Exodus 16:4

Posted on March 7, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 16:4 Dixit autem Dominus ad Moysen: Ecce, ego pluam vobis panes de cælo: egrediatur populus, et colligat quæ sufficiunt per singulos dies: ut tentem eum utrum ambulet in lege mea, an non.

And the LORD said to Moyses: “Behold, I will rain bread for you from heaven. Let the people go out and gather what is sufficient for each day, that I may test him whether he will walk in my law or not.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem however ADV
3 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Moysen Moses ACC.SG.M
6 Ecce behold INTERJ
7 ego I NOM.SG.PRON
8 pluam I will rain 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
9 vobis for you DAT.PL.PRON
10 panes breads ACC.PL.M
11 de from PREP+ABL
12 cælo heaven ABL.SG.N
13 egrediatur let … go out 3SG.PRES.SUBJ.DEP
14 populus the people NOM.SG.M
15 et and CONJ
16 colligat let … gather 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
17 quæ what things ACC.PL.N.PRON
18 sufficiunt are sufficient 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
19 per for PREP+ACC
20 singulos each ACC.PL.M
21 dies days ACC.PL.M
22 ut that CONJ
23 tentem I may test 1SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
24 eum him ACC.SG.M.PRON
25 utrum whether CONJ
26 ambulet he walks 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
27 in in PREP+ABL
28 lege law ABL.SG.F
29 mea my ABL.SG.F
30 an or CONJ
31 non not ADV

Syntax

Main clause: Dixit autem Dominus ad Moysen
Subject: Dominus
Verb: Dixit
Indirect object: ad Moysen

Direct speech: begins with Ecce and continues through the end of the verse.

Clause 1: ego pluam vobis panes de cælo — future declaration by the LORD.

Clause 2 (jussive subjunctive): egrediatur populus et colligat — instructions to the people.

Relative clause: quæ sufficiunt per singulos dies — modifies “quæ,” referring to daily provision.

Final clause: ut tentem eum — expresses divine purpose.

Indirect question: utrum ambulet in lege mea an non — tests obedience.

Morphology

  1. Dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “said”; Notes: introduces direct speech.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adverb/conjunction; Form: connective particle; Function: adds contrastive nuance; Translation: “however”; Notes: common narrative connector.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: refers to YHWH.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: marks person addressed; Translation: “to”; Notes: expresses direction toward.
  5. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Moses”; Notes: proper name.
  6. Ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: demonstrative; Function: calls attention; Translation: “behold”; Notes: dramatic marker.
  7. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: explicit subject; Translation: “I”; Notes: adds emphasis.
  8. pluam — Lemma: pluo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of promise; Translation: “I will rain”; Notes: divine action.
  9. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object; Translation: “for you”; Notes: refers to Israel.
  10. panes — Lemma: panis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “breads”; Notes: refers to manna figuratively.
  11. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: spatial source.
  12. cælo — Lemma: cælum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: complement of de; Translation: “heaven”; Notes: spatial location.
  13. egrediatur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: third person singular present subjunctive; Function: jussive; Translation: “let … go out”; Notes: deponent morphology.
  14. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of egrediatur; Translation: “the people”; Notes: collective noun.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: simple connector.
  16. colligat — Lemma: colligo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active subjunctive; Function: jussive command; Translation: “let … gather”; Notes: parallels egrediatur.
  17. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of colligat; Translation: “what things”; Notes: relative-interrogative nuance.
  18. sufficiunt — Lemma: sufficio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: describes adequacy; Translation: “are sufficient”; Notes: expresses quantity.
  19. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: distributive; Translation: “for”; Notes: indicates duration or distribution.
  20. singulos — Lemma: singuli; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: modifies dies; Translation: “each”; Notes: distributive numeral.
  21. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: time unit; Translation: “days”; Notes: masculine in plural.
  22. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: introduces purpose clause; Function: final; Translation: “that”; Notes: requires subjunctive.
  23. tentem — Lemma: tento; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “I may test”; Notes: divine testing motif.
  24. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of tentem; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers to Israel collectively.
  25. utrum — Lemma: utrum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: disjunctive interrogative; Function: introduces indirect question; Translation: “whether”; Notes: paired with an.
  26. ambulet — Lemma: ambulo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb of indirect question; Translation: “he walks”; Notes: subjunctive required after utrum.
  27. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses sphere; Translation: “in”; Notes: denotes conformity.
  28. lege — Lemma: lex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “law”; Notes: divine instruction.
  29. mea — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies lege; Translation: “my”; Notes: possessive adjective.
  30. an — Lemma: an; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: alternative particle; Function: second part of utrum…an; Translation: “or”; Notes: continues indirect question.
  31. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: negative; Function: negates ambulet; Translation: “not”; Notes: completes contrast.

 

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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