Exodus 13:3

Posted on March 4, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 13:3 Et ait Moyses ad populum: Mementote diei huius in qua egressi estis de Ægypto et de domo servitutis, quoniam in manu forti eduxit vos Dominus de loco isto: ut non comedatis fermentatum panem.

And Moyses said to the people: “Remember this day, in which you went out from Egypt and from the house of slavery, because with a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place, so that you shall not eat leavened bread.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 ait said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 Moyses Moses NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 populum people NOUN.ACC.SG.M
6 Mementote remember 2PL.PERF.ACT.IMP
7 diei of the day NOUN.GEN.SG.M
8 huius of this PRON.GEN.SG.
9 in in PREP+ABL
10 qua which PRON.ABL.SG.F
11 egressi having gone out PART.PERF.DEP.NOM.PL.M
12 estis you have 2PL.PRES.ACT.IND
13 de from PREP+ABL
14 Ægypto Egypt NOUN.ABL.SG.F
15 et and CONJ
16 de from PREP+ABL
17 domo house NOUN.ABL.SG.F
18 servitutis of slavery NOUN.GEN.SG.F
19 quoniam because CONJ
20 in with PREP+ABL
21 manu hand NOUN.ABL.SG.F
22 forti strong ADJ.ABL.SG.F
23 eduxit brought out 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
24 vos you PRON.ACC.PL.2ND
25 Dominus the LORD NOUN.NOM.SG.M
26 de from PREP+ABL
27 loco place NOUN.ABL.SG.M
28 isto this PRON.ABL.SG.M
29 ut so that CONJ
30 non not ADV
31 comedatis you may eat 2PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
32 fermentatum leavened ADJ.ACC.SG.M
33 panem bread NOUN.ACC.SG.M

Syntax

Introductory narrative clause: Et ait Moyses ad populum — coordinating conjunction Et links to the previous narrative; verb ait with subject Moyses, and prepositional phrase ad populum marks the addressees of the speech.
Direct speech, main command: Mementote diei huius — imperative Mementote governs the object phrase diei huius, specifying “this day” as the content to be remembered.
Relative-temporal expansion: in qua egressi estis de Ægypto et de domo servitutis — prepositional phrase in qua (ablative of time within which) introduces the relative clause whose verb is the periphrastic deponent egressi estis, with prepositional complements de Ægypto and de domo servitutis expressing the points of departure.
Causal clause: quoniam in manu forti eduxit vos Dominus de loco isto — conjunction quoniam introduces the reason for remembering; verb eduxit has subject Dominus and object vos, modified by instrumental phrase in manu forti and source phrase de loco isto.
Purpose clause: ut non comedatis fermentatum panem — conjunction ut with negative non introduces a purpose/command nuance; verb comedatis (subjunctive) takes object fermentatum panem, prohibiting the eating of leavened bread as a consequence of the redemptive event.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates this sentence with the preceding narrative; Translation: “and”; Notes: very frequent connective in biblical narrative sequencing actions.
  2. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person singular (used as historic present); Function: main verb of the introductory clause; Translation: “said”; Notes: defective verb commonly introducing direct speech.
  3. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of ait; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Latin form of the Hebrew name Moshe.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks direction toward the people; Translation: “to”; Notes: introduces the indirect object phrase.
  5. populum — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “people”; Notes: here refers to the assembled community of Israel.
  6. Mementote — Lemma: memini; Part of Speech: verb (defective); Form: perfect active imperative second person plural; Function: direct command addressed to the people; Translation: “remember”; Notes: memini uses perfect forms with present meaning.
  7. diei — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive dependent on Mementote, indicating the object remembered; Translation: “of the day”; Notes: specifies the day as the focus of remembrance.
  8. huius — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun/adjective; Form: genitive singular (masculine/feminine/neuter); Function: modifies diei; Translation: “of this”; Notes: points emphatically to the present, decisive day.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces the ablative of time in the relative clause; Translation: “in/on”; Notes: here used with temporal nuance “on which.”
  10. qua — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in, referring back to diei; Translation: “which”; Notes: agrees in gender and number with its antecedent diei.
  11. egressi — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: perfect participle nominative plural masculine; Function: forms a periphrastic perfect with estis; Translation: “having gone out”; Notes: deponent verb with active sense, describing Israel’s exodus.
  12. estis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative second person plural; Function: auxiliary with egressi; Translation: “you have”; Notes: completes the perfect periphrasis “you have gone out.”
  13. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces source; Translation: “from”; Notes: marks motion out of a place.
  14. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: identifies the land of bondage left behind.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the two prepositional phrases; Translation: “and”; Notes: joins geographical and social spheres of deliverance.
  16. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: again introduces source; Translation: “from”; Notes: parallel to the previous de, adding another aspect of what is left.
  17. domo — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: “house”; Notes: metaphorical for household or condition.
  18. servitutis — Lemma: servitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of quality with domo; Translation: “of slavery”; Notes: characterizes the “house” as a state of bondage.
  19. quoniam — Lemma: quoniam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: “because”; Notes: gives the theological reason for the command to remember.
  20. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: forms an instrumental/associative phrase; Translation: “with”; Notes: “in a strong hand” idiomatically means with great power.
  21. manu — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “hand”; Notes: anthropomorphic expression of divine power.
  22. forti — Lemma: fortis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies manu; Translation: “strong”; Notes: reinforces the idea of mighty deliverance.
  23. eduxit — Lemma: educo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main verb of the causal clause; Translation: “brought out”; Notes: summarizes the exodus event as a completed act.
  24. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object of eduxit; Translation: “you”; Notes: refers to the addressed generation as beneficiaries of deliverance.
  25. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of eduxit; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: denotes YHWH as the acting redeemer.
  26. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces source again; Translation: “from”; Notes: marks the place out of which Israel was led.
  27. loco — Lemma: locus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of de; Translation: “place”; Notes: can refer to Egypt or specific locale of departure.
  28. isto — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun/adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies loco; Translation: “this”; Notes: deictic, pointing to the specific place of origin.
  29. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces purpose/result clause; Translation: “so that”; Notes: here with negative expresses intended prohibition.
  30. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates comedatis; Translation: “not”; Notes: creates a negative purpose/command.
  31. comedatis — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive second person plural; Function: verb of the ut-clause; Translation: “you may eat”; Notes: subjunctive used after ut in subordinate clause of purpose or command.
  32. fermentatum — Lemma: fermentatus; Part of Speech: adjective/participle; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: attributive modifier of panem; Translation: “leavened”; Notes: derived from verb fermento, describing bread that has been leavened.
  33. panem — Lemma: panis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of comedatis; Translation: “bread”; Notes: together with fermentatum defines the prohibited food during this observance.

 

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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