Exodus 14:21

Posted on March 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 14:21 Cumque extendisset Moyses manum super mare, abstulit illud Dominus flante vento vehementi et urente tota nocte, et vertit in siccum: divisaque est aqua.

And when Moyses had stretched out his hand over the sea, the LORD carried it away with a strong and burning wind blowing the whole night, and turned it into dry land, and the water was divided.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cumque and when CONJ
2 extendisset had stretched out 3SG.PLUP.ACT.SUBJ
3 Moyses Moses NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 manum hand NOUN.ACC.SG.F
5 super over PREP+ACC
6 mare sea NOUN.ACC.SG.N
7 abstulit carried away 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
8 illud it PRON.ACC.SG.N
9 Dominus the LORD NOUN.NOM.SG.M
10 flante blowing PTCP.PRES.ACT.ABL.SG.M
11 vento wind NOUN.ABL.SG.M
12 vehementi strong ADJ.ABL.SG.M
13 et and CONJ
14 urente burning PTCP.PRES.ACT.ABL.SG.M
15 tota whole ADJ.ABL.SG.F
16 nocte night NOUN.ABL.SG.F
17 et and CONJ
18 vertit turned 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
19 in into PREP+ACC
20 siccum dry land ADJ.ACC.SG.N
21 divisaque and divided PTCP.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.F + CONJ
22 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
23 aqua water NOUN.NOM.SG.F

Syntax

Temporal clause: Cumque extendisset Moyses manum super mare — cum + pluperfect subjunctive meaning “when he had stretched out.”
Main clause: abstulit illud Dominus — subject + perfect verb + object.
Ablative absolute: flante vento vehementi et urente tota nocte — describes circumstances of the divine action.
Coordinated clause: et vertit in siccum — transformation formula.
Passive result: divisaque est aqua — perfect passive indicating the divided water.

Morphology

  1. Cumque — Lemma: cum + que; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: temporal conjunction with enclitic; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “and when”; Notes: subjunctive required.
  2. extendisset — Lemma: extendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active subjunctive third singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “had stretched out”; Notes: anterior action.
  3. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: leader of Israel.
  4. manum — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of extendisset; Translation: “hand”; Notes: gesture of command.
  5. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: spatial relation; Translation: “over”; Notes: marks direction.
  6. mare — Lemma: mare; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of super; Translation: “sea”; Notes: Red Sea.
  7. abstulit — Lemma: aufero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “carried away”; Notes: removal of waters.
  8. illud — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: “it”; Notes: refers to the sea.
  9. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: refers to YHWH.
  10. flante — Lemma: flo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “blowing”; Notes: modifies vento.
  11. vento — Lemma: ventus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “wind”; Notes: natural agent.
  12. vehementi — Lemma: vehemens; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies vento; Translation: “strong”; Notes: intense force.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links descriptions; Translation: “and”; Notes: joins urente.
  14. urente — Lemma: uro; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “burning”; Notes: describes intensity.
  15. tota — Lemma: totus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies nocte; Translation: “whole”; Notes: duration.
  16. nocte — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of time; Translation: “night”; Notes: time frame.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: connects actions.
  18. vertit — Lemma: verto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “turned”; Notes: transformation.
  19. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses result; Translation: “into”; Notes: leads to siccum.
  20. siccum — Lemma: siccus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: predicate of motion; Translation: “dry land”; Notes: land exposed.
  21. divisaque — Lemma: divido + que; Part of Speech: participle + conjunction; Form: perfect passive participle nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate; Translation: “and divided”; Notes: agrees with aqua.
  22. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third singular; Function: auxiliary verb; Translation: “was”; Notes: forms perfect passive.
  23. aqua — Lemma: aqua; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “water”; Notes: parted water.

 

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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