Exodus 2:1

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 2:1 Egressus est post hæc vir de domo Levi: et accepit uxorem stirpis suæ.

After these things a man went out from the house of Levi, and he took a wife of his own lineage.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Egressus having gone out NOM.SG.M PERF.PASS.PART
2 est was / has 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND (AUX)
3 post after PREP+ACC
4 hæc these things ACC.PL.N DEM
5 vir a man NOM.SG.M
6 de from PREP+ABL
7 domo house ABL.SG.F
8 Levi of Levi GEN.SG.M
9 et and CONJ
10 accepit took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 uxorem wife ACC.SG.F
12 stirpis of the lineage GEN.SG.F
13 suæ his own GEN.SG.F POSS

Syntax

Perfect Periphrastic Construction:
Egressus est — “he went out,” using perfect passive participle + sum with active meaning.

Prepositional Phrase:
post hæc — “after these things,” temporal marker.

Main Clause Subject:
vir — “a man,” later identified as Amram in the wider narrative.

Origin Phrase:
de domo Levi — “from the house of Levi,” establishing Levitical descent.

Second Main Clause:
accepit uxorem stirpis suæ — “he took a wife of his own lineage.”
• uxorem = direct object
• stirpis suæ = genitive of quality/origin, “of his own lineage”

Function: Introduces the parents of Moses, emphasizing their Levitical identity.

Morphology

  1. Egressus — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle (deponent passive in form only); Function: part of periphrastic verb; Translation: “having gone out”; Notes: Deponent verb with active meaning.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary for perfect; Translation: “was / has”; Notes: Helps form perfect of deponent.
  3. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: temporal marker; Translation: “after”; Notes: Introduces time reference.
  4. hæc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of “post”; Translation: “these things”; Notes: Refers to preceding events.
  5. vir — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “a man”; Notes: Identified later as Amram.
  6. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Standard origin marker.
  7. domo — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “house”; Notes: Here “house” means family/clan.
  8. Levi — Lemma: Levi; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies “domo”; Translation: “of Levi”; Notes: Tribal identification.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Neutral connective.
  10. accepit — Lemma: accipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of second main clause; Translation: “took”; Notes: Formal expression for marriage.
  11. uxorem — Lemma: uxor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “wife”; Notes: Object of the marriage action.
  12. stirpis — Lemma: stirps; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of lineage/origin; Translation: “of the lineage”; Notes: Indicates hereditary connection.
  13. suæ — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies “stirpis”; Translation: “his own”; Notes: Emphasizes intra-tribal marriage.

 

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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