Genesis 7:11

Posted on January 7, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 7:11 Anno sexcentesimo vitæ Noe, mense secundo, septimodecimo die mensis, rupti sunt omnes fontes abyssi magnæ, et cataractæ cæli apertæ sunt:

In the six hundredth year of Noe’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the floodgates of heaven were opened.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Anno in the year NOUN.ABL.SG.M
2 sexcentesimo six hundredth ADJ.ABL.SG.M
3 vitæ of life NOUN.GEN.SG.F
4 Noe of Noah NOUN.GEN.SG.M
5 mense in the month NOUN.ABL.SG.M
6 secundo second ADJ.ABL.SG.M
7 septimodecimo seventeenth ADJ.ABL.SG.M
8 die day NOUN.ABL.SG.M
9 mensis of the month NOUN.GEN.SG.M
10 rupti were broken PART.PERF.NOM.PL.M
11 sunt were VERB.3PL.PRES.ACT.IND (AUX)
12 omnes all ADJ.NOM.PL.M
13 fontes fountains / springs NOUN.NOM.PL.M
14 abyssi of the deep NOUN.GEN.SG.F
15 magnæ great ADJ.GEN.SG.F
16 et and CONJ
17 cataractæ floodgates NOUN.NOM.PL.F
18 cæli of heaven NOUN.GEN.SG.M
19 apertæ were opened PART.PERF.NOM.PL.F
20 sunt were VERB.3PL.PRES.ACT.IND (AUX)

Syntax

The verse begins with a series of ablative absolutes and temporal ablatives:
Anno sexcentesimo vitæ Noe (“in the six hundredth year of Noe’s life”) provides a chronological marker.
This is expanded by further ablative modifiers: mense secundo (“in the second month”) and septimodecimo die mensis (“on the seventeenth day of the month”).
The main clause then introduces two coordinated actions: rupti sunt omnes fontes abyssi magnæ and cataractæ cæli apertæ sunt.
Both are perfect passive constructions emphasizing divine causation — the bursting of subterranean waters and the opening of the heavenly floodgates.
The verse expresses cosmic duality: water released from below (abyssus) and above (cælum), converging in judgment upon the earth.

Morphology

  1. Anno — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: temporal ablative; Translation: in the year; Notes: marks time when event occurs.
  2. sexcentesimo — Lemma: sexcentesimus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies “anno”; Translation: six hundredth; Notes: ordinal numeral denoting Noe’s age.
  3. vitæ — Lemma: vita; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: of life; Notes: defines the year as belonging to Noe’s life span.
  4. Noe — Lemma: Noe; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier of “vitæ”; Translation: of Noe; Notes: indicates subject of the lifespan count.
  5. mense — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: temporal ablative; Translation: in the month; Notes: specifies time period.
  6. secundo — Lemma: secundus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies “mense”; Translation: second; Notes: ordinal indicating order of months.
  7. septimodecimo — Lemma: septimodecimus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies “die”; Translation: seventeenth; Notes: literally “seventh and tenth,” a Latin compound numeral.
  8. die — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: temporal ablative; Translation: on the day; Notes: indicates specific date.
  9. mensis — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: of the month; Notes: clarifies which day.
  10. rupti — Lemma: rumpo; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: perfect nominative plural masculine; Function: agrees with “fontes”; Translation: were broken; Notes: passive sense, divine action implied.
  11. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb (Auxiliary); Form: third person plural present indicative active; Function: auxiliary forming perfect passive; Translation: were; Notes: used with “rupti.”
  12. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies “fontes”; Translation: all; Notes: totalizing scope of destruction.
  13. fontes — Lemma: fons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of “rupti sunt”; Translation: fountains / springs; Notes: refers to subterranean water sources.
  14. abyssi — Lemma: abyssus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of description; Translation: of the deep; Notes: depicts the cosmic subterranean waters.
  15. magnæ — Lemma: magnus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies “abyssi”; Translation: great; Notes: expresses magnitude of the deep abyss.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins coordinated clauses; Translation: and; Notes: links the two cosmic events.
  17. cataractæ — Lemma: cataracta; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of “apertæ sunt”; Translation: floodgates; Notes: metaphor for heavenly channels of water.
  18. cæli — Lemma: cælum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: of heaven; Notes: parallel to “abyssi” (below vs. above).
  19. apertæ — Lemma: aperio; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: perfect nominative plural feminine; Function: agrees with “cataractæ”; Translation: were opened; Notes: divine passive implying supernatural agency.
  20. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb (Auxiliary); Form: third person plural present indicative active; Function: auxiliary of perfect passive; Translation: were; Notes: parallels the earlier “rupti sunt.”

 

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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