Leviticus 21:24

Posted on April 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 21:24 Locutus est ergo Moyses ad Aaron, et ad filios eius, et ad omnem Israel cuncta quæ fuerant sibi imperata.

Therefore Moyses spoke to Aaron, and to his sons, and to all Israel all the things that had been commanded to him.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Locutus having spoken NOM.SG.M PTCP.PERF.DEP
2 est is / has been 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 ergo therefore ADV
4 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
5 ad to PREP+ACC
6 Aaron Aaron ACC.SG.M INDECL
7 et and CONJ
8 ad to PREP+ACC
9 filios sons ACC.PL.M 2ND DECL
10 eius his GEN.SG.M POSS
11 et and CONJ
12 ad to PREP+ACC
13 omnem all ACC.SG.M ADJ
14 Israel Israel ACC.SG.M INDECL
15 cuncta all things ACC.PL.N ADJ
16 quæ which NOM.PL.N REL
17 fuerant had been 3PL.PLUP.ACT.IND
18 sibi to him DAT.SG REFL
19 imperata commanded NOM.PL.N PTCP.PERF.PASS

Syntax

Main Clause: Locutus est ergo Moyses — perfect deponent construction with adverb ergo indicating logical sequence.

Indirect Objects: ad Aaron, ad filios eius, ad omnem Israel — coordinated prepositional phrases marking the recipients of Moses’ speech.

Direct Object: cuncta quæ fuerant sibi imperata — substantive adjective cuncta qualified by a relative clause in the pluperfect passive, specifying the totality of divine commands.

Morphology

  1. Locutus — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative masculine singular perfect deponent participle; Function: predicate participle; Translation: “having spoken”; Notes: Deponent with active sense.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “is / has been”; Notes: Completes the perfect periphrasis.
  3. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: logical connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Draws inference from prior commands.
  4. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Mediator of divine instruction.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks recipient; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces indirect object.
  6. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular indeclinable; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: High priest.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins recipients.
  8. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks recipient; Translation: “to”; Notes: Repeated for clarity.
  9. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Aaron’s descendants.
  10. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifies filios; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to Aaron.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues the list.
  12. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks recipient; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces final recipient.
  13. omnem — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: modifies Israel; Translation: “all”; Notes: Expresses totality.
  14. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular indeclinable; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: The whole covenant people.
  15. cuncta — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: direct object; Translation: “all things”; Notes: Refers to the total content of commands.
  16. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative neuter plural; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to cuncta.
  17. fuerant — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural pluperfect active indicative; Function: auxiliary in passive periphrasis; Translation: “had been”; Notes: Indicates prior completion.
  18. sibi — Lemma: se; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to Moses.
  19. imperata — Lemma: impero; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative neuter plural perfect passive; Function: predicate participle in relative clause; Translation: “commanded”; Notes: Passive form agreeing with quæ.

 

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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