Exodus 2:12

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 2:12 Cumque circumspexisset huc atque illuc, et nullum adesse vidisset, percussum Ægyptium abscondit sabulo.

And when he had looked around this way and that, and had seen that no one was present, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cumque and when CONJ + ENCLITIC
2 circumspexisset had looked around 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
3 huc here ADV
4 atque and CONJ
5 illuc there ADV
6 et and CONJ
7 nullum no one ACC.SG.M PRON
8 adesse to be present PRES.ACT.INF
9 vidisset had seen 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
10 percussum struck down ACC.SG.M PERF.PASS.PART
11 Ægyptium Egyptian ACC.SG.M
12 abscondit he hid 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
13 sabulo in the sand ABL.SG.N

Syntax

Temporal–Causal Clause:
Cumque circumspexisset huc atque illuc — “And when he had looked around this way and that.”
• Pluperfect verb circumspexisset sets a prior action.
• huc atque illuc expresses surveying surroundings.

Secondary Clause:
et nullum adesse vidisset — “and had seen that no one was present.”
• nullum = object of vidisset, with complementary infinitive adesse.

Main Clause:
percussum Ægyptium abscondit sabulo — “he hid the Egyptian, struck down, in the sand.”
• percussum modifies Ægyptium as a descriptive participle.
• sabulo = ablative of location.

Morphology

  1. Cumque — Lemma: cum + que; Part of Speech: conjunction + enclitic; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “and when”; Notes: -que tightly links this clause to the previous narrative.
  2. circumspexisset — Lemma: circumspicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “had looked around”; Notes: Pluperfect indicates completed prior action.
  3. huc — Lemma: huc; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: directional adverb; Translation: “here / this way”; Notes: Pairs with illuc for contrast.
  4. atque — Lemma: atque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links adverbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: Stronger connective than et.
  5. illuc — Lemma: illuc; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: directional adverb; Translation: “there / that way”; Notes: Completes the huc–illuc pair.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects subordinate clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connective.
  7. nullum — Lemma: nullus; Part of Speech: pronoun/adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of vidisset; Translation: “no one”; Notes: Emphatically denies the presence of witnesses.
  8. adesse — Lemma: adsum; Part of Speech: verb (infinitive); Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary to vidisset; Translation: “to be present”; Notes: Infinitive completing sense of perception verb.
  9. vidisset — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb of subordinate clause; Translation: “had seen”; Notes: Sequential pluperfect following circumspexisset.
  10. percussum — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: accusative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: modifier of Ægyptium; Translation: “struck down”; Notes: Indicates completed violent action already inflicted.
  11. Ægyptium — Lemma: Ægyptius; Part of Speech: noun/adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of abscondit; Translation: “Egyptian”; Notes: Identifies the man Moses killed.
  12. abscondit — Lemma: abscondo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of sentence; Translation: “he hid”; Notes: Perfect fits decisive narrative action.
  13. sabulo — Lemma: sabulum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of location; Translation: “in the sand”; Notes: Likely desert/Nile bank environment.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Exodus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.