Exodus 12:13

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:13 Erit autem sanguis vobis in signum in ædibus in quibus eritis: et videbo sanguinem, et transibo vos: nec erit in vobis plaga disperdens quando percussero Terram Ægypti.

And the blood shall be for you as a sign in the houses in which you are; and I shall see the blood and I shall pass over you, and there shall not be in you a destroying plague when I strike the Land of Egypt.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Erit shall be 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
2 autem however ADV
3 sanguis blood NOM.SG.M
4 vobis to you DAT.PL.PRON
5 in as PREP+ACC
6 signum sign ACC.SG.N
7 in in PREP+ABL
8 ædibus houses ABL.PL.F
9 in in PREP+ABL
10 quibus in which ABL.PL.REL
11 eritis you will be 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
12 et and CONJ
13 videbo I shall see 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
14 sanguinem the blood ACC.SG.M
15 et and CONJ
16 transibo I shall pass over 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
17 vos you ACC.PL.PRON
18 nec and not CONJ
19 erit shall be 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
20 in in PREP+ABL
21 vobis in you ABL.PL.PRON
22 plaga plague NOM.SG.F
23 disperdens destroying NOM.SG.PRES.ACT.PTCP
24 quando when CONJ
25 percussero when I strike 1SG.FUTPERF.ACT.IND
26 Terram land ACC.SG.F
27 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.F

Syntax

Main declaration: Erit sanguis vobis in signum — “The blood shall be for you as a sign.”
• sanguis = subject
• vobis = dative of advantage
• in signum = predicate construction

Locative clause: in ædibus in quibus eritis — “in the houses in which you are.”
• Nested relative clause: in quibus eritis

Divine action: videbo sanguinem — “I shall see the blood”
• Coordinated with: transibo vos — “I shall pass over you”

Negative result: nec erit in vobis plaga disperdens — “and there shall not be in you a destroying plague”

Temporal clause: quando percussero Terram Ægypti — “when I strike the land of Egypt.”

Morphology

  1. Erit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “shall be”; Notes: introduces promise of protection.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: transitional particle; Translation: “however”; Notes: soft contrast.
  3. sanguis — Lemma: sanguis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “blood”; Notes: refers to Passover blood.
  4. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: recipient/beneficiary; Translation: “to you”; Notes: stressed protection for Israel.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative here; Function: introduces predicate role; Translation: “as”; Notes: idiomatic use.
  6. signum — Lemma: signum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: predicate complement; Translation: “sign”; Notes: refers to apotropaic mark.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative marker; Translation: “in”; Notes: introduces physical location.
  8. ædibus — Lemma: ædes; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “houses”; Notes: refers to dwellings marked by blood.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: introduces relative clause.
  10. quibus — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: refers back to ædibus; Translation: “in which”; Notes: connects subclause.
  11. eritis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative second plural; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “you will be”; Notes: future residence during Passover night.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: addition; Translation: “and”; Notes: coordinates divine actions.
  13. videbo — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “I shall see”; Notes: divine recognition of the sign.
  14. sanguinem — Lemma: sanguis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “the blood”; Notes: refers to marked doorposts.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: joins sequential divine actions.
  16. transibo — Lemma: transeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative first singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “I shall pass over”; Notes: origin of the term Phase (Passover).
  17. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: direct object; Translation: “you”; Notes: refers to Israelites.
  18. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces negative result; Translation: “and not”; Notes: strong negation.
  19. erit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “shall be”; Notes: predicts absence of judgment.
  20. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: internal condition.
  21. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: location within persons; Translation: “in you”; Notes: stresses immunity.
  22. plaga — Lemma: plaga; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “plague”; Notes: punitive blow.
  23. disperdens — Lemma: disperdo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active nominative singular; Function: modifies plaga; Translation: “destroying”; Notes: describes the deadly nature.
  24. quando — Lemma: quando; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: marks future moment.
  25. percussero — Lemma: per-cutio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active indicative first singular; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “when I strike”; Notes: divine judgment action.
  26. Terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of percussero; Translation: “land”; Notes: region under judgment.
  27. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifies Terram; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: identifies geographic target.

 

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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