Leviticus 21:1

Posted on April 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

1 Dixit quoque Dominus ad Moysen: Loquere ad sacerdotes filios Aaron, et dices ad eos: Ne contaminetur sacerdos in mortibus civium suorum,

The LORD also said to Moyses: “Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them: ‘Let not a priest be defiled among the dead of his own people,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 quoque also ADV
3 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M (2ND DECL)
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Moysen Moses ACC.SG.M (PROPN)
6 Loquere speak 2SG.PRES.DEP.IMP
7 ad to PREP+ACC
8 sacerdotes priests ACC.PL.M (3RD DECL)
9 filios sons ACC.PL.M (2ND DECL)
10 Aaron Aaron INDECL (PROPN)
11 et and CONJ
12 dices you shall say 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
13 ad to PREP+ACC
14 eos them ACC.PL.M (PERS)
15 Ne let not CONJ
16 contaminetur be defiled 3SG.PRES.PASS.SUBJ
17 sacerdos priest NOM.SG.M (3RD DECL)
18 in among PREP+ABL
19 mortibus the dead ABL.PL.F (3RD DECL)
20 civium of citizens GEN.PL (3RD DECL)
21 suorum his own GEN.PL.M (POSS)

Syntax

Introductory Speech Formula: Dixit quoque Dominus ad Moysen — narrative perfect introducing a new divine instruction.

Commission Command: Loquere ad sacerdotes filios Aaron — deponent imperative directing Moses to the priestly body defined by lineage.

Speech Extension: et dices ad eos — future indicative continuing the command sequence.

Prohibitive Regulation: Ne contaminetur sacerdos in mortibus civium suorum — ne with present passive subjunctive expressing a standing legal prohibition concerning ritual impurity.

Morphology

  1. Dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: narrative verb of speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: Introduces divine discourse.
  2. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: additive modifier; Translation: “also”; Notes: Connects with preceding legislation.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction of speech; Translation: “to”; Notes: Marks the addressee.
  5. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Mediator of the law.
  6. Loquere — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: second person singular present imperative; Function: command; Translation: “speak”; Notes: Deponent with active sense.
  7. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the audience.
  8. sacerdotes — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “priests”; Notes: Cultic officials.
  9. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: appositional identifier; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Emphasizes descent.
  10. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: genitival apposition; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: Ancestor of the priesthood.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins commands.
  12. dices — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular future active indicative; Function: directive continuation; Translation: “you shall say”; Notes: Specifies the content to be delivered.
  13. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Reintroduces recipients.
  14. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to the priests.
  15. Ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces prohibition; Translation: “let not”; Notes: Governs the subjunctive.
  16. contaminetur — Lemma: contamino; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present passive subjunctive; Function: prohibitive verb; Translation: “be defiled”; Notes: Ritual impurity context.
  17. sacerdos — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of contaminetur; Translation: “priest”; Notes: Individual responsibility emphasized.
  18. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: circumstance; Translation: “among”; Notes: Context of contact.
  19. mortibus — Lemma: mors; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative feminine plural; Function: object of in; Translation: “the dead”; Notes: Refers to deaths/corpses.
  20. civium — Lemma: civis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural; Function: modifies mortibus; Translation: “of citizens”; Notes: Members of one’s community.
  21. suorum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: genitive masculine plural; Function: modifies civium; Translation: “his own”; Notes: Restricts the scope to one’s people.

 

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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