Hi guys, I’ve a doubt about New Vulgata Gen. 1. 4 ’ et divisit lucem ac tenebras’. Why does New Vulgata replace ‘ac ttenebras for the original’ ‘a tenebris’?
Why do we have 2 accusatives for divisit? Does it have anything to do with an special syntax of verb divido?
The Nova Vulgata attempts to follow the original Hebrew more closely, which I suspect to be the reason for this change. The meaning stays the same, however, whether God divided “the light and the darkness” or “the light from the darkness”.
With regard to the use of the verb “dividere”: Both Latin versions are grammatically correct. If you want to get an overview of the various ways in which the verb is used, I recommend you have a look at the examples in a dictionary like Lewis & Short (available online) or the Oxford Latin Dictionary.
I hope this helps!