Exodus 3:15

Posted on February 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 3:15 Dixitque iterum Deus ad Moysen: Hæc dices filiis Israel: Dominus Deus patrum vestrorum, Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac, et Deus Iacob misit me ad vos: hoc nomen mihi est in æternum, et hoc memoriale meum in generationem et generationem.

And God said again to Moyses: “These things you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob has sent me to you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial from generation to generation.’

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dixitque and said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 iterum again ADV
3 Deus God NOM.SG.M
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Moysen Moses ACC.SG.M
6 Hæc these things ACC.PL.N DEMONSTR
7 dices you shall say 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
8 filiis to the sons DAT.PL.M
9 Israel Israel GEN.SG.M
10 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
11 Deus God NOM.SG.M
12 patrum of the fathers GEN.PL.M
13 vestrorum of your GEN.PL.M PRON
14 Deus God NOM.SG.M
15 Abraham Abraham GEN.SG.M
16 Deus God NOM.SG.M
17 Isaac Isaac GEN.SG.M
18 et and CONJ
19 Deus God NOM.SG.M
20 Iacob Jacob GEN.SG.M
21 misit has sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
22 me me ACC.SG PRON
23 ad to PREP+ACC
24 vos you ACC.PL PRON
25 hoc this NOM.SG.N DEMONSTR
26 nomen name NOM.SG.N
27 mihi to me DAT.SG PRON
28 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
29 in in PREP+ACC
30 æternum eternity ACC.SG.N
31 et and CONJ
32 hoc this NOM.SG.N DEMONSTR
33 memoriale memorial NOM.SG.N
34 meum my NOM.SG.N POSS
35 in into PREP+ACC
36 generationem generation ACC.SG.F
37 et and CONJ
38 generationem generation ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Speech Frame:
Dixitque iterum Deus ad Moysen — introduces a new divine instruction.

Main Command:
Hæc dices filiis Israel — future indicative expressing authoritative directive.

Content of the Declaration:
• Dominus Deus patrum vestrorum — appositional chain identifying YHWH through patriarchal lineage.
• Repeated Deus with Abraham … Isaac … Iacob emphasizes covenant continuity.

Perfect Indicative:
misit me ad vos — completed divine commissioning.

Name Formula:
hoc nomen mihi est in æternum — declares the divine name’s perpetual validity.
hoc memoriale meum — title to be remembered forever.

Final Phrase:
in generationem et generationem — idiomatic biblical expression meaning continual remembrance.

Morphology

  1. Dixitque — Lemma: dico + -que; Part of Speech: verb with enclitic; Form: 3rd singular perfect active indicative; Function: introduces divine speech; Translation: “and said”; Notes: -que links to the previous narrative clause.
  2. iterum — Lemma: iterum; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies dixit; Translation: “again”; Notes: Marks a second revelation in the sequence.
  3. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Speaker of the divine instruction.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the recipient of the speech.
  5. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Addressee of divine revelation.
  6. Hæc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of dices; Translation: “these things”; Notes: Refers to the forthcoming message Moses must speak.
  7. dices — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd singular future active indicative; Function: expresses prophetic instruction; Translation: “you shall say”; Notes: Futuristic command common in divine commissions.
  8. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the sons”; Notes: Refers to the Israelite descendants.
  9. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies filiis; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Indicates covenant identity.
  10. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of misit; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Indicates YHWH when capitalized.
  11. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: in apposition to Dominus; Translation: “God”; Notes: Identifies divine authority.
  12. patrum — Lemma: pater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies Deus; Translation: “of the fathers”; Notes: Refers to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.
  13. vestrorum — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies patrum; Translation: “your”; Notes: Direct address to Israel.
  14. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: beginning of repeated apposition; Translation: “God”; Notes: Repetition stresses divine continuity.
  15. Abraham — Lemma: Abraham; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies Deus; Translation: “of Abraham”; Notes: First patriarch in covenant line.
  16. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: repeated in parallel; Translation: “God”; Notes: Stylistic repetition.
  17. Isaac — Lemma: Isaac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies Deus; Translation: “of Isaac”; Notes: Second patriarch.
  18. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects final element; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple coordination.
  19. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: final element in appositional chain; Translation: “God”; Notes: Repetition emphasizes covenant unity.
  20. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies Deus; Translation: “of Jacob”; Notes: Third patriarch.
  21. misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “has sent”; Notes: Completed commissioning action.
  22. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of misit; Translation: “me”; Notes: Refers to Moses.
  23. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces recipients.
  24. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “you”; Notes: Addresses Israel.
  25. hoc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject of est; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers to divine name.
  26. nomen — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “name”; Notes: Title claimed by YHWH.
  27. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: ethical dative; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Expresses possession.
  28. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular present active indicative; Function: linking verb; Translation: “is”; Notes: Joins subject and predicate.
  29. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses duration; Translation: “into”; Notes: Marks continuing validity.
  30. æternum — Lemma: æternus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “eternity”; Notes: Denotes permanence.
  31. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: adds parallel clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links second declaration.
  32. hoc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject; Translation: “this”; Notes: Introduces memorial statement.
  33. memoriale — Lemma: memoriale; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “memorial”; Notes: Refers to divine remembrance.
  34. meum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: modifies memoriale; Translation: “my”; Notes: Marks divine ownership.
  35. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses duration; Translation: “into”; Notes: Introduces time expression.
  36. generationem — Lemma: generatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “generation”; Notes: Marks continuous succession.
  37. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinating; Translation: “and”; Notes: Repeated rhythmically.
  38. generationem — Lemma: generatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: second accusative of sequence; Translation: “generation”; Notes: Biblical idiom for perpetuality.

 

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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