Exodus 21:29

Posted on March 12, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 21:29 Quod si bos cornupeta fuerit ab heri et nudiustertius, et contestati sunt dominum eius, nec recluserit eum, occideritque virum aut mulierem: et bos lapidibus obruetur, et dominum eius occident.

But if the ox has been one that gores since yesterday and the day before yesterday, and they have warned its owner, and he has not confined it, and it kills a man or a woman, then the ox shall be stoned, and they shall kill its owner.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quod but CONJ
2 si if CONJ
3 bos ox NOUN.NOM.SG.M.3RD DECL
4 cornupeta gore-prone ADJ.NOM.SG.M.POS
5 fuerit has been 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
6 ab from PREP+ABL
7 heri yesterday ADV.INDECL
8 et and CONJ
9 nudiustertius the day before yesterday ADV.INDECL
10 et and CONJ
11 contestati having warned PTCP.PERF.PASS.NOM.PL.M
12 sunt have 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
13 dominum owner NOUN.ACC.SG.M.2ND DECL
14 eius his PRON.GEN.SG.M/F/N
15 nec and not CONJ
16 recluserit has confined 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ
17 eum it PRON.ACC.SG.M
18 occideritque and kills 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ+CONJ
19 virum man NOUN.ACC.SG.M.2ND DECL
20 aut or CONJ
21 mulierem woman NOUN.ACC.SG.F.3RD DECL
22 et and CONJ
23 bos ox NOUN.NOM.SG.M.3RD DECL
24 lapidibus with stones NOUN.ABL.PL.M.3RD DECL
25 obruetur shall be stoned 3SG.FUT.PASS.IND.3RD CONJ
26 et and CONJ
27 dominum owner NOUN.ACC.SG.M.2ND DECL
28 eius his PRON.GEN.SG.M/F/N
29 occident they shall kill 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ

Syntax

Conditional Frame: Quod si introduces a strengthened legal condition building on the previous verse.
Subject of Protasis: bos cornupeta — “an ox that is prone to gore,” the dangerous animal in question.
State/Time Description: fuerit ab heri et nudiustertius — describes a continued prior condition of being gore-prone “since yesterday and the day before yesterday.”
Warning Clause: et contestati sunt dominum eius — “and they have warned its owner”; witnesses or neighbors are the implied subject of the perfect periphrastic verb.
Negligence Clause: nec recluserit eum — “and he has not confined it”; the owner fails to restrain the ox.
Harm Clause: occideritque virum aut mulierem — “and it kills a man or a woman”; direct objects are virum and mulierem.
Consequences:
– bos lapidibus obruetur — the ox (subject) “shall be stoned with stones” (ablative of means).
– dominum eius occident — “they shall kill its owner”; impersonal legal subject (“they”) marks community execution.

Morphology

  1. Quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces an intensified conditional clause; Translation: “but”; Notes: Here has a resumptive, slightly adversative force linking to the previous law.
  2. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: marks the protasis (“if” clause); Translation: “if”; Notes: Standard conditional particle in legal style.
  3. bos — Lemma: bos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, 3rd declension; Function: subject of the protasis; Translation: “ox”; Notes: Irregular 3rd-declension noun referring to the offending animal.
  4. cornupeta — Lemma: cornupeta; Part of Speech: adjective (substantivally used descriptor); Form: nominative singular masculine, positive degree; Function: attributive adjective modifying bos; Translation: “gore-prone,” “one that gores”; Notes: Technical characterization of an animal known to gore.
  5. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of state in the condition; Translation: “has been”; Notes: Future perfect expresses a state already established before the consequences apply.
  6. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: forms an idiomatic temporal phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: Used with adverbs of time here to express “since.”
  7. heri — Lemma: heri; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: temporal specification; Translation: “yesterday”; Notes: Completes the idiom “from yesterday and the day before yesterday.”
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates temporal elements; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple additive connector.
  9. nudiustertius — Lemma: nudiustertius; Part of Speech: adverb (frozen form); Form: indeclinable; Function: temporal marker; Translation: “the day before yesterday”; Notes: Archaic Roman time expression preserved in legal Latin.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links the temporal description to the next clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Begins a new coordinated predicate.
  11. contestati — Lemma: contestor; Part of Speech: participle (deponent verb); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle in form, active in meaning; Function: participial component of a periphrastic perfect; Translation: “having warned”; Notes: Although morphologically passive, the deponent verb has active sense: “they have testified/warned.”
  12. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary with contestati forming the perfect; Translation: “have”; Notes: Completes the periphrastic perfect “they have warned.”
  13. dominum — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: direct object of the warning; Translation: “the owner”; Notes: The person legally notified about the dangerous ox.
  14. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular (common gender); Function: possessive genitive modifying dominum; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers back to the ox: “the owner of it (the ox).”
  15. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a negative coordinated action; Translation: “and not,” “nor”; Notes: Connects negligence to the prior warnings.
  16. recluserit — Lemma: recludo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative, 3rd conjugation; Function: expresses the owner’s failure to act; Translation: “has confined,” “has shut in”; Notes: Another future perfect in the chain of conditions.
  17. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of recluserit; Translation: “it”; Notes: Refers again to the ox that should have been confined.
  18. occideritque — Lemma: occido (+ enclitic -que); Part of Speech: verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative, 3rd conjugation; Function: verb of the harm clause; Translation: “and kills”; Notes: Enclitic -que joins this action to the previous conditions.
  19. virum — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: direct object of occideritque; Translation: “a man”; Notes: One possible human victim.
  20. aut — Lemma: aut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: exclusive disjunction; Translation: “or”; Notes: Offers an alternative object without overlap.
  21. mulierem — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, 3rd declension; Function: direct object of occideritque; Translation: “a woman”; Notes: Second possible victim, parallel to virum.
  22. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces the consequence; Translation: “and”; Notes: Moves from condition to legal outcome.
  23. bos — Lemma: bos; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, 3rd declension; Function: subject of obruetur; Translation: “the ox”; Notes: Same ox, now the object of legal punishment.
  24. lapidibus — Lemma: lapis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, 3rd declension; Function: ablative of means; Translation: “with stones”; Notes: Specifies method of execution (“stoning”).
  25. obruetur — Lemma: obruo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future passive indicative, 3rd conjugation; Function: main verb of first apodosis; Translation: “shall be stoned,” “shall be overwhelmed with stones”; Notes: Passive voice marks the ox as recipient of communal action.
  26. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates a second consequence; Translation: “and”; Notes: Adds further legal penalty beyond execution of the animal.
  27. dominum — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: direct object of occident; Translation: “the owner”; Notes: Human party now subject to capital judgment.
  28. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive genitive modifying dominum; Translation: “of it,” “its”; Notes: Clarifies that this is the owner of that specific ox.
  29. occident — Lemma: occido; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural future active indicative, 3rd conjugation; Function: main verb of final legal consequence; Translation: “they shall kill”; Notes: Plural subject is impersonal/collective (the community or judicial authority carrying out the sentence).

 

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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