Genesis 6:6

Posted on January 6, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 6:6 pœnituit eum quod hominum fecisset in terra. Et tactus dolore cordis intrinsecus,

And it repented Him that He had made man upon the earth. And being touched with grief in His heart within,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 pœnituit it repented VERB.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 eum him PRON.ACC.SG.M
3 quod that CONJ
4 hominum of men NOUN.GEN.PL.M
5 fecisset he had made VERB.3SG.PLUPERF.SUBJ.ACT
6 in upon PREP+ABL
7 terra earth NOUN.ABL.SG.F
8 Et and CONJ
9 tactus touched PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
10 dolore with grief NOUN.ABL.SG.M
11 cordis of heart NOUN.GEN.SG.N
12 intrinsecus within ADV

Syntax

The main clause pœnituit eum quod hominum fecisset in terra uses an impersonal verb construction: literally “it repented him.”
The verb pœnituit governs the accusative eum as its object, while the subordinate clause quod hominum fecisset in terra explains the cause — “that He had made man upon the earth.”
Here, fecisset (pluperfect subjunctive) expresses prior action relative to the divine emotion.
The second sentence Et tactus dolore cordis intrinsecus employs a perfect passive participle (tactus) forming an ablative absolute with dolore cordis, denoting internal divine sorrow: “and being touched with grief in His heart within.”
The adverb intrinsecus adds depth, emphasizing the inward emotional dimension attributed anthropopathically to God.

Morphology

  1. pœnituit — Lemma: pœnitet; Part of Speech: Verb (impersonal); Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: impersonal verb expressing regret; Translation: it repented; Notes: takes an accusative of the person and genitive or subordinate clause of the cause.
  2. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of impersonal “pœnituit”; Translation: him; Notes: refers to God in anthropopathic idiom.
  3. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: that; Notes: explains the cause of regret.
  4. hominum — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: objective genitive with “fecisset”; Translation: of men; Notes: object of creation.
  5. fecisset — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of subordinate clause; Translation: he had made; Notes: denotes completed past action before divine repentance.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses location; Translation: on / upon; Notes: specifies spatial context of humanity.
  7. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: earth; Notes: locus of mankind’s corruption.
  8. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links the second participial clause; Translation: and; Notes: introduces emotional reaction.
  9. tactus — Lemma: tango; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive; Function: participle forming ablative absolute with “dolore”; Translation: touched; Notes: denotes being affected emotionally.
  10. dolore — Lemma: dolor; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of cause / manner; Translation: with grief; Notes: emotional cause of divine reaction.
  11. cordis — Lemma: cor; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: possessive genitive modifying “dolore”; Translation: of heart; Notes: locus of feeling and will.
  12. intrinsecus — Lemma: intrinsecus; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies the ablative phrase; Translation: within / inwardly; Notes: intensifies inner aspect of divine sorrow.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Genesis. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.