Genesis 5:23

Posted on January 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 5:23 Et facti sunt omnes dies Henoch trecenti sexaginta quinque anni.

And all the days of Henoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 facti were made/became PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.PL.M
3 sunt were VERB.3PL.PERF.IND.PASS
4 omnes all ADJ.NOM.PL.M
5 dies days NOUN.NOM.PL.M
6 Henoch of Henoch PROPN.GEN.SG.M
7 trecenti three hundred NUM.NOM.PL.M
8 sexaginta sixty NUM.INDECL
9 quinque five NUM.INDECL
10 anni years NOUN.NOM.PL.M

Syntax

The sentence Et facti sunt omnes dies Henoch trecenti sexaginta quinque anni maintains the typical genealogical structure, summarizing Henoch’s total lifespan.
The perfect passive periphrasis facti sunt (“were made” or “were”) functions as the predicate, with dies as its nominative plural subject.
The genitive Henoch indicates possession (“the days of Henoch”), while trecenti sexaginta quinque anni serves as an appositive phrase specifying the total number of years lived.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: connects with the preceding statement; Translation: and; Notes: continues genealogical record.
  2. facti — Lemma: fio; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: part of the periphrastic verb “facti sunt”; Translation: were made/became; Notes: agrees with “dies,” forming a complete predicate with “sunt.”
  3. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative; Function: auxiliary verb completing “facti sunt”; Translation: were; Notes: expresses completed aspect of the total lifespan statement.
  4. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies “dies”; Translation: all; Notes: emphasizes completeness of Enoch’s life duration.
  5. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “facti sunt”; Translation: days; Notes: designates total lifespan in Hebrew idiom.
  6. Henoch — Lemma: Henoch; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying “dies”; Translation: of Henoch; Notes: identifies the individual whose life span is being recorded.
  7. trecenti — Lemma: trecenti; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: three hundred; Notes: initial part of compound number describing years.
  8. sexaginta — Lemma: sexaginta; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: sixty; Notes: second element of numerical expression.
  9. quinque — Lemma: quinque; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “anni”; Translation: five; Notes: final component of the total numeral phrase.
  10. anni — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: appositive to “dies Henoch”; Translation: years; Notes: expresses total time lived, equivalent to Hebrew “years of his life.”

 

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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