Genesis 6:14

Posted on January 6, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 6:14 Fac tibi arcam de lignis lævigatis: mansiunculas in arca facies, et bitumine linies intrinsecus, et extrinsecus.

Make for yourself an ark of smoothed woods: you shall make small rooms in the ark, and you shall coat it with pitch within and without.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Fac make VERB.2SG.PRES.ACT.IMPER
2 tibi for yourself PRON.DAT.SG.2ND
3 arcam ark NOUN.ACC.SG.F
4 de from / of PREP+ABL
5 lignis woods / timbers NOUN.ABL.PL.N
6 lævigatis smoothed / planed PART.PERF.PASS.ABL.PL.N
7 mansiunculas little rooms NOUN.ACC.PL.F
8 in in / within PREP+ABL
9 arca ark NOUN.ABL.SG.F
10 facies you shall make VERB.2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
11 et and CONJ
12 bitumine with pitch / bitumen NOUN.ABL.SG.N
13 linies you shall coat VERB.2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
14 intrinsecus within / inside ADV
15 et and CONJ
16 extrinsecus without / outside ADV

Syntax

The divine command begins with the imperative Fac tibi arcam (“Make for yourself an ark”), where tibi is a dative of advantage, signifying personal instruction to Noe.
The prepositional phrase de lignis lævigatis specifies the material, with lævigatis (perfect passive participle) describing the wood as “smoothed” or “planed.”
The next clause, mansiunculas in arca facies, introduces a future indicative with imperative force, describing continued divine instructions: “you shall make small rooms in the ark.”
Finally, et bitumine linies intrinsecus, et extrinsecus commands waterproofing the ark inside and outside. The instrumental ablative bitumine (“with pitch”) indicates the coating substance, and the adverbs intrinsecus and extrinsecus create a balanced spatial symmetry typical of Vulgate style.

Morphology

  1. Fac — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person singular present active imperative; Function: direct command; Translation: make; Notes: initiates divine instruction.
  2. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: dative of advantage; Translation: for yourself; Notes: personalizes the command to Noe.
  3. arcam — Lemma: arca; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of “fac”; Translation: ark; Notes: vessel of preservation, typologically significant.
  4. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: denotes material composition; Translation: of / from; Notes: introduces substance clause.
  5. lignis — Lemma: lignum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of “de”; Translation: woods / timbers; Notes: plural denotes construction material.
  6. lævigatis — Lemma: lævigo; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: ablative plural neuter perfect passive; Function: adjective modifying “lignis”; Translation: smoothed / planed; Notes: describes the refined nature of materials.
  7. mansiunculas — Lemma: mansiuncula; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of “facies”; Translation: little rooms; Notes: diminutive form emphasizing compartments.
  8. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses location; Translation: in; Notes: situational placement of rooms within the ark.
  9. arca — Lemma: arca; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: ark; Notes: repetition reinforces subject of construction.
  10. facies — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person singular future active indicative; Function: command-like future; Translation: you shall make; Notes: continuation of divine directives.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins clauses; Translation: and; Notes: coordinates sequential commands.
  12. bitumine — Lemma: bitumen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of means; Translation: with pitch / bitumen; Notes: waterproofing substance.
  13. linies — Lemma: linio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person singular future active indicative; Function: command-like future; Translation: you shall coat; Notes: describes sealing of the ark.
  14. intrinsecus — Lemma: intrinsecus; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “linies”; Translation: within; Notes: inner sealing of the structure.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects adverbial pair; Translation: and; Notes: creates parallelism.
  16. extrinsecus — Lemma: extrinsecus; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “linies”; Translation: without / outside; Notes: external waterproofing complementing “intrinsecus.”

 

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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