Exodus 3:13

Posted on February 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 3:13 Ait Moyses ad Deum: Ecce ego vadam ad filios Israel, et dicam eis: Deus patrum vestrorum misit me ad vos. Si dixerint mihi: Quod est nomen eius? quid dicam eis?

And Moyses said to God: “Behold, I will go to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. If they say to me, What is his name? what shall I say to them?”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ait said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
2 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M PROPER
3 ad to PREP+ACC
4 Deum God ACC.SG.M
5 Ecce behold INTERJ
6 ego I NOM.SG PRON
7 vadam I will go 1SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
8 ad to PREP+ACC
9 filios sons ACC.PL.M
10 Israel Israel GEN.SG.M PROPER
11 et and CONJ
12 dicam I will say 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
13 eis to them DAT.PL PRON
14 Deus God NOM.SG.M
15 patrum of the fathers GEN.PL.M
16 vestrorum your GEN.PL POSS
17 misit has sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
18 me me ACC.SG PRON
19 ad to PREP+ACC
20 vos you ACC.PL PRON
21 Si if SUB.CONJ
22 dixerint they say 3PL.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
23 mihi to me DAT.SG PRON
24 Quod what NOM/ACC.SG.N INTERROG
25 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
26 nomen name NOM.SG.N
27 eius his GEN.SG PRON
28 quid what NOM/ACC.SG.N INTERROG
29 dicam shall I say 1SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
30 eis to them DAT.PL PRON

Syntax

Speech Frame:
Ait Moyses ad Deum — “And Moses said to God.”
• Ait = historical present introducing direct speech.
• ad Deum marks the divine addressee.

Anticipated Mission:
Ecce ego vadam ad filios Israel — “Behold, I will go to the sons of Israel.”
• Ecce = deictic particle highlighting what follows.
• vadam (subjunctive with future sense) expresses Moses’ envisaged action.
• ad filios Israel = goal of the journey.

Second Future Action:
et dicam eis — “and I will say to them.”
• dicam = future indicative, coordinated with vadam.
• eis = indirect object.

Quoted Message Content:
Deus patrum vestrorum misit me ad vos — “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.”
• Deus = subject.
• patrum vestrorum = “of your fathers,” a genitive phrase qualifying Deus.
• misit me ad vos = perfect commissioning with direction toward Israel.

Conditional Future Inquiry:
Si dixerint mihi — “If they say to me.”
• dixerint = future perfect, anticipating a later response.
• mihi = recipient of the question.

First Direct Question:
Quod est nomen eius? — “What is his name?”
• Interrogative Quod with copula est and predicate noun nomen eius.

Second Direct Question:
quid dicam eis? — “what shall I say to them?”
• dicam (present subjunctive) in a deliberative question.
• eis again = indirect object.

Morphology

  1. Ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular present active indicative; Function: introduces Moses’ speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: Historical present for vivid narrative presentation.
  2. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of ait; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Speaker who addresses God.
  3. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction of speech; Translation: “to”; Notes: Regular with verbs of speaking.
  4. Deum — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “God”; Notes: Identifies the divine addressee.
  5. Ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection/deictic particle; Form: indeclinable; Function: calls attention to what follows; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Often introduces reported or imagined speech.
  6. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: Emphasizes Moses’ own involvement.
  7. vadam — Lemma: vado; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st singular present active subjunctive; Function: expresses intended future action in Moses’ projected words; Translation: “I will go”; Notes: Subjunctive used with future nuance in indirect or styled discourse.
  8. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Repeated with a new object.
  9. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers to Israel as descendants of the patriarch.
  10. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive modifying filios; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Marks covenant lineage.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the second verb with vadam; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins sequential actions.
  12. dicam — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st singular future active indicative; Function: future statement within Moses’ imagined speech; Translation: “I will say”; Notes: Parallel to vadam as part of the mission Moses anticipates.
  13. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal/demonstrative pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object of dicam; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to the Israelites.
  14. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of misit; Translation: “God”; Notes: The one who commissions Moses.
  15. patrum — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive modifying Deus; Translation: “of the fathers”; Notes: Refers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  16. vestrorum — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive plural; Function: modifies patrum; Translation: “your”; Notes: Addresses Israel corporately as heirs of the patriarchs.
  17. misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the reported message; Translation: “has sent”; Notes: Perfect indicates a completed commission with ongoing authority.
  18. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object of misit; Translation: “me”; Notes: Moses as the commissioned envoy.
  19. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction of sending; Translation: “to”; Notes: Adds the destination of Moses’ mission.
  20. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “you”; Notes: Refers to the people of Israel.
  21. Si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces conditional clause; Translation: “if”; Notes: Marks a possible future response.
  22. dixerint — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd plural future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the protasis; Translation: “they say”; Notes: Future perfect indicates their speaking will precede Moses’ reply.
  23. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Moses as the addressee of Israel’s question.
  24. Quod — Lemma: quis/quod; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: nominative/accusative singular neuter; Function: interrogative element in direct question; Translation: “what”; Notes: Refers to the unknown divine name.
  25. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular present active indicative; Function: copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: Links Quod with nomen eius.
  26. nomen — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: predicate noun with est; Translation: “name”; Notes: Central focus of the theological question.
  27. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive genitive modifying nomen; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to God whose name is sought.
  28. quid — Lemma: quis/quod; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: nominative/accusative singular neuter; Function: introduces a second direct question; Translation: “what”; Notes: Asks about the content of Moses’ reply.
  29. dicam — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb in deliberative question; Translation: “shall I say”; Notes: Subjunctive expresses uncertainty and request for instruction.
  30. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object of dicam; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers again to the Israelites who will hear the explanation of the name.

 

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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