Leviticus 21:17

Posted on April 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 21:17 Loquere ad Aaron: Homo de semine tuo per familias qui habuerit maculam, non offeret panes Deo suo,

“Speak to Aaron: ‘A man of your offspring, throughout their families, who has a blemish, shall not offer the bread of his God,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Loquere speak 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 Aaron Aaron ACC.SG.M (INDECL)
4 Homo man NOM.SG.M (3RD DECL)
5 de from PREP+ABL
6 semine offspring ABL.SG.N (3RD DECL)
7 tuo your ABL.SG.N (POSS)
8 per through PREP+ACC
9 familias families ACC.PL.F (1ST DECL)
10 qui who NOM.SG.M (REL)
11 habuerit has had 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
12 maculam blemish ACC.SG.F (1ST DECL)
13 non not ADV
14 offeret he shall offer 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
15 panes bread ACC.PL.M (3RD DECL)
16 Deo to God DAT.SG.M (2ND DECL)
17 suo his own DAT.SG.M (POSS)

Syntax

Imperative Commission: Loquere ad Aaron — present imperative introducing a formal divine instruction.

Subject Definition: Homo de semine tuo per familias — nominative subject qualified by a partitive/source phrase and a distributive prepositional phrase indicating lineage across generations.

Relative Restriction: qui habuerit maculam — relative clause with perfect subjunctive defining the disqualifying condition.

Legal Prohibition: non offeret panes Deo suo — future indicative with negation stating an enduring cultic restriction, with dative of recipient.

Morphology

  1. Loquere — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: second person singular present imperative; Function: command; Translation: “speak”; Notes: Deponent form with active force.
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks recipient; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces the addressee.
  3. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative masculine singular, indeclinable; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: High priest and patriarch of the priestly line.
  4. Homo — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject; Translation: “man”; Notes: Generic designation for any male descendant.
  5. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: source/derivation; Translation: “from”; Notes: Expresses origin.
  6. semine — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: object of de; Translation: “offspring”; Notes: Refers to physical lineage.
  7. tuo — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: modifies semine; Translation: “your”; Notes: Addresses Aaron directly.
  8. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: distribution; Translation: “through”; Notes: Indicates extension across groups.
  9. familias — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine plural; Function: object of per; Translation: “families”; Notes: Clan-based subdivisions of descent.
  10. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers back to homo.
  11. habuerit — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “has had”; Notes: Subjunctive required in defining relative clause.
  12. maculam — Lemma: macula; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “blemish”; Notes: Physical defect affecting cultic eligibility.
  13. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: Governs the future verb.
  14. offeret — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “he shall offer”; Notes: Legal future expressing prohibition.
  15. panes — Lemma: panis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: direct object; Translation: “bread”; Notes: Refers to sacrificial provisions.
  16. Deo — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to God”; Notes: Recipient of the offering.
  17. suo — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative masculine singular; Function: modifies Deo; Translation: “his own”; Notes: Reflexive, referring to the priest.

 

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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