Exodus 24:11

Posted on March 15, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 24:11 Nec super eos qui procul recesserant de filiis Israel, misit manum suam, videruntque Deum, et comederunt, ac biberunt.

And upon the sons of Israel who had withdrawn afar, He did not stretch out His hand; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Nec nor CONJ
2 super upon PREP+ACC
3 eos them ACC.PL.M PRON PERS
4 qui who NOM.PL.M PRON REL
5 procul afar ADV
6 recesserant had withdrawn 3PL.PLUP.ACT.IND
7 de from PREP+ABL
8 filiis sons ABL.PL.M 2ND DECL
9 Israel Israel ABL.SG.M INDECL
10 misit he sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 manum hand ACC.SG.F 4TH DECL
12 suam his ACC.SG.F ADJ POSS
13 videruntque and they saw 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND + CONJ
14 Deum God ACC.SG.M 2ND DECL
15 et and CONJ
16 comederunt they ate 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
17 ac and CONJ
18 biberunt they drank 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Negative Main Clause:
Nec super eos … misit manum suam — “Nor did He stretch out His hand upon them…”
• Nec introduces a coordinated negative.
• super eos = “upon them,” the ones described by the relative clause.
• misit manum suam = idiom meaning “He did not strike / did not harm.”

Relative Clause:
qui procul recesserant de filiis Israel
“who had withdrawn afar from the sons of Israel”
• recesserant = pluperfect describing prior separation.
• de filiis Israel = partitive origin.

Second Coordinated Clause:
videruntque Deum — “and they saw God.”
• viderunt = perfect.

Third Coordinated Clause:
et comederunt, ac biberunt — “and they ate and drank.”
• sacred covenant meal in the divine presence.

Morphology

  1. Nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: negative coordinator; Translation: nor; Notes: continues previous negative emphasis.
  2. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: spatial relation; Translation: upon; Notes: expresses direction toward.
  3. eos — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of super; Translation: them; Notes: refers to elders.
  4. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of recesserant; Translation: who; Notes: introduces defining clause.
  5. procul — Lemma: procul; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: modifies recesserant; Translation: afar; Notes: describes distance.
  6. recesserant — Lemma: recedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: action of the relative clause; Translation: had withdrawn; Notes: prior completed action.
  7. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: partitive source; Translation: from; Notes: separation from a group.
  8. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, second declension; Function: object of de; Translation: sons; Notes: refers to Israel.
  9. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: modifies filiis; Translation: Israel; Notes: spelling preserved from user input.
  10. misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd singular; Function: main verb of first clause; Translation: he sent/stretched; Notes: idiom: “to stretch out the hand.”
  11. manum — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, fourth declension; Function: direct object of misit; Translation: hand; Notes: part of idiom.
  12. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies manum; Translation: his; Notes: reflexive to subject (God).
  13. videruntque — Lemma: video + -que; Part of Speech: verb + enclitic; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: introduces second main clause; Translation: and they saw; Notes: direct vision of Deum.
  14. Deum — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object; Translation: God; Notes: vision of God in the theophany.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links final actions; Translation: and; Notes: simple connector.
  16. comederunt — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: final narrative verb; Translation: they ate; Notes: covenant meal.
  17. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: stronger connective than et; Translation: and; Notes: used before biberunt.
  18. biberunt — Lemma: bibo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative, 3rd plural; Function: completes covenant meal; Translation: they drank; Notes: solemn communal act.

 

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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