Exodus 12:21

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:21 Vocavit autem Moyses omnes seniores filiorum Israel, et dixit ad eos: Ite tollentes animal per familias vestras, et immolate Phase.

But Moyses called all the elders of the sons of Israel, and said to them: Go, taking an animal for your families, and sacrifice the Phase.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Vocavit called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem however / but ADV
3 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
4 omnes all ACC.PL.M
5 seniores elders ACC.PL.M
6 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
7 Israel Israel GEN.SG.M.INDECL
8 et and CONJ
9 dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 ad to PREP+ACC
11 eos them ACC.PL.M.PRON
12 Ite go 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
13 tollentes taking NOM.PL.M.PTCP.PRES.ACT
14 animal animal ACC.SG.N
15 per through / according to PREP+ACC
16 familias families ACC.PL.F
17 vestras your ACC.PL.F.ADJ
18 et and CONJ
19 immolate sacrifice 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
20 Phase the Passover ACC.SG.N.INDECL

Syntax

Narrative clause:
Vocavit autem Moyses omnes seniores filiorum Israel
• Moyses = subject
• Vocavit = main verb
• omnes seniores = direct object
• filiorum Israel = genitive defining which elders

Direct speech introduction:
et dixit ad eos — “and he said to them”
• dixit = speech verb
• eos = indirect object

Commands:
Ite tollentes animal per familias vestras
• Ite = main imperative
• tollentes = attendant participle (“going, taking…”)
• animal = object
• per familias vestras = distributive phrase

et immolate Phase
• immolate = imperative
• Phase = object (“the Passover”)

Morphology

  1. Vocavit — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “called”; Notes: marks narrative action.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverb/conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: contrastive connective; Translation: “however / but”; Notes: mild adversative.
  3. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: indeclinable in some forms.
  4. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies seniores; Translation: “all”; Notes: total inclusivity.
  5. seniores — Lemma: senior; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “elders”; Notes: tribal leadership.
  6. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of relation; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: ethnonym modifier.
  7. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifies filiorum; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: indeclinable.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple additive.
  9. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: speech verb; Translation: “said”; Notes: introduces commands.
  10. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates direction of speech; Translation: “to”; Notes: standard usage.
  11. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “them”; Notes: refers to elders.
  12. Ite — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative second plural; Function: command; Translation: “go”; Notes: initiates instructions.
  13. tollentes — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine present active participle; Function: attendant circumstance; Translation: “taking”; Notes: linked to Ite.
  14. animal — Lemma: animal; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of tollentes; Translation: “animal”; Notes: refers to the Passover offering.
  15. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: distributive; Translation: “according to”; Notes: indicates division by households.
  16. familias — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of per; Translation: “families”; Notes: household groupings.
  17. vestras — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies familias; Translation: “your”; Notes: communal possessive.
  18. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces second command; Translation: “and”; Notes: links imperatives.
  19. immolate — Lemma: immolo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative second plural; Function: command; Translation: “sacrifice”; Notes: Passover ritual.
  20. Phase — Lemma: Phase; Part of Speech: noun (indeclinable); Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object; Translation: “the Passover”; Notes: transliteration of Hebrew Pesaḥ.

 

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.