Genesis 8:22

Posted on January 8, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 8:22 Cunctis diebus terræ, sementis et messis, frigus et æstus, æstas et hiems, nox et dies non requiescent.

For all the days of the earth, sowing and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day shall not cease.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cunctis all ADJ.ABL.PL.F
2 diebus days NOUN.ABL.PL.M
3 terræ of the earth NOUN.GEN.SG.F
4 sementis sowing NOUN.NOM.SG.F
5 et and CONJ
6 messis harvest NOUN.NOM.SG.F
7 frigus cold NOUN.NOM.SG.N
8 et and CONJ
9 æstus heat NOUN.NOM.SG.M
10 æstas summer NOUN.NOM.SG.F
11 et and CONJ
12 hiems winter NOUN.NOM.SG.F
13 nox night NOUN.NOM.SG.F
14 et and CONJ
15 dies day NOUN.NOM.SG.M
16 non not ADV.NEG
17 requiescent shall cease VERB.3PL.FUT.IND.ACT

Syntax

Cunctis diebus terræ is an ablative of time (“for/throughout all the days of the earth”). Four nominative pairs follow—sementis et messis, frigus et æstus, æstas et hiems, nox et dies—serving collectively as the compound subject of the future predicate non requiescent. The asyndetic series framed by repeated et creates rhythmic parallelism that underscores the permanence of cyclical order.

Morphology

  1. Cunctis — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: modifies diebus; Translation: “all”; Notes: totalizing descriptor.
  2. diebus — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: ablative of time; Translation: “days”; Notes: duration or time-when nuance.
  3. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of possession/relationship; Translation: “of the earth”; Notes: specifies whose days.
  4. sementis — Lemma: sementis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “sowing”; Notes: agricultural cycle term.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: links paired items.
  6. messis — Lemma: messis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject (coordinated); Translation: “harvest”; Notes: balances sementis.
  7. frigus — Lemma: frigus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject; Translation: “cold”; Notes: thermal pole.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple linker.
  9. æstus — Lemma: æstus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “heat”; Notes: counterpart to frigus.
  10. æstas — Lemma: æstas; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “summer”; Notes: seasonal term.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: pairs seasons.
  12. hiems — Lemma: hiems; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “winter”; Notes: counterpart to æstas.
  13. nox — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “night”; Notes: diurnal term.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: links day/night.
  15. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “day”; Notes: counterpart to nox.
  16. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates the verb; Translation: “not”; Notes: emphatic negation of cessation.
  17. requiescent — Lemma: quiesco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 3rd person plural future indicative active; Function: main predicate; Translation: “shall cease / shall rest”; Notes: promises perpetual continuance of cycles.

 

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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