Exodus 14:19

Posted on March 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 14:19 Tollensque se angelus Dei, qui præcedebat castra Israel, abiit post eos: et cum eo pariter columna nubis, priora dimittens, post tergum

And the angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, lifted himself up and went behind them, and with him likewise the column of cloud, leaving the front and moving to the rear

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tollensque and lifting PTCP.PRES.ACT.NOM.SG.M + CONJ
2 se himself PRON.ACC.SG
3 angelus angel NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 Dei of God NOUN.GEN.SG.M
5 qui who PRON.NOM.SG.M.REL
6 præcedebat was going before 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND
7 castra camp NOUN.ACC.PL.N
8 Israel Israel NOUN.GEN.SG
9 abiit went away 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 post after, behind PREP+ACC
11 eos them PRON.ACC.PL
12 et and CONJ
13 cum with PREP+ABL
14 eo him PRON.ABL.SG
15 pariter likewise ADV
16 columna column NOUN.NOM.SG.F
17 nubis of cloud NOUN.GEN.SG.F
18 priora the front things ADJ.ACC.PL.N
19 dimittens leaving PTCP.PRES.ACT.NOM.SG.F
20 post to the rear PREP+ACC
21 tergum back, rear NOUN.ACC.SG.N

Syntax

Main Structure: angelus Dei … abiit post eos — subject + perfect verb + prepositional phrase.
Participle Phrase: Tollensque se — circumstantial participle indicating movement initiated.
Relative Clause: qui præcedebat castra Israel — modifies angelus Dei.
Coordinated Clause: et cum eo pariter columna nubis … — column of cloud moves with the angel.
Supplementary Participle: priora dimittens — describes the column leaving the forward position.
Final Prepositional Idea: post tergum — locative of repositioning.

Morphology

  1. Tollensque — Lemma: tollo + que; Part of Speech: participle + enclitic conjunction; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial action; Translation: “and lifting”; Notes: que joins to narrative flow.
  2. se — Lemma: se; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: reflexive object; Translation: “himself”; Notes: refers to angelus.
  3. angelus — Lemma: angelus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “angel”; Notes: a divine messenger.
  4. Dei — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of God”; Notes: indicates origin.
  5. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: agrees with angelus.
  6. præcedebat — Lemma: præcedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative third singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “was going before”; Notes: describes habitual leading.
  7. castra — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: “camp”; Notes: collective military camp.
  8. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Hebrew nation.
  9. abiit — Lemma: abeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “went away”; Notes: decisive repositioning.
  10. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses spatial relation; Translation: “behind”; Notes: marks new location.
  11. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of post; Translation: “them”; Notes: refers to Israel.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: continues action.
  13. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: accompaniment; Translation: “with”; Notes: establishes unity.
  14. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular; Function: object of cum; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers to angelus.
  15. pariter — Lemma: pariter; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies columna; Translation: “likewise”; Notes: indicates coordinated movement.
  16. columna — Lemma: columna; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of dimittens; Translation: “column”; Notes: cloud-phenomenon.
  17. nubis — Lemma: nubes; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of cloud”; Notes: identifies kind of column.
  18. priora — Lemma: prior; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of dimittens; Translation: “the front things”; Notes: i.e., front position.
  19. dimittens — Lemma: dimitto; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular feminine; Function: supplementary participle; Translation: “leaving”; Notes: describes repositioning.
  20. post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: locative; Translation: “to the rear”; Notes: indicates movement.
  21. tergum — Lemma: tergum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of post; Translation: “rear”; Notes: spatial term.

 

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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