Exodus 13:18

Posted on March 4, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 13 18 Sed circumduxit per viam deserti, quæ est iuxta Mare rubrum: et armati ascenderunt filii Israel de Terra Ægypti.

But He led them round by the way of the desert, which is near the Red Sea, and the sons of Israel went up armed from the Land of Egypt.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Sed but CONJ
2 circumduxit led round 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 per through PREP+ACC
4 viam way NOUN.ACC.SG.F
5 deserti of the desert NOUN.GEN.SG.N
6 quæ which PRON.NOM.SG.F
7 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
8 iuxta near PREP+ACC
9 Mare sea NOUN.ACC.SG.N
10 rubrum red ADJ.ACC.SG.N
11 et and CONJ
12 armati armed PART.PERF.PASS.NOM.PL.M
13 ascenderunt went up 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
14 filii sons NOUN.NOM.PL.M
15 Israel of Israel NOUN.GEN.SG.M
16 de from PREP+ABL
17 Terra land NOUN.ABL.SG.F
18 Ægypti of Egypt NOUN.GEN.SG.F

Syntax

Main clause 1: Sed circumduxit per viam deserti — adversative particle Sed contrasts with the previous option of the Philistine route; subject “God” is implied from context; circumduxit is the main verb; prepositional phrase per viam deserti expresses the route taken.
Relative clause: quæ est iuxta Mare rubrum — quæ refers back to via; est copula; iuxta Mare rubrum gives the location of that way near the Red Sea.
Main clause 2: et armati ascenderunt filii Israel de Terra Ægypti — armati is a predicate participle placed first for emphasis “armed”; ascenderunt main verb; filii Israel is the subject phrase “the sons of Israel”; de Terra Ægypti is a prepositional phrase of source “from the land of Egypt.”

Morphology

  1. Sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a contrast with the previous statement; Translation: “but”; Notes: marks a shift from the route not chosen to the route actually taken.
  2. circumduxit — Lemma: circumduco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person singular; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “led round”; Notes: perfect tense presents the action as a completed historical event.
  3. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces the route or path; Translation: “through” or “by way of”; Notes: common preposition for route expressions.
  4. viam — Lemma: via; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of per; Translation: “way”; Notes: denotes a traveled road or route.
  5. deserti — Lemma: desertum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: dependent genitive modifying viam; Translation: “of the desert”; Notes: specifies that the way is a desert route.
  6. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of est referring back to via; Translation: “which”; Notes: agrees in gender and number with its antecedent.
  7. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third person singular; Function: copula in the relative clause; Translation: “is”; Notes: links via with its locative description.
  8. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces a prepositional phrase of proximity; Translation: “near”; Notes: indicates spatial closeness to the sea.
  9. Mare — Lemma: mare; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of iuxta; Translation: “sea”; Notes: here the specific body of water known as the Red Sea.
  10. rubrum — Lemma: ruber; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: attributive adjective modifying Mare; Translation: “red”; Notes: forms the traditional name “Red Sea.”
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the second main clause with the first; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple connective.
  12. armati — Lemma: armo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate participle agreeing with filii Israel; Translation: “armed”; Notes: describes the state in which they ascended.
  13. ascenderunt — Lemma: ascendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third person plural; Function: main verb of the second clause; Translation: “went up”; Notes: typical biblical idiom for departing or journeying upward.
  14. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of ascenderunt; Translation: “sons”; Notes: collective designation for the Israelite people.
  15. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine (indeclinable in form but used as genitive); Function: dependent genitive modifying filii; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: covenant name identifying the people.
  16. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses source or origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: marks point of departure.
  17. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of de; Translation: “land”; Notes: geographic territory.
  18. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: dependent genitive modifying Terra; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: identifies the land as Egypt, from which Israel departs.

 

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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