Genesis 2:17

Posted on January 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 2:17 De ligno autem scientiæ boni et mali ne comedas. in quocumque enim die comederis ex eo, morte morieris.

But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat; for in whatever day you eat from it, you shall surely die.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 De from / concerning PREP+ABL
2 ligno tree ABL.SG.N
3 autem but / however CONJ
4 scientiæ of knowledge GEN.SG.F
5 boni of good GEN.SG.N
6 et and CONJ
7 mali of evil GEN.SG.N
8 ne not NEG.PART
9 comedas you may eat 2SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
10 in in / within PREP+ABL
11 quocumque in whatever REL.ADV
12 enim for CONJ
13 die day ABL.SG.M
14 comederis you shall have eaten 2SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
15 ex from PREP+ABL
16 eo it ABL.SG.N.PRON
17 morte by death ABL.SG.F
18 morieris you shall die 2SG.FUT.DEP.IND

Syntax

Main Clause 1: De ligno autem scientiæ boni et mali ne comedas — “But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.”
Prepositional Phrase: De ligno scientiæ boni et mali — expresses prohibition concerning a specific source.
Negative Command: ne comedas — subjunctive used in prohibitive sense, meaning “do not eat.”
Subordinate Clause: in quocumque enim die comederis ex eo — “for in whatever day you eat from it.”
Main Clause 2 (apodosis): morte morieris — “you shall surely die,” a Hebrew-like emphatic construction representing certainty of punishment.

Morphology

  1. De — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Indicates origin or subject; Translation: “from / concerning”; Notes: Marks prohibition related to a specific tree.
  2. ligno — Lemma: lignum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Object of de; Translation: “tree”; Notes: Represents the forbidden source of knowledge.
  3. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Postpositive; Function: Contrastive; Translation: “but / however”; Notes: Contrasts the preceding command to eat freely with this prohibition.
  4. scientiæ — Lemma: scientia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine; Function: Possessive genitive modifying ligno; Translation: “of knowledge”; Notes: Abstract noun defining the tree’s symbolic property.
  5. boni — Lemma: bonum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular neuter; Function: Completes the phrase with mali; Translation: “of good”; Notes: Part of genitive pair expressing dual moral knowledge.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating; Function: Links boni and mali; Translation: “and”; Notes: Expresses polarity between moral opposites.
  7. mali — Lemma: malum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular neuter; Function: Completes genitive construction; Translation: “of evil”; Notes: Completes the moral contrast of the phrase.
  8. ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: Negative particle; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Introduces negative command; Translation: “not”; Notes: Common in prohibitive subjunctives.
  9. comedas — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Present active subjunctive 2nd singular; Function: Verb of prohibition; Translation: “you may eat / shall eat”; Notes: Subjunctive used imperatively for negative command (“you shall not eat”).
  10. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Introduces temporal expression; Translation: “in / on”; Notes: Temporal meaning, “on the day that.”
  11. quocumque — Lemma: quicumque; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Ablative singular masculine/neuter; Function: Modifies die; Translation: “whatever / whichever”; Notes: Adds indefinite emphasis to the temporal clause.
  12. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Postpositive; Function: Causal; Translation: “for”; Notes: Introduces reason for prohibition.
  13. die — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Ablative of time when; Translation: “day”; Notes: Refers to specific moment of transgression.
  14. comederis — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Future perfect active indicative 2nd singular; Function: Verb of temporal clause; Translation: “you shall have eaten”; Notes: Expresses condition preceding consequence.
  15. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Indicates source; Translation: “from / out of”; Notes: Introduces the object of the prohibited action.
  16. eo — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Object of ex; Translation: “it”; Notes: Refers to ligno, the forbidden tree.
  17. morte — Lemma: mors; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine; Function: Ablative of manner or means; Translation: “by death”; Notes: Introduces Hebrew-like idiom emphasizing certainty (“dying you shall die”).
  18. morieris — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: Deponent verb; Form: Future indicative 2nd singular; Function: Main verb of apodosis; Translation: “you shall die”; Notes: Expresses sure consequence of disobedience, echoing the Hebrew infinitive absolute construction for emphasis.

 

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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