Exodus 21:20

Posted on March 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 21:20 Qui percusserit servum suum, vel ancillam virga, et mortui fuerint in manibus eius, criminis reus erit.

Whoever strikes his male servant or his female servant with a rod, and they have died in his hands, shall be guilty of a crime.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui whoever NOM.SG.M REL.PRON
2 percusserit has struck 3SG.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ VERB
3 servum servant ACC.SG.M 2ND DECL NOUN
4 suum his ACC.SG.M POSS.ADJ
5 vel or CONJ INDECL
6 ancillam female servant ACC.SG.F 1ST DECL NOUN
7 virga with a rod ABL.SG.F 1ST DECL NOUN
8 et and CONJ INDECL
9 mortui dead NOM.PL.M PERF.PASS.PTCP VERB
10 fuerint have been 3PL.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ VERB
11 in in PREP+ABL PREP
12 manibus hands ABL.PL.F 4TH DECL NOUN
13 eius his GEN.SG.M PRON
14 criminis of a crime GEN.SG.N 3RD DECL NOUN
15 reus guilty NOM.SG.M ADJ
16 erit will be 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND VERB

Syntax

Relative subject clause (legal formula):
Qui percusserit servum suum vel ancillam — “Whoever has struck his male servant or female servant.”
• Qui introduces the offender (generic).
• percusserit = legal future perfect subjunctive, establishing a hypothetical committed act.
• servum suum and ancillam = direct objects.

Instrumental ablative:
virga — “with a rod,” specifying the weapon.

Secondary condition (death):
et mortui fuerint in manibus eius — “and they have died in his hands.”
• mortui fuerint = completed death, still in future-perfect subjunctive legal mode.
• in manibus eius indicates death occurring under the master’s direct power.

Main legal judgment:
criminis reus erit — “he shall be guilty of a crime.”
• Predicate legal status: reus.
• erit in the future = binding legal outcome.

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces legal subject (“whoever”); Translation: whoever; Notes: standard legal case-law opening.
  2. percusserit — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active subjunctive 3rd singular; Function: main verb of the conditional offense; Translation: has struck; Notes: used consistently in legal hypotheticals.
  3. servum — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine 2nd declension; Function: direct object of percusserit; Translation: male servant; Notes: denotes enslaved person.
  4. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies servum; Translation: his; Notes: reflexive; refers back to the master.
  5. vel — Lemma: vel; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: offers alternative object; Translation: or; Notes: separates male and female slave.
  6. ancillam — Lemma: ancilla; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine 1st declension; Function: direct object of percusserit; Translation: female servant; Notes: gender-specific term.
  7. virga — Lemma: virga; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine 1st declension; Function: ablative of instrument; Translation: with a rod; Notes: indicates weapon used.
  8. et — conjunction linking secondary consequence.
  9. mortui — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: verb (participle); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate with fuerint; Translation: dead; Notes: describes the servants’ condition.
  10. fuerint — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active subjunctive 3rd plural; Function: auxiliary forming “have been dead”; Translation: have been; Notes: maintains legal conditional frame.
  11. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces location; Translation: in; Notes: here meaning “in the hands of.”
  12. manibus — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine 4th declension; Function: object of in; Translation: hands; Notes: idiom meaning under direct control.
  13. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifying manibus; Translation: his; Notes: refers to the master.
  14. criminis — Lemma: crimen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter 3rd declension; Function: genitive complement to reus; Translation: of a crime; Notes: defines the type of guilt.
  15. reus — Lemma: reus; Part of Speech: adjective/substantive; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: guilty; Notes: formal legal verdict.
  16. erit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative 3rd singular; Function: main verb expressing judgment; Translation: will be; Notes: expresses mandatory legal outcome.

 

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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