Exodus 12:31

Posted on March 3, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 12:31 Vocatisque Pharao, Moyse, et Aaron nocte, ait: Surgite et egredimini a populo meo, vos et filii Israel: ite, immolate Domino sicut dicitis.

And Pharao, having called Moyses and Aaron in the night, said: “Rise and go out from my people, you and the sons of Israel; go, sacrifice to the LORD as you say.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Vocatisque and having called ABL.PL.M.PPP + ENCLITIC
2 Pharao Pharaoh NOM.SG.M.INVAR
3 Moyse Moses ABL.SG.M
4 et and CONJ
5 Aaron Aaron ABL.SG.M.INVAR
6 nocte at night ABL.SG.F
7 ait said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
8 Surgite rise 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
9 et and CONJ
10 egredimini go out 2PL.PRES.DEP.IMP
11 a from PREP+ABL
12 populo people ABL.SG.M
13 meo my ABL.SG.M.ADJ
14 vos you NOM.PL.PRON
15 et and CONJ
16 filii sons NOM.PL.M
17 Israel Israel NOM.SG.M.INVAR
18 ite go 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
19 immolate sacrifice 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
20 Domino to the LORD DAT.SG.M
21 sicut as CONJ
22 dicitis you say 2PL.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Ablative absolute:
Vocatisque Pharao, Moyse, et Aaron nocte
• “and Pharaoh having called Moses and Aaron in the night”
• Vocatisque = ablative plural participle + enclitic -que
• Pharao = subject of main clause
• Moyse, Aaron = objects of the participle
• nocte = temporal ablative

Main clause:
ait — “said”

Series of imperatives:
Surgite et egredimini — “Rise and go out”
ite, immolate Domino — “go, sacrifice to the LORD”

Prepositional phrase:
a populo meo — “from my people”

Noun phrase:
vos et filii Israel — “you and the sons of Israel”

Morphology

  1. Vocatisque — Lemma: voco + -que; Part of Speech: participle + enclitic; Form: ablative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: ablative absolute; Translation: “and having called”; Notes: links preceding narrative with new command.
  2. Pharao — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: subject; Translation: “Pharaoh”; Notes: king issuing urgent command.
  3. Moyse — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of participle; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: one of the summoned.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: links Moses and Aaron.
  5. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of participle; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: summoned together with Moses.
  6. nocte — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: temporal setting; Translation: “at night”; Notes: urgency due to plague.
  7. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third singular; Function: main verb of speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: common narrative verb.
  8. Surgite — Lemma: surgo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperative present active second plural; Function: command; Translation: “rise”; Notes: expresses urgency.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins imperatives; Translation: “and”; Notes: close sequence.
  10. egredimini — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: verb (deponent); Form: imperative present deponent second plural; Function: command; Translation: “go out”; Notes: deponent with active meaning.
  11. a — Lemma: a/ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: used for departure.
  12. populo — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of preposition; Translation: “people”; Notes: Pharaoh’s subjects.
  13. meo — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies populo; Translation: “my”; Notes: expresses ownership.
  14. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative plural; Function: subject of imperatives; Translation: “you”; Notes: emphatic.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: links groups.
  16. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: added subject; Translation: “sons”; Notes: tribes of Israel.
  17. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine (indeclinable); Function: genitival relation; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: tribal ancestry.
  18. ite — Lemma: eo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperative present active second plural; Function: command; Translation: “go”; Notes: repeats urgency.
  19. immolate — Lemma: immolo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperative present active second plural; Function: command; Translation: “sacrifice”; Notes: acknowledges Israelite worship.
  20. Domino — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the LORD”; Notes: refers to YHWH.
  21. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: comparison; Translation: “as”; Notes: reflects Pharaoh’s concession.
  22. dicitis — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative second plural; Function: reported speech; Translation: “you say”; Notes: acknowledges Israelite claims.

 

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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