Exodus 14:3

Posted on March 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 14:3 Dicturusque est Pharao super filiis Israel: Coarctati sunt in terra, conclusit eos desertum.

And Pharao will say about the sons of Israel: ‘They are hemmed in in the land, the wilderness has shut them in.’

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dicturusque and about to say FUT.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.M + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 Pharao Pharaoh NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 super about PREP+ACC
5 filiis sons NOUN.ABL.PL.M
6 Israel Israel NOUN.GEN.SG.M (indeclinable)
7 Coarctati hemmed in PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.PL.M
8 sunt they are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
9 in in PREP+ABL
10 terra the land NOUN.ABL.SG.F
11 conclusit has shut in 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
12 eos them PRON.ACC.PL.M
13 desertum the wilderness NOUN.NOM.SG.N

Syntax

Periphrastic future: Dicturusque est Pharao — future active participle with est expresses intention (“is about to say”).
Topic phrase: super filiis Israel — prepositional phrase meaning “about the sons of Israel.”
Quoted content: Coarctati sunt in terra — passive perfect meaning “They are hemmed in in the land.”
Independent clause: conclusit eos desertum — subject desertum, verb conclusit, object eos; literal order preserved.

Morphology

  1. Dicturusque — Lemma: dicturus (from dico); Part of Speech: participle; Form: future active participle nominative singular masculine + enclitic -que; Function: forms periphrastic future with est; Translation: “and about to say”; Notes: expresses imminent intention.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third singular; Function: auxiliary of periphrastic future; Translation: “is”; Notes: links to dicturus.
  3. Pharao — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Pharaoh”; Notes: ruler of Egypt.
  4. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses topic “about”; Translation: “about”; Notes: classical and biblical usage.
  5. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of super (biblical Latin); Translation: “sons”; Notes: refers to Israel.
  6. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: dependent genitive; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Hebraism preserved.
  7. Coarctati — Lemma: coarcto; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate with sunt; Translation: “hemmed in”; Notes: describes their trapped condition.
  8. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third plural; Function: auxiliary in passive periphrasis; Translation: “they are”; Notes: links to coarctati.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: expresses situation.
  10. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “land”; Notes: refers to the wilderness edge.
  11. conclusit — Lemma: concludo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “has shut in”; Notes: vivid perfect describing constriction.
  12. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “them”; Notes: refers to Israel.
  13. desertum — Lemma: desertum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject of conclusit; Translation: “the wilderness”; Notes: personified as acting against Israel.

 

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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