Exodus 28:38

Posted on March 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 28:38 imminens fronti pontificis. Portabitque Aaron iniquitates eorum, quæ obtulerunt et sanctificaverunt filii Israel, in cunctis muneribus et donariis suis. Erit autem lamina semper in fronte eius, ut placatus sit eis Dominus.

set on the forehead of the high priest, and Aaron shall bear their iniquities, those which the sons of Israel presented and sanctified in all their offerings and gifts. And the plate shall always be on his forehead, so that the LORD may be appeased toward them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 imminens lying upon PTCP NOM SG N PRES ACT 2ND CONJ
2 fronti to the forehead NOUN DAT SG F 3RD DECL
3 pontificis of the high priest NOUN GEN SG M 3RD DECL
4 Portabitque and he shall bear VERB 3 FUT ACT IND 3RD CONJ + ENCL
5 Aaron Aaron NOUN NOM SG M INDECL
6 iniquitates iniquities NOUN ACC PL F 3RD DECL
7 eorum of them PRON PERS GEN PL M
8 quæ which PRON REL NOM PL F
9 obtulerunt they offered VERB 3 PL PERF ACT IND 3RD CONJ
10 et and CONJ INDECL
11 sanctificaverunt they sanctified VERB 3 PL PERF ACT IND 1ST CONJ
12 filii sons NOUN NOM PL M 2ND DECL
13 Israel Israel NOUN GEN SG M INDECL
14 in in PREP+ABL INDECL
15 cunctis all ADJ ABL PL N
16 muneribus offerings NOUN ABL PL N 3RD DECL
17 et and CONJ INDECL
18 donariis gifts NOUN ABL PL N 2ND DECL
19 suis their PRON POSS ABL PL N
20 Erit it shall be VERB 3 FUT ACT IND IRREG
21 autem however ADV INDECL
22 lamina the plate NOUN NOM SG F 1ST DECL
23 semper always ADV INDECL
24 in on PREP+ABL INDECL
25 fronte in the forehead NOUN ABL SG F 3RD DECL
26 eius his PRON PERS GEN SG M
27 ut so that CONJ INDECL
28 placatus being appeased PTCP NOM SG M PERF PASS 2ND CONJ
29 sit may be VERB 3 PRES ACT SUBJ IRREG
30 eis toward them PRON PERS DAT PL M
31 Dominus the LORD NOUN NOM SG M 2ND DECL

Syntax

imminens fronti pontificis describes the position of the golden plate—“lying upon the forehead of the high priest.”
The main clause Portabitque Aaron iniquitates eorum expresses Aaron’s representative function.
A relative clause follows: quæ obtulerunt et sanctificaverunt filii Israel, defining the iniquities borne—those connected to Israel’s offerings and sanctified gifts.
The prepositional phrase in cunctis muneribus et donariis suis locates these acts within all sacrificial gifts.
A second main clause states: Erit autem lamina semper in fronte eius, describing the permanent placement of the plate.
Finally, the purpose clause ut placatus sit eis Dominus expresses the theological function—so that the LORD may be appeased toward them.

Morphology

  1. imminens — Lemma: immineo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular neuter present active participle; Function: describes the plate’s position; Translation: “lying upon”; Notes: participle used substantively for locative description.
  2. fronti — Lemma: frons; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular feminine, third declension; Function: dative of location with participial idea; Translation: “to the forehead”; Notes: refers to Aaron’s forehead.
  3. pontificis — Lemma: pontifex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine, third declension; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of the high priest”; Notes: identifies Aaron’s role.
  4. Portabitque — Lemma: porto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative with enclitic -que; Function: main verb; Translation: “and he shall bear”; Notes: expresses priestly mediation.
  5. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, indeclinable; Function: subject; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: high priest.
  6. iniquitates — Lemma: iniquitas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, third declension; Function: direct object; Translation: “iniquities”; Notes: refers to ritual shortcomings.
  7. eorum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of them”; Notes: refers to the sons of Israel.
  8. quæ — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: pronoun (relative); Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: refers back to iniquitates.
  9. obtulerunt — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “they offered”; Notes: refers to ritual sacrifices.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple coordinator.
  11. sanctificaverunt — Lemma: sanctifico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect active indicative, first conjugation; Function: second verb of the clause; Translation: “they sanctified”; Notes: describes consecratory action.
  12. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine, second declension; Function: subject of relative verbs; Translation: “sons”; Notes: sons of Israel.
  13. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine, indeclinable; Function: genitive of belonging; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: proper name.
  14. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: introduces sacrificial context.
  15. cunctis — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: modifies muneribus; Translation: “all”; Notes: distributive sense.
  16. muneribus — Lemma: munus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter, third declension; Function: object of in; Translation: “offerings”; Notes: refers to sacrificial gifts.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins coordinate nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple link.
  18. donariis — Lemma: donarium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter, second declension; Function: object of in; Translation: “gifts”; Notes: dedicated offerings.
  19. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: pronoun (possessive); Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: modifies muneribus/donariis; Translation: “their”; Notes: reflexive of filii Israel.
  20. Erit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of new clause; Translation: “it shall be”; Notes: prescriptive future.
  21. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: mild contrastive; Translation: “however”; Notes: soft logical shift.
  22. lamina — Lemma: lamina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine, first declension; Function: subject; Translation: “the plate”; Notes: golden plate marked “Sanctum Domino.”
  23. semper — Lemma: semper; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies erit; Translation: “always”; Notes: indicates continuous obligation.
  24. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative phrase; Translation: “in/on”; Notes: placement phrase continues.
  25. fronte — Lemma: frons; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: object of in; Translation: “in the forehead”; Notes: refers again to Aaron.
  26. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive; Translation: “his”; Notes: refers to Aaron.
  27. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “so that”; Notes: governs subjunctive.
  28. placatus — Lemma: placo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate with sit; Translation: “appeased”; Notes: describes divine disposition.
  29. sit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present subjunctive; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “may be”; Notes: subjunctive required after ut.
  30. eis — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: dative of advantage; Translation: “toward them”; Notes: refers to Israel.
  31. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: subject of placatus sit; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: refers explicitly to YHWH and must be translated “LORD.”

 

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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