Genesis 4:17

Posted on January 4, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 4:17 Cognovit autem Cain uxorem suam, quæ concepit, et peperit Henoch: et ædificavit civitatem, vocavitque nomen eius ex nomine filii sui, Henoch.

And Cain knew his wife, who conceived and bore Henoch; and he built a city, and he called its name after the name of his son, Henoch.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cognovit knew 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem however / and CONJ.ADV
3 Cain Cain NOM.SG.M
4 uxorem wife ACC.SG.F
5 suam his ACC.SG.F.POSS
6 quæ who NOM.SG.F.REL.PRON
7 concepit conceived 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
8 et and CONJ
9 peperit bore 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 Henoch Henoch ACC.SG.M (INDECL)
11 et and CONJ
12 ædificavit built 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
13 civitatem city ACC.SG.F
14 vocavitque and called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC.CONJ
15 nomen name ACC.SG.N
16 eius its GEN.SG.PRON
17 ex from / after PREP+ABL
18 nomine name ABL.SG.N
19 filii of (his) son GEN.SG.M
20 sui his GEN.SG.M.POSS
21 Henoch Henoch GEN.SG (INDECL.APPOS)

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Cognovit autem Cain uxorem suam — finite verb Cognovit with subject Cain and object phrase uxorem suam; autem continues the narrative.
Relative Clause: quæ concepit, et peperit Henoch — quæ refers to uxorem; coordinated perfects concepit and peperit (with et) culminate in the object Henoch.
Main Clause 2: et ædificavit civitatem — clause-initial et links to the prior sentence; predicate ædificavit with direct object civitatem.
Main Clause 3 (Naming): vocavitque nomen eius — vocavit governs object nomen; -que keeps the parataxis flowing.
Derivation Phrase: ex nomine filii sui, Henoch — preposition ex with ablative nomine expresses derivation “after the name of…,” genitive chain filii sui identifies the source; appositive indeclinable Henoch specifies the son’s name.

Morphology

  1. Cognovit — Lemma: cognosco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “knew”; Notes: Euphemistic for marital relations.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: Conjunction/particle; Form: Invariable; Function: Transitional connector; Translation: “however / and”; Notes: Signals narrative continuation.
  3. Cain — Lemma: Cain; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject; Translation: “Cain”; Notes: Subject of both main clauses.
  4. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Direct object; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Complements Cognovit.
  5. suam — Lemma: suus, -a, -um; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies uxorem; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive to subject Cain.
  6. quæ — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject of relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to Cain’s wife.
  7. concepit — Lemma: concipio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Verb of relative clause; Translation: “conceived”; Notes: First coordinated event.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable; Function: Connects coordinated verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links concepit with peperit.
  9. peperit — Lemma: pario; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Verb of relative clause; Translation: “bore”; Notes: Culminates in birth of Enoch.
  10. Henoch — Lemma: Henoch; Part of Speech: Proper noun (indeclinable); Form: Accusative singular by context; Function: Direct object of peperit; Translation: “Henoch”; Notes: Foreign name treated as indeclinable.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable; Function: Clause-initial coordinator; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces new main clause “ædificavit civitatem.”
  12. ædificavit — Lemma: aedifico/ædifico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “built”; Notes: Urban foundation after exile.
  13. civitatem — Lemma: civitas; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine; Function: Direct object; Translation: “city”; Notes: Object of building action.
  14. vocavitque — Lemma: voco + -que; Part of Speech: Verb + enclitic conj.; Form: Perfect active indicative, 3rd person singular; Function: Main verb continuing narrative; Translation: “and (he) called”; Notes: -que links tightly to the preceding clause.
  15. nomen — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Direct object of vocavit; Translation: “name”; Notes: The entity being assigned.
  16. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: Genitive singular; Function: Possessive with nomen; Translation: “its”; Notes: Refers to the city.
  17. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governs ablative; Function: Derivation/source; Translation: “from / after”; Notes: Indicates naming source.
  18. nomine — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter; Function: Object of ex; Translation: “(the) name”; Notes: Ablative of source.
  19. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular masculine; Function: Possessive genitive with nomine; Translation: “of (his) son”; Notes: Identifies the referent of the name.
  20. sui — Lemma: suus, -a, -um; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective/pronoun; Form: Genitive singular masculine; Function: Modifies filii; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive to the subject Cain.
  21. Henoch — Lemma: Henoch; Part of Speech: Proper noun (indeclinable); Form: Genitive (appositional, indeclinable); Function: Apposition to filii sui; Translation: “Henoch”; Notes: Specifies the son’s name that provides the city’s name.

 

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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