Genesis 5:11

Posted on January 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 5:11 Factique sunt omnes dies Enos nongenti quinque anni, et mortuus est.

And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Factique and were made PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.PL.M+CONJ
2 sunt were VERB.3PL.PERF.IND.PASS
3 omnes all ADJ.NOM.PL.M
4 dies days NOUN.NOM.PL.M
5 Enos of Enos PROPN.GEN.SG.M
6 nongenti nine hundred NUM.NOM.PL.M
7 quinque five NUM.INDECL
8 anni years NOUN.NOM.PL.M
9 et and CONJ
10 mortuus died PART.PERF.DEP.NOM.SG.M
11 est was VERB.3SG.PERF.IND.DEP

Syntax

The main clause Factique sunt omnes dies Enos forms a perfect passive construction meaning “and all the days of Enos were (so many).” The participle Facti agrees with dies (subject), while the enclitic -que connects this statement to the preceding verse.
The nominative phrase nongenti quinque anni functions in apposition to dies Enos, specifying the total length of Enos’s life — “nine hundred and five years.”
The final clause et mortuus est is a deponent perfect form meaning “and he died,” completing the formulaic genealogical pattern of life and death.

Morphology

  1. Factique — Lemma: fio + que; Part of Speech: Verb (participle with enclitic conjunction); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: part of compound verb with “sunt”; Translation: and were made; Notes: connects to the ongoing genealogical narrative through enclitic “-que.”
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative; Function: auxiliary completing “facti sunt”; Translation: were; Notes: expresses completion of time measurement.
  3. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies “dies”; Translation: all; Notes: expresses the totality of Enos’s lifespan.
  4. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “facti sunt”; Translation: days; Notes: serves as the unit of measure for life duration.
  5. Enos — Lemma: Enos; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying “dies”; Translation: of Enos; Notes: identifies the person whose lifespan is described.
  6. nongenti — Lemma: nongenti; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: nine hundred; Notes: first element of compound numeral.
  7. quinque — Lemma: quinque; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: five; Notes: completes the numerical total of years.
  8. anni — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: in apposition with “dies Enos”; Translation: years; Notes: identifies the total measure of Enos’s lifespan.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins the concluding clause; Translation: and; Notes: signals the final event in the genealogical sequence.
  10. mortuus — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: Deponent verb; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle; Function: part of periphrastic verb “mortuus est”; Translation: died; Notes: expresses completed death event.
  11. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Auxiliary verb; Form: third person singular perfect indicative; Function: auxiliary completing “mortuus est”; Translation: was; Notes: forms perfect deponent construction meaning “he died.”

 

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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