Genesis 5:4

Posted on January 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 5:4 Et facti sunt dies Adam, postquam genuit Seth, octingenti anni: genuitque filios et filias.

And the days of Adam, after he had begotten Seth, were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters.

# 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 dies days NOUN.NOM.PL.M
5 Adam of Adam PROPN.GEN.SG.M
6 postquam after CONJ.SUBORD
7 genuit had begotten VERB.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
8 Seth Seth PROPN.ACC.SG.M
9 octingenti eight hundred NUM.NOM.PL.M
10 anni years NOUN.NOM.PL.M
11 genuitque and he begot VERB.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND+CONJ
12 filios sons NOUN.ACC.PL.M
13 et and CONJ
14 filias daughters NOUN.ACC.PL.F

Syntax

The sentence begins with Et facti sunt dies Adam, a perfect passive construction meaning “and the days of Adam were.” Here, dies is the nominative plural subject, facti sunt forms the verbal predicate, and Adam (genitive) specifies whose days are described.
The subordinate temporal clause postquam genuit Seth provides the time reference — “after he had begotten Seth.”
The predicate complement octingenti anni stands in apposition to dies Adam, expressing the total duration of Adam’s life after Seth’s birth.
Finally, the coordinated clause genuitque filios et filias adds that Adam “begot sons and daughters,” with filios and filias as direct objects joined by et.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links with the previous statement; Translation: and; Notes: connects continuation of narrative.
  2. facti — Lemma: fio; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent in meaning “become”); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: agrees with “dies”; Translation: were made/became; Notes: functions as part of the compound verb “facti sunt.”
  3. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative; Function: auxiliary forming perfect passive; Translation: were; Notes: completes “facti sunt.”
  4. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “facti sunt”; Translation: days; Notes: refers to total life span duration.
  5. Adam — Lemma: Adam; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier of “dies”; Translation: of Adam; Notes: specifies whose lifespan.
  6. postquam — Lemma: postquam; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: subordinating; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: after; Notes: sets the time reference.
  7. genuit — Lemma: gigno; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of subordinate clause; Translation: had begotten; Notes: completed past action.
  8. Seth — Lemma: Seth; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of “genuit”; Translation: Seth; Notes: son’s name repeated from prior verse.
  9. octingenti — Lemma: octingenti; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate nominative in apposition to “dies”; Translation: eight hundred; Notes: expresses number of years.
  10. anni — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate complement with “octingenti”; Translation: years; Notes: duration of Adam’s remaining life.
  11. genuitque — Lemma: gigno + que; Part of Speech: Verb (with enclitic conjunction); Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of final clause; Translation: and he begot; Notes: enclitic “-que” links with previous verb “facti sunt.”
  12. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object of “genuit”; Translation: sons; Notes: specifies male offspring.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: connects “filios” and “filias”; Translation: and; Notes: joins the two objects.
  14. filias — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of “genuit”; Translation: daughters; Notes: specifies female offspring, balancing the phrase.

 

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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