Genesis 6:22

Posted on January 6, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 6:22 Fecit igitur Noe omnia, quæ præceperat illi Deus.

And Noe did all things that God had commanded him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Fecit he did / made VERB.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 igitur therefore / so ADV.INFERENTIAL
3 Noe Noah NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 omnia all things PRON/ADJ.ACC.PL.N
5 quæ which / that PRON.REL.NOM.PL.N
6 præceperat had commanded VERB.3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
7 illi to him PRON.DAT.SG.M
8 Deus God NOUN.NOM.SG.M

Syntax

The structure opens with Fecit igitur Noe, where Fecit serves as the main verb (“he did”) and igitur introduces logical consequence — “therefore.”
The nominative subject Noe precedes the object omnia quæ præceperat illi Deus, a relative clause functioning as the direct object.
Within that clause, præceperat (“had commanded”) is the pluperfect verb, expressing prior divine instruction, while illi (“to him”) is a dative of reference indicating the recipient of God’s command.
Deus stands as the nominative subject of the subordinate clause, forming a neat syntactic symmetry — divine command met by human obedience.
The verse concludes the section by summarizing Noe’s total compliance with divine will, a key covenantal motif in Genesis.

Morphology

  1. Fecit — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: he did / made; Notes: marks completed action of obedience.
  2. igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: inferential connector; Translation: therefore / so; Notes: links to previous divine instructions.
  3. Noe — Lemma: Noe; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “fecit”; Translation: Noah; Notes: stands as obedient patriarch.
  4. omnia — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective / Pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: all things; Notes: totality of commanded acts.
  5. quæ — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of subordinate verb; Translation: which; Notes: introduces relative clause defining “omnia.”
  6. præceperat — Lemma: præcipio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: had commanded; Notes: prior action relative to “fecit.”
  7. illi — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: to him; Notes: recipient of divine command.
  8. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “præceperat”; Translation: God; Notes: the divine commander; syntactically closes the clause.

 

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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