Exodus 3:22

Posted on February 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 3:22 sed postulabit mulier a vicina sua, et ab hospita sua, vasa argentea et aurea, ac vestes: ponetisque eas super filios et filias vestras, et spoliabitis Ægyptum.

but the woman will ask from her neighbor and from her guest-friend vessels of silver and of gold, and garments, and you shall place them upon your sons and your daughters, and you shall despoil Egypt.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 sed but CONJ
2 postulabit she will ask 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
3 mulier woman NOM.SG.F
4 a from PREP+ABL
5 vicina neighbor ABL.SG.F
6 sua her ABL.SG.F.ADJ
7 et and CONJ
8 ab from PREP+ABL
9 hospita guest-friend ABL.SG.F
10 sua her ABL.SG.F.ADJ
11 vasa vessels ACC.PL.N
12 argentea silver ACC.PL.N.ADJ
13 et and CONJ
14 aurea gold ACC.PL.N.ADJ
15 ac and CONJ
16 vestes garments ACC.PL.F
17 ponetisque and you shall place 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
18 eas them ACC.PL.F.PRON
19 super upon PREP+ACC
20 filios sons ACC.PL.M
21 et and CONJ
22 filias daughters ACC.PL.F
23 vestras your ACC.PL.F.ADJ
24 et and CONJ
25 spoliabitis you will despoil 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
26 Ægyptum Egypt ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Main Instruction:
sed postulabit mulier — “but the woman will ask.”
• Simple future prediction of the action required.
• mulier acts as the initiating subject.

Source Phrases:
a vicina sua and ab hospita sua
• Two coordinated ablative constructions indicating sources of requested goods.

Objects Requested:
vasa argentea et aurea, ac vestes
• Three coordinated direct objects: silver vessels, gold vessels, and garments.

Second Instruction:
ponetisque eas super filios et filias vestras
• ponetis = future active indicative; with enclitic -que.
• eas = refers to the objects taken.
• super + accusative = placement upon their children.

Final Result:
et spoliabitis Ægyptum — “and you shall despoil Egypt.”
• spoliabitis = future indicating certain outcome.
• Idiom for acquiring goods from a defeated or compelled populace.

Morphology

  1. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: introduces a contrasting instruction; Translation: “but”; Notes: Marks shift from divine promise to required action.
  2. postulabit — Lemma: postulo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular future active indicative; Function: principal verb; Translation: “she will ask”; Notes: Future indicating commanded future action.
  3. mulier — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “woman”; Notes: Generic representative of Israelite women.
  4. a — Lemma: a/ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Alternates with ab by phonetic context.
  5. vicina — Lemma: vicina; Part of Speech: noun/adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of a; Translation: “neighbor”; Notes: Ablative of personal source.
  6. sua — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies vicina; Translation: “her”; Notes: Reflexive possessive of the subject.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links parallel ablative phrases; Translation: “and”; Notes: Standard connector.
  8. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Used before vowels or h-.
  9. hospita — Lemma: hospita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of ab; Translation: “guest-friend”; Notes: Indicates social relationship beyond mere neighbor.
  10. sua — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies hospita; Translation: “her”; Notes: Reflexive again.
  11. vasa — Lemma: vas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: “vessels”; Notes: Often denotes household items.
  12. argentea — Lemma: argenteus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: modifies vasa; Translation: “silver”; Notes: Material adjective.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links adjectives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connection.
  14. aurea — Lemma: aureus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: modifies vasa; Translation: “gold”; Notes: Balances with argentea.
  15. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: adds final object; Translation: “and”; Notes: Stronger than et, often used before a new category.
  16. vestes — Lemma: vestis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “garments”; Notes: Often denotes valuable clothing.
  17. ponetisque — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd plural future active indicative with enclitic -que; Function: main verb of instruction; Translation: “and you shall place”; Notes: The enclitic binds the action to the prior command.
  18. eas — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of ponetis; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to vessels and garments.
  19. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses location/placement; Translation: “upon”; Notes: Indicates position over persons.
  20. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of super; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Part of the plural group receiving the items.
  21. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: joins filios and filias; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connector.
  22. filias — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of super; Translation: “daughters”; Notes: Complements sons in the group.
  23. vestras — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies filias (and understood filios); Translation: “your”; Notes: Second-person plural possessive.
  24. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: transitions to concluding action; Translation: “and”; Notes: Highlights result of commands.
  25. spoliabitis — Lemma: spolio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of the final clause; Translation: “you will despoil”; Notes: Used for stripping goods from an enemy or unwilling party.
  26. Ægyptum — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: Denotes the people and nation as a collective.

 

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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