Exodus 19:16

Posted on March 10, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 19:16 Iamque advenerat tertius dies, et mane inclaruerat: et ecce cœperunt audiri tonitrua, ac micare fulgura, et nubes densissima operire montem, clangorque buccinæ vehementius perstrepebat: et timuit populus qui erat in castris.

And now the third day had arrived, and morning had shone forth: and behold, thunderings began to be heard, and lightnings to flash, and a most dense cloud to cover the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet was blaring more forcefully, and the people who were in the camp were afraid.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Iamque and now ADV + ENCLITIC
2 advenerat had arrived 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
3 tertius third ADJ.NOM.SG.M
4 dies day NOUN.NOM.SG.M
5 et and CONJ
6 mane morning NOUN.ABL.SG.N
7 incluruerat had shone forth 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
8 et and CONJ
9 ecce behold INTJ
10 cœperunt began 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
11 audiri to be heard INF.PRES.PASS
12 tonitrua thunderings NOUN.NOM.PL.N
13 ac and CONJ
14 micare to flash INF.PRES.ACT
15 fulgura lightnings NOUN.NOM.PL.N
16 et and CONJ
17 nubes cloud NOUN.NOM.SG.F
18 densissima most dense ADJ.NOM.SG.F.SUPER
19 operire to cover INF.PRES.ACT
20 montem mountain NOUN.ACC.SG.M
21 clangorque and the sound NOUN.NOM.SG.M + ENCLITIC
22 buccinæ of the trumpet NOUN.GEN.SG.F
23 vehementius more forcefully ADV.CMPR
24 perstrepebat was blaring 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND
25 et and CONJ
26 timuit feared 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
27 populus the people NOUN.NOM.SG.M
28 qui who PRON.REL.NOM.SG.M
29 erat was 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND
30 in in PREP+ABL
31 castris the camp NOUN.ABL.PL.N

Syntax

Temporal Frame:
Iamque advenerat tertius dies — pluperfect situates the moment fully arrived.

Environmental Description:
A chain of coordinated infinitives and finite verbs:
tonitrua audiri, fulgura micare, nubes… operire montem — dramatic sensory escalation.

Auditory Intensification:
clangorque buccinæ vehementius perstrepebat — imperfect + comparative adverb intensifies the ongoing blast.

Reaction:
et timuit populus — perfect marks decisive emotional response.

Relative Clause:
qui erat in castris — identifies which people feared.

Morphology

  1. Iamque — Lemma: iam + que; Part of Speech: adverb with enclitic conjunction; Form: invariable adverb coordinated by -que; Function: temporal and connective marker; Translation: and now; Notes: -que links this clause closely to the preceding narrative.
  2. advenerat — Lemma: advenio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb describing prior arrival; Translation: had arrived; Notes: pluperfect places the third day as fully arrived before the following phenomena.
  3. tertius — Lemma: tertius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: attributive adjective modifying dies; Translation: third; Notes: ordinal number marking the climactic day of revelation.
  4. dies — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of advenerat; Translation: day; Notes: fifth-declension noun frequently used for specific, marked days.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates clauses; Translation: and; Notes: simple additive link to the description of the morning light.
  6. mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: noun used adverbially; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of time when; Translation: in the morning; Notes: sets the time of day for the theophany.
  7. inclaruerat — Lemma: inclaro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: verb describing the dawning light; Translation: had shone forth; Notes: pluperfect parallels advenerat, giving a fully established scene.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects to the sudden appearance signaled by ecce; Translation: and; Notes: helps pace the mounting drama.
  9. ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: invariable; Function: deictic marker drawing attention; Translation: behold; Notes: typical biblical Latin marker of sudden or noteworthy events.
  10. cœperunt — Lemma: coepio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person plural; Function: inceptive verb governing infinitives; Translation: began; Notes: takes the infinitives audiri, micare, and operire to describe the onset of phenomena.
  11. audiri — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present passive infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive with cœperunt; Translation: to be heard; Notes: expresses the beginning of audible thunder.
  12. tonitrua — Lemma: tonitrus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of audiri; Translation: thunderings; Notes: plural emphasizes repeated or intense peals of thunder.
  13. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates infinitival phrases; Translation: and; Notes: slightly closer link than et, pairing sound and light.
  14. micare — Lemma: mico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive (understood with cœperunt); Translation: to flash; Notes: describes the flickering action of lightning.
  15. fulgura — Lemma: fulgur; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of micare; Translation: lightnings; Notes: paired with tonitrua to complete the storm imagery.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links a further infinitive phrase; Translation: and; Notes: continues the accumulating description.
  17. nubes — Lemma: nubes; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of operire; Translation: cloud; Notes: standard theophanic element around Sinai.
  18. densissima — Lemma: densus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular feminine superlative degree; Function: attributive adjective modifying nubes; Translation: most dense; Notes: SUPER (superlative) form intensifying the obscurity of the cloud.
  19. operire — Lemma: operio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive (logically with cœperunt); Translation: to cover; Notes: indicates the mountain becoming completely enveloped.
  20. montem — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of operire; Translation: mountain; Notes: refers to Mount Sinai, the locus of the theophany.
  21. clangorque — Lemma: clangor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine with enclitic -que; Function: subject of perstrepebat; Translation: and the sound; Notes: -que links the trumpet sound closely to the previous phenomena.
  22. buccinæ — Lemma: buccina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: dependent genitive modifying clangorque; Translation: of the trumpet; Notes: specifies the source of the resounding noise.
  23. vehementius — Lemma: vehemens; Part of Speech: adverb (comparative); Form: comparative degree adverb; Function: adverbial modifier of perstrepebat; Translation: more forcefully; Notes: signals an increase in intensity of the trumpet blast.
  24. perstrepebat — Lemma: perstrepo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb describing ongoing sound; Translation: was blaring; Notes: imperfect highlights continuous, repeated sounding.
  25. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: connects the phenomena to the human reaction; Translation: and; Notes: shifts from setting to response.
  26. timuit — Lemma: timeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: main verb of the reaction; Translation: was afraid; Notes: perfect marks a completed, decisive fear response.
  27. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of timuit; Translation: the people; Notes: collective singular for Israel as a whole.
  28. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of erat in the relative clause; Translation: who; Notes: refers back to populus and introduces a descriptive clause.
  29. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: imperfect active indicative 3rd person singular; Function: copula in the relative clause; Translation: was; Notes: indicates ongoing location at that time.
  30. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces a prepositional phrase of location; Translation: in; Notes: static spatial relation.
  31. castris — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of in, ablative of place where; Translation: the camp; Notes: standard military and encampment term, here for Israel’s camp at Sinai.

 

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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