Genesis 7:5

Posted on January 7, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 7:5 Fecit ergo Noe omnia, quæ mandaverat ei Dominus.

And Noe therefore did all things which the LORD had commanded him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Fecit did / made VERB.3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ergo therefore 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 mandaverat had commanded VERB.3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
7 ei to him PRON.DAT.SG.M
8 Dominus LORD NOUN.NOM.SG.M

Syntax

The sentence Fecit ergo Noe omnia, quæ mandaverat ei Dominus is a concise summary of obedience.
The adverb ergo (“therefore”) connects this verse logically to the preceding divine command, showing immediate compliance.
Noe serves as the nominative subject, and fecit is the main verb (perfect tense) denoting completed action.
The object omnia (“all things”) is expanded by the relative clause quæ mandaverat ei Dominus (“which the LORD had commanded him”).
Within that clause, Dominus is the subject, mandaverat the pluperfect verb, and ei the indirect object — expressing that Noe fulfilled every divine instruction precisely as given.
The verse mirrors Genesis 6:22, emphasizing Noe’s unwavering faith and covenantal obedience.

Morphology

  1. Fecit — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: did / made; Notes: indicates completed obedience by Noe.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: inferential connector; Translation: therefore; Notes: links divine command and human response.
  3. Noe — Lemma: Noe; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of the main verb; Translation: Noah; Notes: Latinized form of Hebrew נֹחַ (Noaḥ), meaning “rest.”
  4. omnia — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective / Pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: all things; Notes: total obedience to divine commands.
  5. quæ — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of subordinate clause; Translation: which; Notes: refers back to “omnia.”
  6. mandaverat — Lemma: mando; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: main verb of subordinate clause; Translation: had commanded; Notes: expresses divine instruction given before the action.
  7. ei — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: to him; Notes: recipient of divine command.
  8. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of subordinate verb; Translation: LORD; Notes: refers to YHWH, rendered as “LORD” when divine.

 

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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