Exodus 34:4

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

4 Excidit ergo duas tabulas lapideas, quales antea fuerant: et de nocte consurgens ascendit in montem Sinai, sicut præceperat ei Dominus, portans secum tabulas.

And he cut out two stone tablets, like those that had been before; and rising in the night he went up onto mount Sinai, just as the LORD had commanded him, carrying the tablets with him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Excidit he cut out 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
2 ergo therefore ADV
3 duas two ACC.PL.F ADJ
4 tabulas tablets ACC.PL.F 1ST DECL
5 lapideas stone ACC.PL.F ADJ
6 quales such as NOM.PL.F REL/ADJ
7 antea before ADV
8 fuerant they had been 3PL.PLUP.ACT.IND IRREG
9 et and CONJ
10 de from PREP+ABL
11 nocte night ABL.SG.F 3RD DECL
12 consurgens rising PRES.ACT.PTCP NOM.SG.M 3RD CONJ
13 ascendit he went up 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
14 in onto PREP+ACC
15 montem mountain ACC.SG.M 3RD DECL
16 Sinai Sinai GEN.SG.INDECL
17 sicut just as CONJ
18 præceperat he had commanded 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
19 ei to him DAT.SG.M PRON
20 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M 2ND DECL
21 portans carrying PRES.ACT.PTCP NOM.SG.M 1ST CONJ
22 secum with himself ABL.SG.M PRON + CUM
23 tabulas the tablets ACC.PL.F 1ST DECL

Syntax

Main Narrative Statement:
Excidit ergo duas tabulas lapideas — “And he cut out two stone tablets.”
Direct object = duas tabulas lapideas.

Comparative Relative Clause:
quales antea fuerant — “such as they had been before.”
fuerant = pluperfect indicating the condition of the earlier tablets.

Temporal Circumstance:
et de nocte consurgens — “and rising in the night,” modifying Moses’ action.

Motion Clause:
ascendit in montem Sinai — “he went up onto Mount Sinai.”

Adverbial Comparative Clause:
sicut præceperat ei Dominus — “just as the LORD had commanded him.”

Supplementary Circumstance:
portans secum tabulas — “carrying the tablets with him,” participial phrase describing Moses’ manner.

Morphology

  1. Excidit — Lemma: excido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main action; Translation: he cut out; Notes: describes Moses shaping the new tablets.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: marks logical/narrative continuation; Translation: therefore; Notes: common in narrative transitions.
  3. duas — Lemma: duo; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies tabulas; Translation: two; Notes: matching original number.
  4. tabulas — Lemma: tabula; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: tablets; Notes: covenant tablets.
  5. lapideas — Lemma: lapideus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies tabulas; Translation: stone; Notes: describes material.
  6. quales — Lemma: qualis; Part of Speech: relative adjective; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of fuerant; Translation: such as; Notes: introduces comparative clause.
  7. antea — Lemma: antea; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: temporal expression; Translation: before; Notes: contrasts old and new tablets.
  8. fuerant — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: they had been; Notes: describes previous state.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects narrative actions; Translation: and; Notes: simple coordination.
  10. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses time (“from” = “at” night); Translation: from / in; Notes: idiomatic in Latin.
  11. nocte — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of time; Translation: night; Notes: indicates when he rose.
  12. consurgens — Lemma: consurgo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial participle; Translation: rising; Notes: describes accompanying action.
  13. ascendit — Lemma: ascendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main action; Translation: he went up; Notes: movement toward Sinai.
  14. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion; Translation: into / onto; Notes: directional usage.
  15. montem — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of in; Translation: mountain; Notes: Mount Sinai.
  16. Sinai — Lemma: Sinai; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular indeclinable; Function: specifies which mountain; Translation: of Sinai; Notes: Semitic loanword.
  17. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces comparison; Translation: just as; Notes: marks obedience.
  18. præceperat — Lemma: præcipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb of comparative clause; Translation: had commanded; Notes: divine instruction previously given.
  19. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of præceperat; Translation: to him; Notes: refers to Moses.
  20. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of præceperat; Translation: the LORD; Notes: divine subject.
  21. portans — Lemma: porto; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial participle; Translation: carrying; Notes: describes how Moses ascended.
  22. secum — Lemma: se + cum; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun with enclitic; Form: ablative singular; Function: accompaniment; Translation: with himself; Notes: refers to Moses.
  23. tabulas — Lemma: tabula; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of portans; Translation: tablets; Notes: newly cut tablets.

 

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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