Exodus 10:8

Posted on March 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 10:8 Revocaveruntque Moysen, et Aaron ad Pharaonem: qui dixit eis: Ite, sacrificate Domino Deo vestro: quinam sunt qui ituri sunt?

And they called back Moyses and Aaron to Pharao, and he said to them: “Go, sacrifice to the LORD your God; who then are they who are going to go?”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Revocaveruntque and they called back 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND+QUE
2 Moysen Moses ACC.SG.M
3 et and CONJ
4 Aaron Aaron ACC.SG.M
5 ad to PREP+ACC
6 Pharaonem Pharaoh ACC.SG.M
7 qui who NOM.SG.M.REL
8 dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 eis to them DAT.PL.M
10 Ite go 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
11 sacrificate sacrifice 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
12 Domino to the LORD DAT.SG.M
13 Deo to God DAT.SG.M
14 vestro your DAT.SG.M
15 quinam who then NOM.PL.M.INTERROG
16 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
17 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL
18 ituri about to go NOM.PL.M.FUT.ACT.PTCP
19 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main narrative clause:
Revocaveruntque Moysen et Aaron ad Pharaonem — “And they called back Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh.”
Subject (implied “they,” Pharaoh’s servants) with compound direct object Moysen et Aaron; ad Pharaonem marks destination.

Relative clause on Pharaoh:
qui dixit eis — “who said to them.”
qui refers to Pharaoh; eis = indirect object (Moses and Aaron).

Double imperative:
Ite, sacrificate Domino Deo vestro — “Go, sacrifice to the LORD your God.”
Two coordinated commands; Domino Deo vestro is a dative phrase expressing the recipient of sacrifice (YHWH).

Main direct question:
quinam sunt qui ituri sunt? — “Who then are they who are going to go?”
quinam = emphatic “who exactly?”
Inner relative clause qui ituri sunt functions as a periphrastic future (“who are about to go”).

Morphology

  1. Revocaveruntque — Lemma: revoco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative with enclitic -que; Function: main narrative verb describing the recall of Moses and Aaron; Translation: “and they called back”; Notes: -que links this action closely to the narrative sequence.
  2. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: noun (proper); Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of Revocaveruntque; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: Latinized form of the Hebrew name Moshe.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins the two direct objects Moysen and Aaron; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple additive connector.
  4. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: noun (proper); Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of Revocaveruntque; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: brother of Moses, co-leader before Pharaoh.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks motion towards a person; Translation: “to”; Notes: commonly used with verbs of movement.
  6. Pharaonem — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun (proper); Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad, indicating destination; Translation: “Pharaoh”; Notes: title for the Egyptian king.
  7. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of dixit, referring back to Pharaonem; Translation: “who”; Notes: introduces a relative clause of description.
  8. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the relative clause; Translation: “said”; Notes: perfect tense suits narrative past.
  9. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural (common gender); Function: indirect object of dixit; Translation: “to them”; Notes: refers to Moses and Aaron as recipients of the speech.
  10. Ite — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: direct command from Pharaoh; Translation: “go”; Notes: plural command directed to Moses and Aaron (and their people by implication).
  11. sacrificate — Lemma: sacrifico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: second coordinated command; Translation: “sacrifice”; Notes: cultic language for offering worship.
  12. Domino — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of sacrificate; Translation: “to the LORD”; Notes: in this context refers to YHWH, hence “LORD.”
  13. Deo — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: in hendiadys with Domino, further specifying the recipient; Translation: “to God”; Notes: “the LORD God” as a combined title.
  14. vestro — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: modifies Deo; Translation: “your”; Notes: plural possessive, referring to the God belonging to the Israelites.
  15. quinam — Lemma: quinam; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of sunt in the main question; Translation: “who then”; Notes: adds emphasis, “who exactly?” highlighting Pharaoh’s suspicion.
  16. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active indicative; Function: copula linking quinam and the relative clause qui ituri sunt; Translation: “are”; Notes: forms part of an identifying question.
  17. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of the periphrastic verb ituri sunt; Translation: “who”; Notes: introduces a defining relative clause explaining quinam.
  18. ituri — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine future active participle; Function: predicate element in the periphrastic future with sunt; Translation: “about to go”; Notes: expresses intended or imminent action rather than simple futurity.
  19. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary completing the periphrastic future ituri sunt; Translation: “are”; Notes: together “they are about to go,” focusing on those actually going.

 

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.