Exodus 21:2

Posted on March 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 21:2 Si emeris servum Hebræum, sex annis serviet tibi: in septimo egredietur liber gratis.

If you buy a Hebrew servant, he will serve you for six years; in the seventh he will go out free without payment.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Si if CONJ
2 emeris you buy 2SG.FUTP.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ
3 servum servant NOUN.ACC.SG.M.2ND DECL
4 Hebræum Hebrew ADJ.ACC.SG.M.POS
5 sex six INDECL.NUM
6 annis years NOUN.ABL.PL.M.2ND DECL
7 serviet he will serve 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND.4TH CONJ
8 tibi to you PRON.DAT.SG.2ND.PERS
9 in in PREP+ABL
10 septimo seventh ADJ.ABL.SG.M.ORD
11 egredietur he will go out 3SG.FUT.DEP.IND.3RD CONJ
12 liber free ADJ.NOM.SG.M.POS
13 gratis for nothing ADV.INDECL

Syntax

Conditional Clause: Si introduces condition; emeris is the verb; servum Hebræum is the object.
Main Clause (1): serviet (verb) + tibi (indirect object) + sex annis (ablative of time).
Main Clause (2): egredietur (verb) + liber (predicate adjective) + in septimo (locative/temporal phrase) + gratis (adverb modifying verb).
The two main clauses explain the legal outcome following the conditional action.

Morphology

  1. Si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces protasis; Translation: “if”; Notes: Standard conditional marker.
  2. emeris — Lemma: emo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular future perfect active indicative, 3rd conjugation; Function: verb of the conditional clause; Translation: “you buy”; Notes: Future perfect expresses completed action before the main clause.
  3. servum — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: direct object; Translation: “servant”; Notes: Object of emeris.
  4. Hebræum — Lemma: Hebraeus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine positive degree; Function: modifies servum; Translation: “Hebrew”; Notes: Ethnic designation.
  5. sex — Lemma: sex; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies annis; Translation: “six”; Notes: Cardinal number.
  6. annis — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, 2nd declension; Function: ablative of time duration; Translation: “years”; Notes: Standard time-expression construction.
  7. serviet — Lemma: servio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future active indicative, 4th conjugation; Function: main verb of first apodosis; Translation: “he will serve”; Notes: Future obligation.
  8. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative singular, 2nd person; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to you”; Notes: Recipient of service.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces temporal phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: Uses ablative with time markers.
  10. septimo — Lemma: septimus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine, ordinal; Function: object of in; Translation: “seventh”; Notes: Marks the seventh year.
  11. egredietur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: 3rd person singular future indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “he will go out”; Notes: Deponent: passive form, active meaning.
  12. liber — Lemma: liber; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine positive degree; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “free”; Notes: Describes the subject implied by egredietur.
  13. gratis — Lemma: gratis; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adverb modifying egredietur; Translation: “without payment”; Notes: Indicates costlessness of release.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Exodus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.