Leviticus 25:42

Posted on April 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 25:42 mei enim servi sunt, et ego eduxi eos de Terra Ægypti. non veneant conditione servorum:

for they are my servants, and I brought them out from the Land of Egypt. They shall not be sold under the condition of slaves;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 mei my NOM.PL.M.POSS.ADJ
2 enim for CONJ
3 servi servants NOM.PL.M.2ND.DECL
4 sunt are 3PL.PRES.IND.ACT
5 et and CONJ
6 ego I NOM.SG.PERS.PRON
7 eduxi brought out 1SG.PERF.IND.ACT
8 eos them ACC.PL.PERS.PRON
9 de from PREP+ABL
10 Terra land ABL.SG.F.1ST.DECL
11 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F.2ND.DECL
12 non not ADV
13 veneant be sold 3PL.PRES.SUBJ.ACT
14 conditione under condition ABL.SG.F.3RD.DECL
15 servorum of slaves GEN.PL.M.2ND.DECL

Syntax

Causal Assertion: mei enim servi sunt — predicate nominative establishing divine ownership as the ground of the rule.
Historical Grounding: et ego eduxi eos de Terra Ægypti — coordinating clause recalling deliverance as the basis of status.
Prohibition: non veneant — jussive subjunctive expressing a legal ban.
Manner/Condition: conditione servorum — ablative phrase defining the forbidden mode of sale.

Morphology

  1. mei — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: modifies servi; Translation: my; Notes: Emphasizes divine ownership.
  2. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: causal connector; Translation: for; Notes: Introduces justification.
  3. servi — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine, second declension; Function: subject; Translation: servants; Notes: Service to God, not chattel slavery.
  4. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present indicative active; Function: copula; Translation: are; Notes: States enduring status.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: and; Notes: Joins grounds.
  6. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: I; Notes: Highlights divine agency.
  7. eduxi — Lemma: educo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular perfect indicative active; Function: verb of the clause; Translation: brought out; Notes: Refers to completed deliverance.
  8. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: them; Notes: The people delivered.
  9. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: source; Translation: from; Notes: Marks place of departure.
  10. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, first declension; Function: object of de; Translation: land; Notes: Geographic domain.
  11. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular feminine, second declension; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: of Egypt; Notes: Specifies the land.
  12. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: negation; Translation: not; Notes: Introduces prohibition.
  13. veneant — Lemma: veneo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present subjunctive active; Function: jussive prohibition; Translation: be sold; Notes: Subjunctive expresses binding legal force.
  14. conditione — Lemma: conditio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: ablative of manner; Translation: under condition; Notes: Specifies the legal terms disallowed.
  15. servorum — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, second declension; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: of slaves; Notes: Defines the prohibited category.

 

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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