Exodus 12:34

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:34 Tulit igitur populus conspersam farinam antequam fermentaretur: et ligans in palliis, posuit super humeros suos.

Therefore the people took the kneaded dough before it was leavened, and tying it in cloaks, placed it upon their shoulders.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tulit took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 igitur therefore ADV
3 populus the people NOM.SG.M
4 conspersam kneaded ACC.SG.F.PPP
5 farinam dough ACC.SG.F
6 antequam before CONJ
7 fermentaretur was leavened 3SG.IMPF.SUBJ.PASS
8 et and CONJ
9 ligans tying NOM.SG.M.PRES.ACT.PPL
10 in in PREP+ABL
11 palliis cloaks ABL.PL.N
12 posuit placed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
13 super upon PREP+ACC
14 humeros shoulders ACC.PL.M
15 suos their ACC.PL.M.ADJ

Syntax

Main clause:
Tulit igitur populus conspersam farinam — “Therefore the people took the kneaded dough”
• Tulit = main verb
• populus = subject
• conspersam farinam = object + participial modifier

Subordinate temporal clause:
antequam fermentaretur — “before it was leavened”
• fermentaretur = passive subjunctive

Participial clause:
et ligans in palliis — “and tying it in cloaks”
• modifies implied subject populus

Final clause:
posuit super humeros suos — “placed it upon their shoulders”
• posuit = second main verb
• humeros suos = direct object + possessive adjective

Morphology

  1. Tulit — Lemma: fero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “took”; Notes: denotes decisive action.
  2. igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: logical connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: infers from previous events.
  3. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “people”; Notes: refers collectively to Israel.
  4. conspersam — Lemma: conspergo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: accusative singular feminine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies farinam; Translation: “kneaded”; Notes: indicates dough already mixed.
  5. farinam — Lemma: farina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object; Translation: “dough”; Notes: most basic food provision.
  6. antequam — Lemma: antequam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “before”; Notes: governs subjunctive.
  7. fermentaretur — Lemma: fermento; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect passive subjunctive third singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “was leavened”; Notes: reflects incompleteness of process.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: adds participial phrase.
  9. ligans — Lemma: ligo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine present active participle; Function: circumstantial; Translation: “tying”; Notes: refers to tying the dough bundles.
  10. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: location or container; Translation: “in”; Notes: shows placement.
  11. palliis — Lemma: pallium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “cloaks”; Notes: used as makeshift carrying cloths.
  12. posuit — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: second main verb; Translation: “placed”; Notes: final action of bundle transport.
  13. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses position; Translation: “upon”; Notes: physical placement.
  14. humeros — Lemma: humerus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of super; Translation: “shoulders”; Notes: indicates manual transport.
  15. suos — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies humeros; Translation: “their”; Notes: reflexive to populus.

 

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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