Exodus 4:14

Posted on February 23, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 4:14 Iratus Dominus in Moysen, ait: Aaron frater tuus levites, scio quod eloquens sit: ecce ipse egreditur in occursum tuum, vidensque te lætabitur corde.

The LORD, angry with Moses, said: “Aaron your brother the Levite, I know that he is eloquent; behold, he is coming out to meet you, and seeing you he will rejoice in heart.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Iratus angry NOM.SG.M.PERF.PTCP
2 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
3 in against PREP+ACC
4 Moysen Moses ACC.SG.M
5 ait said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
6 Aaron Aaron NOM.SG.M
7 frater brother NOM.SG.M
8 tuus your NOM.SG.M.ADJ
9 levites Levite NOM.SG.M
10 scio I know 1SG.PRES.ACT.IND
11 quod that CONJ
12 eloquens eloquent NOM.SG.M.PRES.PTCP
13 sit he is 3SG.PRES.SUBJ.ACT
14 ecce behold INTERJ
15 ipse he himself NOM.SG.M.PRON
16 egreditur goes out 3SG.PRES.DEP.IND
17 in into PREP+ACC
18 occursum meeting ACC.SG.M
19 tuum your ACC.SG.M.ADJ
20 vidensque and seeing NOM.SG.M.PRES.PTCP + ENCLITIC
21 te you ACC.SG.PRON
22 lætabitur he will rejoice 3SG.FUT.DEP.IND
23 corde in heart ABL.SG.N

Syntax

Initial Circumstantial Phrase:
Iratus Dominus in Moysen — “The LORD, angry with Moses”
• Iratus = circumstantial participle modifying Dominus.
• in Moysen = prepositional phrase indicating the object of divine anger.

Main Clause:
ait — introduces divine speech.

Subject Description:
Aaron frater tuus levites
• Series of nominatives in apposition describing Aaron.

Content Clause:
scio quod eloquens sit — “I know that he is eloquent.”
• Subjunctive sit in an indirect statement introduced by quod.

Demonstrative Statement:
ecce ipse egreditur in occursum tuum — “behold, he himself is coming out to meet you.”
• egreditur = deponent.

Participial + Future Verb:
vidensque te lætabitur corde
• videns = participial clause (“seeing you”).
• lætabitur = future deponent (“he will rejoice”).
• corde = ablative of manner (“in heart”).

Morphology

  1. Iratus — Lemma: irascor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle; Function: circumstantial modifier of Dominus; Translation: “angry”; Notes: Perfect participle of deponent with active meaning.
  2. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun/title; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH.
  3. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates target of anger; Translation: “against”; Notes: Preposition of hostility.
  4. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Greek name declined in Latin.
  5. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular present active indicative; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: Common narrative verb.
  6. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of following clause; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: Stands in apposition with frater tuus levites.
  7. frater — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: in apposition to Aaron; Translation: “brother”; Notes: Kinship term modifying identity.
  8. tuus — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: “your”; Notes: Refers to Moses.
  9. levites — Lemma: levites; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: descriptive apposition; Translation: “the Levite”; Notes: Ethnic/religious identifier.
  10. scio — Lemma: scio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st singular present active indicative; Function: introduces content clause; Translation: “I know”; Notes: Cognitive verb governing quod clause.
  11. quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces indirect statement; Translation: “that”; Notes: Often interchangeable with Acc.+Inf. structure.
  12. eloquens — Lemma: eloquens; Part of Speech: participle/adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine present participle; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “eloquent”; Notes: Derived from eloquor.
  13. sit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular present subjunctive active; Function: verb of indirect statement; Translation: “he is”; Notes: Subjunctive follows quod in reported speech.
  14. ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: indeclinable; Function: draws attention; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Demonstrative particle.
  15. ipse — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: emphasizes subject; Translation: “he himself”; Notes: Adds emphasis to Aaron’s action.
  16. egreditur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: 3rd singular present indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “goes out”; Notes: Deponent with active meaning.
  17. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion toward; Translation: “into”; Notes: Accusative = direction.
  18. occursum — Lemma: occursus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: “meeting”; Notes: Idiom “go to meet.”
  19. tuum — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies occursum; Translation: “your”; Notes: Possessive adjective.
  20. vidensque — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine present participle + enclitic -que; Function: circumstantial participle; Translation: “and seeing”; Notes: Links two actions.
  21. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of videns; Translation: “you”; Notes: Refers to Moses.
  22. lætabitur — Lemma: laetor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: 3rd singular future indicative; Function: main verb of result clause; Translation: “he will rejoice”; Notes: Deponent with future sense.
  23. corde — Lemma: cor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of manner; Translation: “in heart”; Notes: Indicates internal disposition.

 

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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