Exodus 1:10

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:10 Venite, sapienter opprimamus eum, ne forte multiplicetur: et si ingruerit contra nos bellum, addatur inimicis nostris, expugnatisque nobis egrediatur de terra.

Come, let us wisely oppress him, lest he should perhaps multiply; and if war should arise against us, he may join our enemies, and after we have been overcome, he may go out from the land.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Venite come 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
2 sapienter wisely ADV
3 opprimamus let us oppress 1PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
4 eum him ACC.SG.M
5 ne lest CONJ
6 forte perhaps ADV
7 multiplicetur he multiply 3SG.PRES.PASS.SUBJ
8 et and CONJ
9 si if CONJ
10 ingruerit should arise 3SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
11 contra against PREP+ACC
12 nos us ACC.PL.1P
13 bellum war NOM.SG.N
14 addatur he be added 3SG.PRES.PASS.SUBJ
15 inimicis to enemies DAT.PL.M
16 nostris our DAT.PL.M POSS
17 expugnatisque and after we are overcome ABL.PL.M PERF.PART.PASS + -QUE
18 nobis we ABL.PL.1P
19 egrediatur he go out 3SG.PRES.DEP.SUBJ
20 de from PREP+ABL
21 terra land ABL.SG.F

Syntax

Imperative Clause: Venite, sapienter opprimamus eum — “Come, let us wisely oppress him”; exhortative subjunctive.
Purpose Clause: ne forte multiplicetur — negative purpose with “lest,” using subjunctive.
Conditional Clause: si ingruerit contra nos bellum — “if war should arise against us”; future perfect for vividness.
Potential Passive: addatur inimicis nostris — “he may be added to our enemies.”
Ablative Absolute: expugnatisque nobis — “and after we have been overcome.”
Final Clause: egrediatur de terra — purpose/result (“he may go out from the land”).

Morphology

  1. Venite — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: summons the advisers; Translation: “come”; Notes: Used to introduce collective deliberation.
  2. sapienter — Lemma: sapiens; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: adverbial; Function: modifies “opprimamus”; Translation: “wisely”; Notes: Implies strategic oppression.
  3. opprimamus — Lemma: opprimo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person plural present active subjunctive; Function: hortatory subjunctive; Translation: “let us oppress”; Notes: Introduces the plan.
  4. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to the people of Israel collectively.
  5. ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces negative purpose; Translation: “lest”; Notes: Common in biblical Latin.
  6. forte — Lemma: forte; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: softens clause; Translation: “perhaps”; Notes: Indicates a feared possibility.
  7. multiplicetur — Lemma: multiplico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present passive subjunctive; Function: negative purpose; Translation: “he multiply”; Notes: Passive with intransitive sense “increase.”
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Neutral connective.
  9. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces condition; Translation: “if”; Notes: Frequent in conditional warnings.
  10. ingruerit — Lemma: ingruo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of conditional clause; Translation: “should arise”; Notes: “Ingruo” = to attack or press upon.
  11. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses opposition; Translation: “against”; Notes: Military context.
  12. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural first person; Function: object of “contra”; Translation: “us”; Notes: Egyptians speaking.
  13. bellum — Lemma: bellum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject of conditional clause; Translation: “war”; Notes: Personified as arising.
  14. addatur — Lemma: addo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present passive subjunctive; Function: potential/volitive; Translation: “he be added”; Notes: Means “join with” in context.
  15. inimicis — Lemma: inimicus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to enemies”; Notes: Egyptians fear defection.
  16. nostris — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: modifies “inimicis”; Translation: “our”; Notes: Possessive.
  17. expugnatisque — Lemma: expugno; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural masculine perfect passive participle + enclitic -que; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “and after we are overcome”; Notes: Egypt envisioned as defeated.
  18. nobis — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative plural first person; Function: part of ablative absolute; Translation: “we”; Notes: Dependent on participle.
  19. egrediatur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: 3rd person singular present subjunctive; Function: final/purpose clause; Translation: “he go out”; Notes: Deponent with active meaning.
  20. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: Spatial separation.
  21. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “the land”; Notes: Refers to Egypt.

 

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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