Exodus 14:20

Posted on March 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 14:20 stetit, inter castra Ægyptiorum et castra Israel: et erat nubes tenebrosa, et illuminans noctem, ita ut ad se invicem toto noctis tempore accedere non valerent.

it stood between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and the cloud was dark, and giving light to the night, so that they were not able to come near one another through the whole time of the night.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 stetit stood 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 inter between PREP+ACC
3 castra camp NOUN.ACC.PL.N
4 Ægyptiorum of the Egyptians NOUN.GEN.PL.M
5 et and CONJ
6 castra camp NOUN.ACC.PL.N
7 Israel of Israel NOUN.GEN.SG
8 et and CONJ
9 erat was 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND
10 nubes cloud NOUN.NOM.SG.F
11 tenebrosa dark ADJ.NOM.SG.F
12 et and CONJ
13 illuminans illuminating PTCP.PRES.ACT.NOM.SG.F
14 noctem night NOUN.ACC.SG.F
15 ita so ADV
16 ut that CONJ
17 ad to PREP+ACC
18 se one another PRON.ACC.PL
19 invicem mutually ADV
20 toto whole ADJ.ABL.SG.M
21 noctis of night NOUN.GEN.SG.F
22 tempore time NOUN.ABL.SG.N
23 accedere to come near INF.PRES.ACT
24 non not ADV
25 valerent they were able 3PL.IMP.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Main clause: stetit inter castra Ægyptiorum et castra Israel — perfect verb with spatial prepositional phrase.
Descriptive clause: et erat nubes tenebrosa et illuminans noctem — equative structure with predicate adjectives and a participle.
Result clause: ita ut … accedere non valerent — ut + subjunctive expressing result of the cloud’s dual function.
Adverbial pair: ad se invicem — reciprocal sense “to one another.”
Temporal expansion: toto noctis tempore — ablative of time within which.

Morphology

  1. stetit — Lemma: sto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “stood”; Notes: indicates established position.
  2. inter — Lemma: inter; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: spatial relation; Translation: “between”; Notes: separates two camps.
  3. castra — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of inter; Translation: “camp”; Notes: military encampment.
  4. Ægyptiorum — Lemma: Ægyptius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: possessive; Translation: “of the Egyptians”; Notes: identifies ownership.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links coordinated camps; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple connector.
  6. castra — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: second object of inter; Translation: “camp”; Notes: Israel’s camp.
  7. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: national designation.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins next descriptive clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: narrative continuation.
  9. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative third singular; Function: equative verb; Translation: “was”; Notes: sets scene description.
  10. nubes — Lemma: nubes; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “cloud”; Notes: supernatural phenomenon.
  11. tenebrosa — Lemma: tenebrosus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “dark”; Notes: describes hindrance.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins another predicate; Translation: “and”; Notes: adds second description.
  13. illuminans — Lemma: illumino; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate participle; Translation: “illuminating”; Notes: paradoxical dual function.
  14. noctem — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of illuminans; Translation: “night”; Notes: denotes darkness dispelled.
  15. ita — Lemma: ita; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces result; Translation: “so”; Notes: intensifies consequence.
  16. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces result clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: governs subjunctive.
  17. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: with reciprocal phrase.
  18. se — Lemma: se; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural; Function: object of ad; Translation: “one another”; Notes: reciprocal sense.
  19. invicem — Lemma: invicem; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: expresses reciprocity; Translation: “mutually”; Notes: clarifies interaction.
  20. toto — Lemma: totus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies tempore; Translation: “whole”; Notes: expresses extent.
  21. noctis — Lemma: nox; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: genitive of the whole; Translation: “of night”; Notes: partitive relation.
  22. tempore — Lemma: tempus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of time within which; Translation: “time”; Notes: specifies duration.
  23. accedere — Lemma: accedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: verb of result clause; Translation: “to come near”; Notes: complementary infinitive.
  24. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates verb; Translation: “not”; Notes: negation of ability.
  25. valerent — Lemma: valeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active subjunctive third plural; Function: verb of result clause; Translation: “they were able”; Notes: subjunctive required by ut.

 

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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