Exodus 1:5

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:5 Erant igitur omnes animæ eorum qui egressi sunt de femore Iacob, septuaginta: Ioseph autem in Ægypto erat.

Therefore all the souls of those who came forth from the thigh of Jacob were seventy; but Joseph was in Egypt.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Erant were 3PL.IMPERF.ACT.IND
2 igitur therefore ADV
3 omnes all NOM.PL.F
4 animæ souls NOM.PL.F
5 eorum of them GEN.PL.M
6 qui who NOM.PL.M REL
7 egressi having gone out NOM.PL.M PERF.PART.DEP
8 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND (AUX)
9 de from PREP+ABL
10 femore thigh ABL.SG.N
11 Iacob Jacob GEN.SG.M
12 septuaginta seventy INDECL.NUM
13 Ioseph Joseph NOM.SG.M
14 autem however ADV/CONJ
15 in in PREP+ABL
16 Ægypto Egypt ABL.SG.F
17 erat was 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Erant omnes animæ eorum — subject (“all the souls of them”) + verb (“were”).
Relative Clause: qui egressi sunt de femore Iacob — modifies “eorum,” identifying those descended from Jacob.
Numerical Predicate: septuaginta — predicate numeral giving total.
Contrastive Clause: Ioseph autem in Ægypto erat — independent clause marking contrast, noting Joseph’s location.

Morphology

  1. Erant — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural imperfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the clause; Translation: “were”; Notes: Sets past continuous state.
  2. igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: logical connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Introduces summary conclusion.
  3. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective/pronoun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: modifies “animæ”; Translation: “all”; Notes: Totalizing term.
  4. animæ — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject complement; Translation: “souls”; Notes: Meaning “persons” in genealogical enumeration.
  5. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of them”; Notes: Refers to Jacob’s descendants.
  6. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to “eorum.”
  7. egressi — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect participle deponent; Function: with auxiliary forms perfect verb; Translation: “having gone out”; Notes: Indicates descent in genealogical language.
  8. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: auxiliary verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary completing deponent perfect; Translation: “are”; Notes: Forms compound perfect.
  9. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates source.
  10. femore — Lemma: femur; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of “de”; Translation: “thigh”; Notes: Semitic idiom for physical descent.
  11. Iacob — Lemma: Iacob; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies “femore”; Translation: “Jacob”; Notes: Hebrew patriarch’s name.
  12. septuaginta — Lemma: septuaginta; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: predicate numeral; Translation: “seventy”; Notes: Traditional enumeration of Jacob’s descendants.
  13. Ioseph — Lemma: Ioseph; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of contrastive clause; Translation: “Joseph”; Notes: Independent statement contrasting his position.
  14. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverb/conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: contrastive marker; Translation: “however”; Notes: Sets Joseph apart from the enumerated group.
  15. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative marker; Translation: “in”; Notes: Introduces location.
  16. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: Specifies Joseph’s whereabouts.
  17. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular imperfect active indicative; Function: main verb of final clause; Translation: “was”; Notes: Indicates continuing state in past.

 

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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