Exodus 22:31

Posted on March 13, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

31 Viri sancti eritis mihi: carnem, quæ a bestiis fuerit prægustata, non comedetis, sed proiicietis canibus.

You shall be holy men to me; flesh which has been torn by beasts you shall not eat, but you shall throw it to the dogs.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Viri men NOUN.NOM.PL.M.2ND DECL
2 sancti holy ADJ.NOM.PL.M.POS
3 eritis you shall be 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
4 mihi to me PRON.DAT.SG.1.PERS
5 carnem flesh NOUN.ACC.SG.F.3RD DECL
6 quæ which PRON.NOM.SG.F.REL
7 a by PREP+ABL
8 bestiis beasts NOUN.ABL.PL.F.3RD DECL
9 fuerit has been 3SG.FUTP.ACT/DEP? Actually PASSIVE PERFECT → 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND of sum used with PTCP
10 prægustata torn / tasted beforehand PTCP.NOM.SG.F.PERF.PASS
11 non not ADV.INDECL
12 comedetis you shall eat 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ
13 sed but CONJ.INDECL
14 proiicietis you shall throw 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ
15 canibus to the dogs NOUN.DAT/ABL.PL.M.3RD DECL

Syntax

Main Identity Clause: Viri sancti eritis mihi — “you shall be holy men to me”; mihi is a possessive/ethical dative indicating belonging to YHWH.
Object of Prohibition: carnem quæ … prægustata fuerit — “flesh which has been torn by beasts,” a relative clause describing prohibited food.
Prohibition: non comedetis — future indicative used as legal command.
Contrasting Command: sed proiicietis canibus — instead of eating, the flesh must be given to scavenger dogs.

Morphology

  1. Viri — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “men”; Notes: refers to Israelite males as covenant members.
  2. sancti — Lemma: sanctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifier of viri; Translation: “holy”; Notes: describes consecrated identity.
  3. eritis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of identity command; Translation: “you shall be”; Notes: legal future.
  4. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: ethical dative; Translation: “to me”; Notes: expresses belonging to YHWH.
  5. carnem — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of comedetis; Translation: “flesh”; Notes: refers to animal meat.
  6. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of prægustata fuerit; Translation: “which”; Notes: refers to carnem.
  7. a — Lemma: a/ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces agent; Translation: “by”; Notes: used for personal or animal agent in passive.
  8. bestiis — Lemma: bestia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: ablative of agent; Translation: “beasts”; Notes: refers to wild animals.
  9. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular future perfect active indicative; Function: auxiliary with perfect passive participle; Translation: “has been / shall have been”; Notes: legal perfect expressing completed past action relevant to law.
  10. prægustata — Lemma: prægusto; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular feminine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate in relative clause; Translation: “torn / tasted beforehand”; Notes: idiomatically means “torn by beasts.”
  11. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates comedetis; Translation: “not”; Notes: legal negator.
  12. comedetis — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd plural future active indicative; Function: main legal prohibition; Translation: “you shall eat”; Notes: refers to consumption of torn meat.
  13. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces contrast; Translation: “but”; Notes: marks corrective command.
  14. proiicietis — Lemma: proicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of alternative command; Translation: “you shall throw”; Notes: expresses disposal requirement.
  15. canibus — Lemma: canis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative/ablative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the dogs”; Notes: dogs as scavengers receive what is unfit for Israel.

 

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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