Genesis 6:7

Posted on January 6, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 6:7 Delebo, inquit, hominem, quem creavi, a facie terræ, ab homine usque ad animantia, a reptili usque ad volucres cæli. pœnitet enim me fecisse eos.

“I will destroy,” He said, “man whom I have created from the face of the earth, from man even to the beasts, from the creeping thing even to the birds of heaven; for it repents Me that I have made them.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Delebo I will destroy VERB.1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
2 inquit He said VERB.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 hominem man NOUN.ACC.SG.M
4 quem whom PRON.ACC.SG.M
5 creavi I have created VERB.1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 a from PREP+ABL
7 facie face / surface NOUN.ABL.SG.F
8 terræ of the earth NOUN.GEN.SG.F
9 ab from PREP+ABL
10 homine man NOUN.ABL.SG.M
11 usque even to / up to PREP+ACC
12 ad to PREP+ACC
13 animantia living creatures NOUN.ACC.PL.N
14 a from PREP+ABL
15 reptili creeping thing NOUN.ABL.SG.N
16 usque even to / up to PREP+ACC
17 ad to PREP+ACC
18 volucres birds NOUN.ACC.PL.F
19 cæli of heaven NOUN.GEN.SG.M
20 pœnitet it repents VERB.3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
21 enim for ADV.CAUSAL
22 me me PRON.ACC.SG.M
23 fecisse to have made INF.PERF.ACT
24 eos them PRON.ACC.PL.M

Syntax

The divine declaration begins with Delebo (“I will destroy”), a future indicative verb expressing firm resolve.
The direct object is hominem quem creavi (“man whom I have created”), with quem creavi functioning as a relative clause qualifying hominem.
The prepositional phrase a facie terræ (“from the face of the earth”) defines the extent of destruction.
The subsequent parallel phrases—ab homine usque ad animantia and a reptili usque ad volucres cæli—create an inclusio that spans all living creatures.
The final statement, pœnitet enim me fecisse eos (“for it repents Me that I have made them”), explains the reason for divine judgment. The impersonal verb pœnitet again takes the accusative of person (me) and the infinitive phrase (fecisse eos) as the cause.

Morphology

  1. Delebo — Lemma: deleo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb expressing divine intent; Translation: I will destroy; Notes: indicates certainty of forthcoming judgment.
  2. inquit — Lemma: inquam; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: parenthetic speech marker; Translation: He said; Notes: enclitic in direct discourse formula.
  3. hominem — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of “Delebo”; Translation: man; Notes: representative of humankind.
  4. quem — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: relative pronoun referring to “hominem”; Translation: whom; Notes: introduces relative clause.
  5. creavi — Lemma: creo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: first person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: I have created; Notes: recalls Genesis 1 creation language.
  6. a — Lemma: a (ab); Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation; Translation: from; Notes: introduces ablative of source.
  7. facie — Lemma: facies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “a”; Translation: face / surface; Notes: used idiomatically for “surface.”
  8. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive modifier of “facie”; Translation: of the earth; Notes: specifies realm of destruction.
  9. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses range; Translation: from; Notes: introduces the first range pair.
  10. homine — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “ab”; Translation: man; Notes: starting point of destruction list.
  11. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: Preposition / adverb; Form: governs “ad”; Function: marks extent; Translation: even to; Notes: emphasizes total range.
  12. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces end of range; Translation: to; Notes: joins with “usque.”
  13. animantia — Lemma: animal; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of “usque ad”; Translation: living creatures; Notes: includes beasts and animals.
  14. a — Lemma: a (ab); Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces new range; Translation: from; Notes: parallels earlier pair.
  15. reptili — Lemma: reptile; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of “a”; Translation: creeping thing; Notes: smaller ground creatures.
  16. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: Adverb / preposition; Form: used with “ad”; Function: denotes continuity; Translation: even to; Notes: connects the second range.
  17. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces final term; Translation: to; Notes: marks extent of destruction.
  18. volucres — Lemma: volucris; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of “usque ad”; Translation: birds; Notes: creatures of the sky.
  19. cæli — Lemma: cælum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive modifying “volucres”; Translation: of heaven; Notes: denotes their dwelling domain.
  20. pœnitet — Lemma: pœnitet; Part of Speech: Verb (impersonal); Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: introduces causal statement; Translation: it repents; Notes: expresses divine regret anthropopathically.
  21. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: provides causal explanation; Translation: for; Notes: connects to prior decree.
  22. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of impersonal “pœnitet”; Translation: me; Notes: personalizes divine sorrow.
  23. fecisse — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb (infinitive); Form: perfect active infinitive; Function: infinitive of cause with “pœnitet”; Translation: to have made; Notes: describes reason for divine repentance.
  24. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of “fecisse”; Translation: them; Notes: refers to humankind and all living creatures.

 

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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