Exodus 3:18

Posted on February 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 3:18 Et audient vocem tuam: ingredierisque tu, et seniores Israel ad regem Ægypti, et dices ad eum: Dominus Deus Hebræorum vocavit nos: ibimus viam trium dierum in solitudinem, ut immolemus Domino Deo nostro.

And they will hear your voice, and you shall enter, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him: ‘The LORD God of the Hebrews has called us; we will go a journey of three days into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 audient they will hear 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
3 vocem voice ACC.SG.F
4 tuam your ACC.SG.F.ADJ
5 ingredierisque and you will enter 2SG.FUT.MID.IND + ENCLITIC
6 tu you NOM.SG.PRON
7 et and CONJ
8 seniores elders NOM.PL.M
9 Israel Israel GEN.SG.INVAR
10 ad to PREP+ACC
11 regem king ACC.SG.M
12 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F
13 et and CONJ
14 dices you will say 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
15 ad to PREP+ACC
16 eum him ACC.SG.PRON
17 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
18 Deus God NOM.SG.M
19 Hebræorum of the Hebrews GEN.PL.M
20 vocavit has called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
21 nos us ACC.PL.PRON
22 ibimus we will go 1PL.FUT.ACT.IND
23 viam journey ACC.SG.F
24 trium of three GEN.PL.NUM
25 dierum of days GEN.PL.M
26 in into PREP+ACC
27 solitudinem wilderness ACC.SG.F
28 ut so that SUB.CONJ
29 immolemus we may sacrifice 1PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
30 Domino to the LORD DAT.SG.M
31 Deo to God DAT.SG.M
32 nostro our DAT.SG.M.ADJ

Syntax

Main Future Action:
Et audient vocem tuam — “And they will hear your voice.”
• audient = future indicative as divine prediction.
• vocem tuam = direct object phrase.

Movement to Pharaoh:
ingredierisque tu, et seniores Israel, ad regem Ægypti
• ingredieris enclitic -que joins actions: you shall enter.
• seniores Israel = compound subject.

Direct Speech to Pharaoh:
et dices ad eum
• dices = future indicative of instruction.

Divine Declaration:
Dominus Deus Hebræorum vocavit nos
• Subject: Dominus Deus.
• Verb: vocavit.
• Object: nos.

Purpose of Departure:
ibimus viam trium dierum in solitudinem
• Hebrew idiom preserved in Latin: “a journey of three days.”

Purpose Clause:
ut immolemus Domino Deo nostro
• ut introduces purpose.
• immolemus subjunctive required after ut.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Common biblical connective.
  2. audient — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of prediction; Translation: “they will hear”; Notes: Future indicates certainty.
  3. vocem — Lemma: vox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “voice”; Notes: Modified by tuam.
  4. tuam — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies vocem; Translation: “your”; Notes: Possessive emphasis.
  5. ingredierisque — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: 2nd singular future indicative with enclitic -que; Function: main verb coordinating movement; Translation: “and you shall enter”; Notes: Deponent with active meaning.
  6. tu — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: explicit subject; Translation: “you”; Notes: Emphatic nominative.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links subjects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces companions.
  8. seniores — Lemma: senior; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: compound subject; Translation: “elders”; Notes: Title for tribal leaders.
  9. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular indeclinable; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Hebrew origin; indeclinable in Latin.
  10. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: motion toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Common motion marker.
  11. regem — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “king”; Notes: Refers to Pharaoh.
  12. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies regem; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: Specifies royal domain.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: Narrative flow.
  14. dices — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd singular future active indicative; Function: introduces instructed speech; Translation: “you will say”; Notes: Prophetic directive.
  15. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: motion toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: Repeated phrase direction.
  16. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Pharaoh.
  17. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH.
  18. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: apposition to Dominus; Translation: “God”; Notes: Clarifies identity.
  19. Hebræorum — Lemma: Hebræus; Part of Speech: adjective/noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies Deus; Translation: “of the Hebrews”; Notes: Ethnic designation.
  20. vocavit — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “has called”; Notes: Expresses divine summons.
  21. nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object; Translation: “us”; Notes: Refers to Israel’s representatives.
  22. ibimus — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of purpose; Translation: “we will go”; Notes: Future intention of obedience.
  23. viam — Lemma: via; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of ibimus; Translation: “journey”; Notes: Hebrew idiom preserved in Latin.
  24. trium — Lemma: tres; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: genitive plural; Function: quantifies dierum; Translation: “of three”; Notes: Part of genitive of measure.
  25. dierum — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of measure; Translation: “of days”; Notes: Specifies journey length.
  26. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: motion into; Translation: “into”; Notes: Spatial movement.
  27. solitudinem — Lemma: solitudo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “wilderness”; Notes: Common setting for sacrifice.
  28. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “so that”; Notes: Requires subjunctive.
  29. immolemus — Lemma: immolo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st plural present active subjunctive; Function: verb of purpose; Translation: “we may sacrifice”; Notes: Cultic vocabulary.
  30. Domino — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH.
  31. Deo — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: apposition; Translation: “to God”; Notes: Reinforces object of sacrifice.
  32. nostro — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: modifies Deo; Translation: “our”; Notes: Expresses covenant identity.

 

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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