Exodus 10:22

Posted on March 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 10:22 Extenditque Moyses manum in cælum: et factæ sunt tenebræ horribiles in universa Terra Ægypti tribus diebus.

And Moyses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and horrible darkness came to be in all the Land of Egypt for three days.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Extenditque and he stretched out 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND+ENCLITIC
2 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
3 manum hand ACC.SG.F
4 in toward PREP+ACC
5 cælum heaven ACC.SG.N
6 et and CONJ
7 factæ were made NOM.PL.F.PERF.PASS.PTCP
8 sunt were 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
9 tenebræ darkness NOM.PL.F
10 horribiles terrible NOM.PL.F
11 in in PREP+ABL
12 universa all ABL.SG.F
13 Terra land ABL.SG.F
14 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F
15 tribus three ABL.PL.F
16 diebus days ABL.PL.M

Syntax

Clause 1:
Subject: Moyses
Verb: Extenditque — perfect, narrative action
Object: manum
Directional Phrase: in cælum — toward heaven

Clause 2:
Verb Phrase: factæ sunt — passive periphrastic (“were made / came to be”)
Subject: tenebræ horribiles
Locative Phrase: in universa Terra Ægypti — in the whole land of Egypt
Temporal Phrase: tribus diebus — for three days

Morphology

  1. Extenditque — Lemma: extendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular with enclitic -que; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “and he stretched out”; Notes: -que joins this action to the previous sequence.
  2. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: noun (proper name); Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Hebrew name in Greek form adapted into Latin.
  3. manum — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of Extendit; Translation: “hand”; Notes: fourth declension but feminine.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative here; Function: expresses direction; Translation: “toward”; Notes: accusative = motion toward.
  5. cælum — Lemma: cælum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: “heaven”; Notes: cosmic direction of gesture.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: connects actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple narrative linker.
  7. factæ — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural feminine perfect passive participle; Function: forms periphrastic with sunt; Translation: “were made”; Notes: implies divine causation.
  8. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third plural; Function: auxiliary with factæ; Translation: “were”; Notes: completes periphrastic passive.
  9. tenebræ — Lemma: tenebræ; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of factæ sunt; Translation: “darkness”; Notes: plural-only noun referring to darkness.
  10. horribiles — Lemma: horribilis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: modifier of tenebræ; Translation: “terrible”; Notes: intensifies supernatural nature of the plague.
  11. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: ablative = location.
  12. universa — Lemma: universus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies Terra; Translation: “all”; Notes: denotes extent of darkness.
  13. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “land”; Notes: specific land of Egypt.
  14. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: identifies the territory.
  15. tribus — Lemma: tres; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: temporal expression; Translation: “three”; Notes: ablative of time duration.
  16. diebus — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: governs tribus; Translation: “days”; Notes: expresses duration of plague.

 

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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