Exodus 12:30

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:30 Surrexitque Pharao nocte, et omnes servi eius, cunctaque Ægyptus: et ortus est clamor magnus in Ægypto: neque enim erat domus in qua non iaceret mortuus.

And Pharao rose in the night, and all his servants, and all Egypt; and a great cry arose in Egypt, for there was no house in which a dead one was not lying.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Surrexitque and rose 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 Pharao Pharaoh NOM.SG.M.INVAR
3 nocte at night ABL.SG.F
4 et and CONJ
5 omnes all NOM.PL.M
6 servi servants NOM.PL.M
7 eius his GEN.SG.M
8 cunctaque and all NOM.SG.F + ENCLITIC
9 Ægyptus Egypt NOM.SG.F
10 et and CONJ
11 ortus arose NOM.SG.M.PPP
12 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
13 clamor cry NOM.SG.M
14 magnus great NOM.SG.M
15 in in PREP+ABL
16 Ægypto Egypt ABL.SG.F
17 neque and not CONJ/ADV
18 enim for ADV
19 erat there was 3SG.IMPF.ACT.IND
20 domus house NOM.SG.F
21 in in PREP+ABL
22 qua in which ABL.SG.F.REL
23 non not ADV
24 iaceret was lying 3SG.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
25 mortuus a dead one NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main narrative clause:
Surrexitque Pharao nocte — Pharaoh rises at night
• Surrexitque = perfect verb with enclitic -que
• Pharao = subject
• nocte = temporal ablative

Coordinated subjects:
et omnes servi eius, cunctaque Ægyptus — “and all his servants, and all Egypt”

Secondary clause:
et ortus est clamor magnus in Ægypto — “and a great cry arose in Egypt”
• clamor magnus = subject + adjective
• in Ægypto = locative ablative

Negative existential clause:
neque enim erat domus in qua non iaceret mortuus
• “for there was no house in which a dead one was not lying”
• domus = subject
• iaceret = verb of relative clause

Morphology

  1. Surrexitque — Lemma: surgo + -que; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular + enclitic and; Function: begins the main narrative action; Translation: “and rose”; Notes: perfect tense highlights suddenness.
  2. Pharao — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: subject; Translation: “Pharaoh”; Notes: royal subject.
  3. nocte — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: temporal ablative; Translation: “at night”; Notes: signals timing.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links subjects; Translation: “and”; Notes: coordination.
  5. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective/pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies servi; Translation: “all”; Notes: totality.
  6. servi — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: coordinated subject; Translation: “servants”; Notes: palace staff.
  7. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possession; Translation: “his”; Notes: refers to Pharaoh.
  8. cunctaque — Lemma: cunctus + -que; Part of Speech: adjective + enclitic; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: modifies Ægyptus, adds coordination; Translation: “and all”; Notes: collective sense.
  9. Ægyptus — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: personified national body.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: additive.
  11. ortus — Lemma: orior; Part of Speech: perfect passive participle (deponent); Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: part of periphrastic verb; Translation: “arose”; Notes: deponent with active meaning.
  12. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third singular; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “was”; Notes: forms perfect.
  13. clamor — Lemma: clamor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “cry”; Notes: cry of mourning.
  14. magnus — Lemma: magnus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies clamor; Translation: “great”; Notes: intensifies grief.
  15. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: location; Translation: “in”; Notes: spatial.
  16. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: location; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: nationwide mourning.
  17. neque — Lemma: neque; Part of Speech: conjunction/adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces negative statement; Translation: “and not”; Notes: emphatic negation.
  18. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: explanatory; Translation: “for”; Notes: explanation clause.
  19. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative third singular; Function: existential verb; Translation: “there was”; Notes: imperfect for ongoing situation.
  20. domus — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “house”; Notes: every household affected.
  21. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: location; Translation: “in”; Notes: locative.
  22. qua — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “in which”; Notes: relative clause.
  23. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: negates the verb.
  24. iaceret — Lemma: iaceo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive third singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “was lying”; Notes: subjunctive due to relative clause of characteristic.
  25. mortuus — Lemma: mortuus; Part of Speech: noun/adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of iaceret; Translation: “a dead one”; Notes: denotes a corpse.

 

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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