Exodus 22:15

Posted on March 13, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 22:15 Quod si impræsentiarum dominus fuerit, non restituet, maxime si conductum venerat pro mercede operis sui.

But if the master was present at the time, he shall not restore, especially if it had come hired for the payment of his work.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quod but if CONJ
2 si if CONJ
3 impræsentiarum at the present time ADV.INDECL
4 dominus the master NOUN.NOM.SG.M.2ND DECL
5 fuerit was / has been 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
6 non not ADV.INDECL
7 restituet he shall restore 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ
8 maxime especially ADV.INDECL
9 si if CONJ
10 conductum hired PTCP.PERF.PASS.ACC.SG.N
11 venerat had come 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
12 pro for PREP+ABL
13 mercede payment NOUN.ABL.SG.F.3RD DECL
14 operis of the work NOUN.GEN.SG.N.3RD DECL
15 sui his PRON.GEN.SG.M.REFL

Syntax

Conditional Frame: Quod si impræsentiarum dominus fuerit — legal protasis specifying the owner’s presence.
Main Clause: non restituet — absence of liability when the owner is present.
Intensifying Clause: maxime si conductum venerat — strongest case exempting restitution when the item had been hired.
Prepositional Phrase: pro mercede operis sui — explains the basis of the hiring (“for the payment of his work”).

Morphology

  1. Quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces legal alternative; Translation: “but if”; Notes: Vulgate legal idiom quod si.
  2. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: conditional particle; Translation: “if”; Notes: begins protasis.
  3. impræsentiarum — Lemma: impræsentiarum; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: temporal adverb; Translation: “at the present time”; Notes: Medieval/late Latin legal idiom.
  4. dominus — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “the master”; Notes: owner of the property.
  5. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the conditional clause; Translation: “was / has been / shall have been”; Notes: legal-event perfect.
  6. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: negates liability.
  7. restituet — Lemma: restituo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular future active indicative (3rd conjugation); Function: main verb; Translation: “he shall restore”; Notes: here negated: “he shall not restore.”
  8. maxime — Lemma: maxime; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: intensifier; Translation: “especially”; Notes: emphasizes exception clause.
  9. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces subordinate conditional; Translation: “if”; Notes: second-level protasis.
  10. conductum — Lemma: conductus; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive accusative singular neuter; Function: predicate of understood “it”; Translation: “hired”; Notes: refers to borrowed/hired animal or object.
  11. venerat — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: completes subordinate clause; Translation: “had come”; Notes: indicates prior arrival as hired property.
  12. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses exchange/purpose; Translation: “for”; Notes: common in legal payment clauses.
  13. mercede — Lemma: merces; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of pro; Translation: “payment”; Notes: wages/compensation terminology.
  14. operis — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: “of the work”; Notes: identifies the task being paid for.
  15. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies operis; Translation: “his”; Notes: refers back to the owner.

 

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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