech: Numeral adjective; Form: Ablative plural masculine; Function: Modifies annis; Translation: “five hundred”; Notes: Used with ablative of time to indicate duration.
  7. annis — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural masculine; Function: Ablative of duration; Translation: “years”; Notes: Specifies time span of life.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Connects main clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins sequential genealogical statements.
  9. genuit — Lemma: gigno; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb of the second clause; Translation: “he begot”; Notes: Repeated to emphasize continued procreation.
  10. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Object of genuit; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Indicates male offspring.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Connects parallel objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins filios and filias.
  12. filias — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural feminine; Function: Object of genuit; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Completes the typical genealogical formula.

 

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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