Exodus 12:19

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:19 Septem diebus fermentum non invenietur in domibus vestris: qui comederit fermentatum, peribit anima eius de cœtu Israel, tam de advenis quam de indigenis terræ.

For seven days leaven shall not be found in your houses; whoever shall eat what is leavened, that person shall perish from the assembly of Israel, whether from the sojourners or from the natives of the land.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Septem seven INDECL.NUM
2 diebus days ABL.PL.M
3 fermentum leaven NOM.SG.N
4 non not ADV
5 invenietur shall be found 3SG.FUT.PASS.IND
6 in in PREP+ABL
7 domibus houses ABL.PL.F
8 vestris your ABL.PL.F.ADJ
9 qui who NOM.SG.M.REL
10 comederit shall have eaten 3SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
11 fermentatum leavened thing ACC.SG.N
12 peribit shall perish 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
13 anima soul / person NOM.SG.F
14 eius his / its GEN.SG.M/F
15 de from PREP+ABL
16 cœtu assembly ABL.SG.M
17 Israel Israel GEN.SG.M.INDECL
18 tam as much ADV
19 de from PREP+ABL
20 advenis sojourners ABL.PL.M
21 quam as CONJ
22 de from PREP+ABL
23 indigenis natives ABL.PL.M
24 terræ of the land GEN.SG.F

Syntax

Prohibition clause: Septem diebus fermentum non invenietur in domibus vestris
• fermentum = subject
• non invenietur = passive future verb
• in domibus vestris = locative phrase

Conditional / relative threat clause: qui comederit fermentatum, peribit anima eius
• qui introduces conditional-relative clause
• comederit = future perfect (completed action)
• fermentatum = object
• anima eius peribit = result: “that person shall perish”

Exclusion clause: de cœtu Israel
• Removal from covenant community

Inclusive specification: tam de advenis quam de indigenis terræ
• Applies equally to advenae (sojourners)
• And indigenæ (natives)
• terræ modifies indigenis as genitive

Morphology

  1. Septem — Lemma: septem; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies diebus; Translation: “seven”; Notes: duration.
  2. diebus — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: ablative of time; Translation: “days”; Notes: time frame for prohibition.
  3. fermentum — Lemma: fermentum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject; Translation: “leaven”; Notes: symbolically associated with corruption.
  4. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negation; Translation: “not”; Notes: prohibits presence of leaven.
  5. invenietur — Lemma: invenio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future passive indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “shall be found”; Notes: passive emphasizes absence.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: indicates location.
  7. domibus — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “houses”; Notes: domestic setting.
  8. vestris — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: modifies domibus; Translation: “your”; Notes: communal instruction.
  9. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of subordinate clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: introduces offender clause.
  10. comederit — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active indicative third singular; Function: verb of condition; Translation: “shall have eaten”; Notes: stresses completed forbidden action.
  11. fermentatum — Lemma: fermentatus; Part of Speech: adjective/substantive; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object; Translation: “what is leavened”; Notes: substantive usage.
  12. peribit — Lemma: pereo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “shall perish”; Notes: judicial penalty.
  13. anima — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “person”; Notes: Hebrew idiom “nephesh.”
  14. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possession; Translation: “his / its”; Notes: refers back to qui.
  15. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: exclusion.
  16. cœtu — Lemma: cœtus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of de; Translation: “assembly”; Notes: covenant community.
  17. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifies cœtu; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: indeclinable form.
  18. tam — Lemma: tam; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: correlating with quam; Translation: “as much”; Notes: part of pair.
  19. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: parallels earlier usage.
  20. advenis — Lemma: advena; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of de; Translation: “sojourners”; Notes: resident aliens.
  21. quam — Lemma: quam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: correlating with tam; Translation: “as”; Notes: joins equal classes.
  22. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: repeated construction.
  23. indigenis — Lemma: indigena; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of de; Translation: “natives”; Notes: native-born Israelites.
  24. terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies indigenis; Translation: “of the land”; Notes: geographic grounding.

 

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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