Leviticus 21:5

Posted on April 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 21:5 Non radent caput, nec barbam, neque in carnibus suis facient incisuras.

They shall not shave the head, nor the beard, nor shall they make cuts in their flesh.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Non not ADV
2 radent they shall shave 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
3 caput head ACC.SG.N (3RD DECL)
4 nec nor CONJ
5 barbam beard ACC.SG.F (1ST DECL)
6 neque nor CONJ
7 in in PREP+ABL
8 carnibus flesh ABL.PL.F (3RD DECL)
9 suis their own ABL.PL.F (POSS)
10 facient they shall make 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
11 incisuras cuts ACC.PL.F (1ST DECL)

Syntax

Prohibitive Series: Non radent caput — future indicative with negation expressing a standing prohibition.

Coordinated Prohibitions: nec barbam neque in carnibus suis facient incisuras — correlative negatives (nec…neque) extending the ban to additional actions.

Prepositional Phrase: in carnibus suis — ablative with possessive adjective specifying the bodily locus affected.

Morphology

  1. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Governs the prohibitive force of the futures.
  2. radent — Lemma: rado; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “they shall shave”; Notes: Legal future expressing prohibition.
  3. caput — Lemma: caput; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “head”; Notes: Object of the shaving action.
  4. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: negative coordination; Translation: “nor”; Notes: Adds a further negated item.
  5. barbam — Lemma: barba; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: coordinated direct object; Translation: “beard”; Notes: Parallel to caput.
  6. neque — Lemma: neque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: correlative negation; Translation: “nor”; Notes: Introduces the final prohibition.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: location/sphere; Translation: “in”; Notes: Specifies the bodily sphere.
  8. carnibus — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative feminine plural; Function: object of in; Translation: “flesh”; Notes: Refers to the body.
  9. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative feminine plural; Function: modifies carnibus; Translation: “their own”; Notes: Reflexive, referring to the priests.
  10. facient — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “they shall make”; Notes: Legal future continuing the prohibition.
  11. incisuras — Lemma: incisura; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine plural; Function: direct object; Translation: “cuts”; Notes: Ritual self-lacerations prohibited.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Leviticus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.