Exodus 21:35

Posted on March 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 21:35 Si bos alienus bovem alterius vulneraverit, et ille mortuus fuerit: vendent bovem vivum, et divident pretium, cadaver autem mortui inter se dispertient.

If another man’s ox wounds the ox of another, and it dies, they shall sell the living ox and divide the price, but the carcass of the dead one they shall divide among themselves.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Si if CONJ
2 bos ox NOUN.NOM.SG.M.3RD DECL
3 alienus another man’s ADJ.NOM.SG.M.POS
4 bovem ox NOUN.ACC.SG.M.3RD DECL
5 alterius of another PRON.GEN.SG.M/F/INDEF
6 vulneraverit has wounded 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND.1ST CONJ
7 et and CONJ
8 ille that one PRON.NOM.SG.M.DEM
9 mortuus dead PTCP.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.M
10 fuerit has been 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
11 vendent they shall sell 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ
12 bovem ox NOUN.ACC.SG.M.3RD DECL
13 vivum living ADJ.ACC.SG.M.POS
14 et and CONJ
15 divident they shall divide 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ
16 pretium the price NOUN.ACC.SG.N.2ND DECL
17 cadaver the carcass NOUN.ACC.SG.N.3RD DECL
18 autem but CONJ
19 mortui of the dead one PTCP.PERF.PASS.GEN.SG.M
20 inter between PREP+ACC
21 se themselves PRON.ACC/ABL.PL.REFL
22 dispertient they shall divide 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND.4TH CONJ

Syntax

Conditional Protasis: Si bos alienus bovem alterius vulneraverit — subject = bos alienus; object = bovem alterius; verb = vulneraverit.
Result Clause 1: et ille mortuus fuerit — the wounded ox dies.
Main Apodosis: vendent bovem vivum — “they shall sell the living ox,” coordinated with et divident pretium.
Contrastive Clause: cadaver autem mortui inter se dispertient — the carcass is divided among the parties.
Prepositional Phrase: inter se — reciprocal distribution (“between themselves”).

Morphology

  1. Si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces protasis; Translation: “if”; Notes: Case law formulation.
  2. bos — Lemma: bos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, 3rd declension; Function: subject; Translation: “ox”; Notes: The offending animal.
  3. alienus — Lemma: alienus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies bos; Translation: “another man’s”; Notes: Marks ownership.
  4. bovem — Lemma: bos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object; Translation: “ox”; Notes: The victim animal.
  5. alterius — Lemma: alter; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine/feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of another”; Notes: Identifies second owner.
  6. vulneraverit — Lemma: vulnero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative, 1st conjugation; Function: verb of injury; Translation: “has wounded”; Notes: Completed action before legal consequence.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple coordination.
  8. ille — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of mortuus fuerit; Translation: “that one,” “he”; Notes: Refers to the wounded ox.
  9. mortuus — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate adjective with fuerit; Translation: “dead”; Notes: Describes state of the victim ox.
  10. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: completes periphrastic passive; Translation: “has been”; Notes: Marks completed death.
  11. vendent — Lemma: vendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural future active indicative, 3rd conjugation; Function: first verb of apodosis; Translation: “they shall sell”; Notes: Both parties participate.
  12. bovem — Lemma: bos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of vendent; Translation: “the ox”; Notes: The surviving ox.
  13. vivum — Lemma: vivus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies bovem; Translation: “living”; Notes: Specifies which ox is sold.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins the second consequence; Translation: “and”; Notes: Coordinates apodosis verbs.
  15. divident — Lemma: divido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural future active indicative, 3rd conjugation; Function: second verb of apodosis; Translation: “they shall divide”; Notes: Both parties share proceeds.
  16. pretium — Lemma: pretium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of divident; Translation: “the price”; Notes: Sale value of the living ox.
  17. cadaver — Lemma: cadaver; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, 3rd declension; Function: object of dispertient; Translation: “the carcass”; Notes: The dead ox.
  18. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: contrastive marker; Translation: “but”; Notes: Introduces different treatment for carcass.
  19. mortui — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: participle; Form: genitive singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies cadaver; Translation: “of the dead one”; Notes: Clarifies whose carcass.
  20. inter — Lemma: inter; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses mutual distribution; Translation: “between”; Notes: Used with se for reciprocal sense.
  21. se — Lemma: se; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: accusative/ablative plural; Function: object of inter; Translation: “themselves”; Notes: Both owners share the carcass.
  22. dispertient — Lemma: dispertior; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural future active indicative, 4th conjugation; Function: final consequence; Translation: “they shall divide”; Notes: Formal legal distribution.

 

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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