Exodus 34:35

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 34:35 Qui videbant faciem egredientis Moysi esse cornutam, sed operiebat ille rursus faciem suam, si quando loquebatur ad eos.

They saw that the face of Moyses as he went out was horned, but he would again cover his face whenever he spoke to them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui who NOM.PL.M REL.PRON
2 videbant they saw 3PL.IMP.ACT.IND 2ND CONJ
3 faciem face ACC.SG.F 5TH DECL
4 egredientis of the one going out GEN.SG.M PTCP.PRES.ACT (DEP) 3RD CONJ
5 Moysi of Moses GEN.SG.M 3RD DECL
6 esse to be INF.PRES.ACT
7 cornutam horned ACC.SG.F ADJ 1ST DECL
8 sed but CONJ
9 operiebat he would cover 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
10 ille he NOM.SG.M DEM.PRON
11 rursus again ADV
12 faciem face ACC.SG.F 5TH DECL
13 suam his ACC.SG.F POSS.ADJ
14 si if CONJ
15 quando whenever ADV
16 loquebatur he was speaking 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND (DEP) 3RD CONJ
17 ad to PREP+ACC
18 eos them ACC.PL.M PERS.PRON

Syntax

Relative Clause as Subject:
Qui videbant faciem … esse cornutam
• Qui = “those who.”
• videbant = imperfect → repeated customary perception.
• Accusative–infinitive construction:
• faciem = subject of infinitive
• esse cornutam = infinitive phrase → “to be horned.”

Genitive Participial Phrase:
egredientis Moysi — “of Moses going out.”
• Genitive modifies faciem (“the face of Moses as he exited”).

Main Contrast Clause:
sed operiebat ille rursus faciem suam
• operiebat = imperfect habitual action.
• ille = emphatic “he.”
• rursus = “again, repeatedly.”

Conditional Temporal Clause:
si quando loquebatur ad eos
• si quando = “whenever.”
• loquebatur = deponent imperfect.

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: quī, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of videbant; Translation: who; Notes: refers to the Israelites.
  2. videbant — Lemma: videō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural imperfect active indicative; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: they saw; Notes: describes continuous repeated perception.
  3. faciem — Lemma: faciēs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: subject of the infinitive esse; Translation: face; Notes: governs participial/genitive modifiers.
  4. egredientis — Lemma: ēgredior; Part of Speech: participle (deponent); Form: genitive singular masculine present active participle; Function: modifies Moysi; Translation: of the one going out; Notes: refers to Moses leaving the LORD’s presence.
  5. Moysi — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: of Moses; Notes: Vulgate form of Hebrew “Moshe.”
  6. esse — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: in accusative–infinitive construction; Translation: to be; Notes: ties description to verb of perception.
  7. cornutam — Lemma: cornūtus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: complement of infinitive esse; Translation: horned; Notes: Hebrew root suggests “radiating beams of light.”
  8. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces contrast; Translation: but; Notes: sets up opposition to observation.
  9. operiebat — Lemma: operiō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular imperfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: he would cover; Notes: habitual repeated action by Moses.
  10. ille — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: he; Notes: distinguishes Moses from the people.
  11. rursus — Lemma: rursus; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: modifies operiebat; Translation: again; Notes: indicates repetition.
  12. faciem — Lemma: faciēs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of operiebat; Translation: face; Notes: repetition reinforces act of veiling.
  13. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies faciem; Translation: his; Notes: reflexive → refers to Moses himself.
  14. si — Lemma: sī; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces conditional clause; Translation: if; Notes: combined with quando for iterative meaning.
  15. quando — Lemma: quandō; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: temporal indicator; Translation: whenever; Notes: expresses habitual action.
  16. loquebatur — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: 3rd person singular imperfect active indicative; Function: verb of conditional clause; Translation: he was speaking; Notes: deponent with active meaning.
  17. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates recipients; Translation: to; Notes: standard preposition of direction.
  18. eos — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: them; Notes: refers to the Israelites.

 

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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