Exodus 12:39

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:39 Coxeruntque farinam, quam dudum de Ægypto conspersam tulerant: et fecerunt subcinericios panes azymos: neque enim poterant fermentari cogentibus exire Ægyptiis, et nullam facere sinentibus moram: nec pulmenti quidquam occurrerat præparare.

And they baked the dough which earlier they had kneaded and taken from Egypt, and they made under-ashes unleavened cakes, for they could not be leavened, with the Egyptians pressing them to go out and allowing no delay, nor had anything of broth occurred to them to prepare.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Coxeruntque and they baked 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND + ENCLITIC
2 farinam dough ACC.SG.F
3 quam which ACC.SG.F.REL
4 dudum earlier ADV
5 de from PREP+ABL
6 Ægypto Egypt ABL.SG.F
7 conspersam kneaded ACC.SG.F.PPP
8 tulerant they had taken 3PL.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
9 et and CONJ
10 fecerunt they made 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
11 subcinericios under-ashes ACC.PL.M.ADJ
12 panes cakes ACC.PL.M
13 azymos unleavened ACC.PL.M.ADJ
14 neque for not / nor CONJ
15 enim indeed ADV
16 poterant they were able 3PL.IMPF.ACT.IND
17 fermentari to be leavened PRES.PASS.INF
18 cogentibus pressing ABL.PL.M.PRES.ACT.PPL
19 exire to go out PRES.ACT.INF
20 Ægyptiis the Egyptians ABL.PL.M
21 et and CONJ
22 nullam no ACC.SG.F.ADJ
23 facere to make PRES.ACT.INF
24 sinentibus allowing ABL.PL.M.PRES.ACT.PPL
25 moram delay ACC.SG.F
26 nec nor CONJ
27 pulmenti broth / dish GEN.SG.N
28 quidquam anything NOM/ACC.SG.N.INDEF
29 occurrerat had occurred 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.IND
30 præparare to prepare PRES.ACT.INF

Syntax

Main clause 1:
Coxeruntque farinam — “And they baked the dough”
• Coxeruntque = verb + enclitic
• farinam = direct object

Relative clause:
quam dudum de Ægypto conspersam tulerant
• defines farinam
• tulerant = pluperfect

Main clause 2:
et fecerunt subcinericios panes azymos
• “and they made under-ashes unleavened cakes”

Explanatory clause:
neque enim poterant fermentari — “for they were not able to be leavened”

Participial explanations:
cogentibus exire Ægyptiis — “with the Egyptians forcing them to go out”
et nullam facere sinentibus moram — “and not allowing them to make any delay”

Negative clause:
nec pulmenti quidquam occurrerat præparare
• “nor had anything of broth occurred to prepare”

Morphology

  1. Coxeruntque — Lemma: coquo + -que; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third plural with enclitic; Function: main verb; Translation: “and they baked”; Notes: initiates the action.
  2. farinam — Lemma: farina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “dough”; Notes: subject of baking.
  3. quam — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: refers to farinam.
  4. dudum — Lemma: dudum; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: temporal modifier; Translation: “earlier”; Notes: emphasizes prior action.
  5. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates source; Translation: “from”; Notes: marks origin.
  6. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: point of departure.
  7. conspersam — Lemma: conspergo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: accusative singular feminine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies farinam; Translation: “kneaded”; Notes: describes dough’s state.
  8. tulerant — Lemma: fero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative third plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “they had taken”; Notes: prior action sequence.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: sequential linkage.
  10. fecerunt — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third plural; Function: main verb; Translation: “they made”; Notes: second major action.
  11. subcinericios — Lemma: subcinericius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies panes; Translation: “under-ashes”; Notes: describes cooking method.
  12. panes — Lemma: panis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object; Translation: “cakes”; Notes: food prepared quickly.
  13. azymos — Lemma: azymus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies panes; Translation: “unleavened”; Notes: consistent with Passover theme.
  14. neque — Lemma: neque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces explanation; Translation: “for not”; Notes: explanatory negation.
  15. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: explanatory; Translation: “indeed”; Notes: strengthens reason.
  16. poterant — Lemma: possum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative third plural; Function: main verb of explanation; Translation: “they were able”; Notes: denotes incapacity.
  17. fermentari — Lemma: fermento; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present passive infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive; Translation: “to be leavened”; Notes: explains condition.
  18. cogentibus — Lemma: cogo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural masculine present active participle; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “pressing/forcing”; Notes: describes urgency.
  19. exire — Lemma: exeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: object of cogentibus; Translation: “to go out”; Notes: expresses compelled action.
  20. Ægyptiis — Lemma: Ægyptius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: agent in ablative absolute; Translation: “the Egyptians”; Notes: the ones forcing Israel.
  21. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins ablative absolutes; Translation: “and”; Notes: parallel structure.
  22. nullam — Lemma: nullus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies moram; Translation: “no”; Notes: total negation.
  23. facere — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive; Translation: “to make”; Notes: expresses prevented action.
  24. sinentibus — Lemma: sino; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural masculine present active participle; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “allowing”; Notes: modifies implicit agent.
  25. moram — Lemma: mora; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of facere; Translation: “delay”; Notes: forbidden time-wasting.
  26. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: negative connector; Translation: “nor”; Notes: adds parallel negation.
  27. pulmenti — Lemma: pulmentum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: partitive genitive; Translation: “of broth/food”; Notes: refers to prepared dish.
  28. quidquam — Lemma: quisquam; Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun; Form: nominative/accusative singular neuter; Function: subject; Translation: “anything”; Notes: emphatic negation.
  29. occurrerat — Lemma: occurro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “had occurred”; Notes: denotes absence of idea/preparation.
  30. præparare — Lemma: præparo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive; Translation: “to prepare”; Notes: indicates intended but unrealized action.

 

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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