Exodus 1:14

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:14 atque ad amaritudinem perducebant vitam eorum operibus duris luti, et lateris, omnique famulatu, quo in terræ operibus premebantur.

and they led their life to bitterness with hard works of clay and of brick, and with every service by which they were oppressed in the labors of the land.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 atque and CONJ
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 amaritudinem bitterness ACC.SG.F
4 perducebant they led through 3PL.IMPERF.ACT.IND
5 vitam life ACC.SG.F
6 eorum of them GEN.PL.M
7 operibus with works ABL.PL.N
8 duris hard ABL.PL.N
9 luti of clay GEN.SG.N
10 et and CONJ
11 lateris of brick GEN.SG.N
12 omnique and every ABL.SG.M/F + -QUE
13 famulatu service ABL.SG.M
14 quo by which ABL.SG.N REL
15 in in PREP+ABL
16 terræ of the land GEN.SG.F
17 operibus works ABL.PL.N
18 premebantur they were oppressed 3PL.IMPERF.PASS.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: atque ad amaritudinem perducebant vitam eorum — “and they led their life to bitterness”; verb + two accusatives (“vitam” and endpoint “ad amaritudinem”).
Ablative of Means 1: operibus duris luti et lateris — “with hard works of clay and brick.”
Ablative of Means 2: omnique famulatu — “and with every service.”
Relative Clause of Characteristic: quo in terræ operibus premebantur — “by which they were oppressed in the labors of the land.”
Function: Describes the systematic economic and physical oppression imposed by Egypt.

Morphology

  1. atque — Lemma: atque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: strong connective introducing additional oppression; Translation: “and”; Notes: Stronger than “et.”
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses endpoint; Translation: “to”; Notes: Indicates result.
  3. amaritudinem — Lemma: amaritudo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: endpoint of action; Translation: “bitterness”; Notes: Figurative of misery.
  4. perducebant — Lemma: perduco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural imperfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “they led through”; Notes: Imperfect shows ongoing, repeated bitterness.
  5. vitam — Lemma: vita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: “life”; Notes: Their entire existence was made bitter.
  6. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of them/their”; Notes: Refers to Israelites.
  7. operibus — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: ablative of means; Translation: “with works”; Notes: Hard forced labor.
  8. duris — Lemma: durus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: modifies “operibus”; Translation: “hard”; Notes: Intensifies severity.
  9. luti — Lemma: lutum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: specifies the kind of work; Translation: “of clay”; Notes: Mud used for bricks.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects genitives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Neutral connector.
  11. lateris — Lemma: later; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: specifies kind of work; Translation: “of brick”; Notes: Refers to brick-making.
  12. omnique — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective with enclitic -que; Form: ablative singular masculine/feminine; Function: modifies “famulatu”; Translation: “and every”; Notes: -que links to previous ablative phrase.
  13. famulatu — Lemma: famulatus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: ablative of means; Translation: “service”; Notes: Implies servile labor.
  14. quo — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “by which”; Notes: Refers to “famulatu.”
  15. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative marker; Translation: “in”; Notes: Introduces location of oppression.
  16. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive genitive with “operibus”; Translation: “of the land”; Notes: Refers to Egypt.
  17. operibus — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: ablative of respect/location; Translation: “in the works”; Notes: Field labor, construction work.
  18. premebantur — Lemma: premo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural imperfect passive indicative; Function: main verb of relative clause; Translation: “they were oppressed”; Notes: Imperfect shows continuous, grinding oppression.

 

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 Exodus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.