Exodus 21:18

Posted on March 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 21:18 Si rixati fuerint viri, et percusserit alter proximum suum lapide vel pugno, et ille mortuus non fuerit, sed iacuerit in lectulo:

If men have quarreled, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with a fist, and he has not died, but has lain in bed,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Si if CONJ INDECL
2 rixati having quarreled NOM.PL.M PERF.DEP.PTCP VERB
3 fuerint have 3PL.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ VERB
4 viri men NOM.PL.M 2ND DECL NOUN
5 et and CONJ INDECL
6 percusserit strikes 3SG.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ VERB
7 alter one (of them) NOM.SG.M PRON
8 proximum neighbor ACC.SG.M ADJ 1ST/2ND DECL
9 suum his ACC.SG.M POSS.ADJ
10 lapide with a stone ABL.SG.M 3RD DECL NOUN
11 vel or CONJ INDECL
12 pugno with a fist ABL.SG.M 2ND DECL NOUN
13 et and CONJ INDECL
14 ille he NOM.SG.M DEM.PRON
15 mortuus dead NOM.SG.M PERF.PASS.PTCP VERB
16 non not ADV INDECL
17 fuerit has been 3SG.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ VERB
18 sed but CONJ INDECL
19 iacuerit has lain 3SG.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ VERB
20 in in PREP+ABL PREP
21 lectulo in bed ABL.SG.M 2ND DECL NOUN

Syntax

Initial legal condition:
Si rixati fuerint viri — protasis: “If men have quarreled.”
• Si introduces the legal case.
• rixati fuerint is a perfect deponent construction in future perfect subjunctive form, expressing a hypothetical completed action in legal style.
• viri is the plural subject (“men”).

First resulting action within the condition:
et percusserit alter proximum suum — “and one has struck his neighbor.”
• percusserit is another future perfect subjunctive, linked to the same conditional framework.
• alter (“one [of them]”) specifies which man strikes.
• proximum suum is the direct object (“his neighbor”), with suum reflexive to alter.

Instruments of the blow:
lapide vel pugno — ablatives of means: “with a stone or with a fist.”
• lapide and pugno both express the physical instruments used.

Subsequent condition concerning the victim:
et ille mortuus non fuerit — “and he has not died.”
• ille refers to the injured neighbor.
• mortuus non fuerit is a periphrastic perfect (participle + auxiliary) in the same legal future perfect subjunctive frame, denying actual death.

Further qualification of the injury:
sed iacuerit in lectulo — “but has lain in bed.”
• sed introduces a contrasting development: he is not dead, but incapacitated.
• iacuerit (future perfect subjunctive) indicates resulting prolonged condition.
• in lectulo (“in bed”) shows confinement due to injury, preparing for the compensation rules in the following verse.

Morphology

  1. Si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces the conditional legal case; Translation: if; Notes: standard marker for protasis in these case laws.
  2. rixati — Lemma: rixor; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect deponent participle; Function: with fuerint, forms the verbal idea “have quarreled” describing the men; Translation: having quarreled; Notes: deponent, middle/passive in form but active in meaning.
  3. fuerint — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active subjunctive 3rd person plural; Function: auxiliary with rixati in the conditional protasis; Translation: have; Notes: legal future perfect used for hypothetical completed actions.
  4. viri — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine 2nd declension; Function: subject of rixati fuerint; Translation: men; Notes: denotes adult males involved in the fight.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the next action with the initial quarrel; Translation: and; Notes: links sequential conditions in the case.
  6. percusserit — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active subjunctive 3rd person singular; Function: main verb describing the blow in the conditional chain; Translation: strikes; Notes: portrays a completed violent act within the legal scenario.
  7. alter — Lemma: alter; Part of Speech: pronoun/adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of percusserit; Translation: one (of them); Notes: distinguishes one man as the aggressor against the other.
  8. proximum — Lemma: proximus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative singular masculine 1st/2nd declension; Function: direct object of percusserit; Translation: neighbor; Notes: in biblical-legal language, denotes a fellow member of the community.
  9. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies proximum; Translation: his; Notes: reflexive, referring back to alter as the possessor of the “neighbor.”
  10. lapide — Lemma: lapis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine 3rd declension; Function: ablative of means with the verb of striking; Translation: with a stone; Notes: specifies one possible instrument of the assault.
  11. vel — Lemma: vel; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: presents an alternative instrument; Translation: or; Notes: soft disjunction between the two weapons.
  12. pugno — Lemma: pugnus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine 2nd declension; Function: ablative of means; Translation: with a fist; Notes: indicates direct bodily violence as an alternative to a weapon.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates a further condition regarding the victim; Translation: and; Notes: continues the chain of circumstances.
  14. ille — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of the subsequent verbal constructions; Translation: he; Notes: points back to the struck neighbor.
  15. mortuus — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: deponent verb (participle); Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle; Function: predicate participle with fuerit; Translation: dead; Notes: describes the possible (but here negated) outcome of death.
  16. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates the verbal idea mortuus fuerit; Translation: not; Notes: shows that the blow did not result in death.
  17. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active subjunctive 3rd person singular; Function: auxiliary for the periphrastic “has been dead”; Translation: has been; Notes: keeps the clause within the same legal conditional framework.
  18. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a contrast to the negated death; Translation: but; Notes: signals an alternative result to death.
  19. iacuerit — Lemma: iaceo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: future perfect active subjunctive 3rd person singular; Function: verb describing the injured man’s condition; Translation: has lain; Notes: conveys prolonged incapacitation rather than immediate death.
  20. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces location of the lying; Translation: in; Notes: standard spatial preposition with the ablative.
  21. lectulo — Lemma: lectulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine 2nd declension; Function: object of the preposition in; Translation: in bed; Notes: indicates that the man is confined to bed because of the injury.

 

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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