Exodus 20:24

Posted on March 11, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 20:24 Altare de terra facietis mihi, et offeretis super eo holocausta et pacifica vestra, oves vestras et boves in omni loco in quo memoria fuerit nominis mei: veniam ad te, et benedicam tibi.

You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall offer upon it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place in which the remembrance of My name shall be, I will come to you and I will bless you.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Altare altar ACC.SG.N NOUN 3RD DECL
2 de of PREP +ABL
3 terra earth ABL.SG.F NOUN 1ST DECL
4 facietis you shall make 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
5 mihi for Me DAT.SG.PERS PRON
6 et and CONJ INDECL
7 offeretis you shall offer 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
8 super upon PREP +ACC
9 eo it ABL.SG.M PRON DEM
10 holocausta burnt offerings ACC.PL.N NOUN 2ND DECL
11 et and CONJ INDECL
12 pacifica peace offerings ACC.PL.N ADJ POS
13 vestra your ACC.PL.N PRON POSS
14 oves sheep ACC.PL.F NOUN 3RD DECL
15 vestras your ACC.PL.F PRON POSS
16 et and CONJ INDECL
17 boves oxen ACC.PL.M NOUN 3RD DECL
18 in in PREP +ABL
19 omni every ABL.SG.M ADJ POS
20 loco place ABL.SG.M NOUN 2ND DECL
21 in in PREP +ABL
22 quo in which ABL.SG.M PRON REL
23 memoria remembrance NOM.SG.F NOUN 1ST DECL
24 fuerit shall be 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
25 nominis of the name GEN.SG.N NOUN 3RD DECL
26 mei of Me GEN.SG.PERS PRON
27 veniam I will come 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
28 ad to PREP +ACC
29 te you ACC.SG.PERS PRON
30 et and CONJ INDECL
31 benedicam I will bless 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
32 tibi you DAT.SG.PERS PRON

Syntax

Cultic command #1: Altare de terra facietis mihi — direct object Altare with material phrase de terra; verb facietis (future indicative with legal-imperative force); indirect object mihi (“for Me”).

Cultic command #2: et offeretis super eo holocausta et pacifica vestra — coordinated verb offeretis governs direct objects holocausta and pacifica vestra; prepositional phrase super eo locates the offerings “upon it” (the altar).

Specification of offerings: oves vestras et boves — accusative nouns oves and boves further define the sacrificial animals; possessive adjectives vestra / vestras stress that they are the people’s own animals.

Locative-relative complex: in omni loco in quo memoria fuerit nominis mei — outer prepositional phrase in omni loco (“in every place”); inner relative clause in quo memoria fuerit nominis mei specifies places where the remembrance of the divine name is established.

Divine promise: veniam ad te, et benedicam tibi — two coordinated future indicatives veniam and benedicam with prepositional phrase ad te and dative tibi, expressing personal visitation and blessing.

Morphology

  1. Altare — Lemma: altare; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, 3rd declension; Function: direct object of facietis; Translation: “altar”; Notes: A cultic term for the structure on which offerings are presented.
  2. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces a phrase of material or source; Translation: “of,” “from”; Notes: Here indicates the substance from which the altar is to be made.
  3. terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, 1st declension; Function: object of the preposition de; Translation: “earth”; Notes: Specifies an earthen altar, in contrast to more elaborate constructions.
  4. facietis — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of the first legal command; Translation: “you shall make”; Notes: Future indicative is the standard legal style for commandments in biblical Latin.
  5. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative singular first person; Function: indirect object of facietis; Translation: “for Me”; Notes: Indicates that the altar is dedicated to God as its beneficiary.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: links the altar command with the offering command; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple additive connector tying together related cultic instructions.
  7. offeretis — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of the second cultic command; Translation: “you shall offer”; Notes: Technical sacrificial verb for presenting offerings to God.
  8. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative here; Function: introduces a phrase of location above/on; Translation: “upon”; Notes: Indicates placement of offerings on the altar’s surface.
  9. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine (referring to Altare); Function: object of the preposition super; Translation: “it”; Notes: Deictic reference back to the altar just mentioned.
  10. holocausta — Lemma: holocaustum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, 2nd declension; Function: direct object of offeretis; Translation: “burnt offerings”; Notes: Refers to offerings wholly consumed by fire.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates holocausta with pacifica vestra; Translation: “and”; Notes: Combines distinct sacrificial categories under the same verb.
  12. pacifica — Lemma: pacificus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative plural neuter, positive degree; Function: second direct object of offeretis; Translation: “peace offerings”; Notes: Substantivized adjective referring to offerings of well-being or fellowship.
  13. vestra — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: possessive modifier of pacifica; Translation: “your”; Notes: Emphasizes that these offerings come from the people’s own resources.
  14. oves — Lemma: ovis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, 3rd declension; Function: appositional specification of sacrificial animals offered; Translation: “sheep”; Notes: One of the standard sacrificial species.
  15. vestras — Lemma: vester; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies oves; Translation: “your”; Notes: Again stresses that the animals belong to the offerers.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates oves vestras with boves; Translation: “and”; Notes: Adds another type of sacrificial animal.
  17. boves — Lemma: bos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine, 3rd declension; Function: additional object within the sacrificial specification; Translation: “oxen”; Notes: Larger and more valuable sacrificial animals.
  18. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces a locative phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: Sets up the broader spatial condition for God’s presence.
  19. omni — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine, positive degree; Function: modifies loco; Translation: “every”; Notes: Universalizes the instruction to any qualifying place.
  20. loco — Lemma: locus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: object of the preposition in; Translation: “place”; Notes: Denotes any site where legitimate worship is established.
  21. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: again introduces a prepositional phrase, now within the relative clause; Translation: “in”; Notes: Works together with the relative pronoun quo.
  22. quo — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine (agreeing with loco); Function: object of the preposition in in the relative clause; Translation: “in which”; Notes: Links the clause back to “place.”
  23. memoria — Lemma: memoria; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine, 1st declension; Function: subject of fuerit; Translation: “remembrance,” “memory”; Notes: Refers to ritual or liturgical remembrance of the divine name.
  24. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “shall be”; Notes: Future perfect marks a condition that will already be fulfilled at the time of God’s promised coming.
  25. nominis — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter, 3rd declension; Function: possessive genitive depending on memoria; Translation: “of the name”; Notes: The “name” is God’s own name, the focus of covenantal remembrance.
  26. mei — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: genitive singular first person; Function: genitive modifier of nominis; Translation: “of Me”; Notes: Makes explicit that it is the remembrance of God’s own name that qualifies the place.
  27. veniam — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of the first promise clause; Translation: “I will come”; Notes: Expresses God’s pledged personal visitation wherever His name is remembered.
  28. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces the direction of movement; Translation: “to”; Notes: Marks the people (represented by “you”) as the goal of God’s approach.
  29. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular second person; Function: object of ad; Translation: “you”; Notes: Singular “you” stands for the covenant partner (Israel) addressed.
  30. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates the second promise with the first; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects coming and blessing as inseparable divine actions.
  31. benedicam — Lemma: benedico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of the second promise clause; Translation: “I will bless”; Notes: Covenant blessing formula, promising favor associated with proper worship.
  32. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative singular second person; Function: indirect object of benedicam; Translation: “you”; Notes: Identifies the covenant partner as the recipient of God’s promised blessing.

 

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.