Leviticus 20:1

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:1 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens:

And the LORD spoke to Moyses, saying:

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Locutusque and-spoke 3SG.PERF.DEP.PTCP.NOM.SG.M
2 est is / has 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M (2ND DECL)
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Moysen Moyses ACC.SG.M (3RD DECL)
6 dicens saying PRES.ACT.PTCP.NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Dominus (Subject: speaker) + Locutusque est (Verb: perfect periphrasis of speaking, with enclitic coordination).

Object / Complement: ad Moysen (Prepositional phrase: addressee, direction of speech).

Participle Phrase: dicens (Supplementary present participle introducing the content that follows: “saying …”).

Morphology

  1. Locutusque — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (perfect participle) + enclitic conjunction; Form: perfect deponent participle nominative masculine singular + -que; Function: verbal head of the clause with -que linking to the prior narrative; Translation: “and having spoken / and spoke”; Notes: Deponent perfect participle commonly forms a perfect periphrasis with est; -que is postpositive and ties this line to what precedes.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary completing the perfect periphrasis with Locutus; Translation: “is / has”; Notes: With a perfect participle, est yields a completed-action sense (“spoke”).
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular (second declension); Function: subject of Locutusque est; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: In this formula introducing divine speech, Dominus refers to YHWH.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks the addressee of speech; Translation: “to”; Notes: Very common with verbs of speaking to indicate the person addressed.
  5. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative masculine singular (third declension, Greek-type name); Function: object of the preposition ad; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: The accusative form Moysen reflects the Latin adaptation of the Greek Μωυσῆς.
  6. dicens — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb (participle); Form: present active participle nominative masculine singular; Function: supplementary participle introducing direct or indirect discourse; Translation: “saying”; Notes: Signals that what follows (often after a colon) is the content of the LORD’s speech.

 

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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