Genesis 8:7

Posted on January 8, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Gn 8:7 qui egrediebatur, et non revertebatur, donec siccarentur aquæ super terram.

Which went out, and did not return, until the waters were dried up upon the earth.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 qui which / who PRON.REL.NOM.SG.M
2 egrediebatur was going out VERB.3SG.IMPERF.IND.DEP
3 et and CONJ
4 non not ADV.NEG
5 revertebatur was returning VERB.3SG.IMPERF.IND.DEP
6 donec until CONJ.TEMP
7 siccarentur were dried VERB.3PL.IMPERF.SUBJ.PASS
8 aquæ waters NOUN.NOM.PL.F
9 super upon PREP+ACC
10 terram earth NOUN.ACC.SG.F

Syntax

The relative pronoun qui connects this verse to the antecedent corvum from the previous sentence.
The verbs egrediebatur and revertebatur are both in the imperfect deponent form, describing repeated or continuous action — “it went out and did not keep returning.”
The clause donec siccarentur aquæ super terram introduces a temporal limit to this behavior, with donec (“until”) governing the subjunctive siccarentur to mark an anticipated condition.
The nominative subject aquæ with super terram (accusative governed by super) indicates the surface affected by drying.
Overall, the syntax paints a vivid picture of the raven’s continual movement until the divine process of drying the earth was complete.

Morphology

  1. qui — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of egrediebatur; Translation: which / who; Notes: refers back to corvus (raven).
  2. egrediebatur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent); Form: 3rd person singular imperfect indicative deponent; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: was going out; Notes: deponent in form but active in meaning; iterative action.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects two verbal clauses; Translation: and; Notes: simple coordination.
  4. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: Adverb (negative); Form: indeclinable; Function: negates revertebatur; Translation: not; Notes: standard negation particle.
  5. revertebatur — Lemma: revertor; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent); Form: 3rd person singular imperfect indicative deponent; Function: coordinated verb; Translation: was returning; Notes: repeated failure to return, showing the bird’s independence.
  6. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: Conjunction (temporal); Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces subordinate temporal clause; Translation: until; Notes: triggers subjunctive because the event was anticipated.
  7. siccarentur — Lemma: sicco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive passive; Function: verb of subordinate clause; Translation: were dried; Notes: subjunctive under donec expressing eventuality.
  8. aquæ — Lemma: aqua; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of siccarentur; Translation: waters; Notes: those same floodwaters now receding.
  9. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses spatial relation; Translation: upon; Notes: shows the sphere of the drying process.
  10. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of super; Translation: earth; Notes: denotes the surface from which the floodwaters evaporated.

 

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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