Exodus 25:2

Posted on March 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 25:2 Loquere filiis Israel ut tollant mihi primitias ab omni homine qui offeret ultroneus, accipietis eas.

“Speak to the sons of Israel, that they may take for Me first-offerings; from every man who offers willingly, you shall receive them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Loquere speak 2SG.FUT.IMP.ACT
2 filiis to the sons DAT.PL.M.NOUN.2ND DECL
3 Israel Israel DAT.PL.M.INVAR
4 ut that CONJ
5 tollant they may take 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
6 mihi for me DAT.SG.1ST.PERS.PRON
7 primitias first-offerings ACC.PL.F.NOUN.1ST DECL
8 ab from PREP+ABL
9 omni every ABL.SG.M.ADJ
10 homine man ABL.SG.M.NOUN.3RD DECL
11 qui who NOM.SG.M.PRON.REL
12 offeret offers 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
13 ultroneus willing NOM.SG.M.ADJ
14 accipietis you shall receive 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
15 eas them ACC.PL.F.PRON

Syntax

Main narrative sequence: Loquere issues a divine command to Moses to address Israel.
Indirect object: filiis Israel marks those to whom Moses must speak.
Purpose clause: ut tollant mihi primitias expresses the intended result of the command.
Prepositional phrase: ab omni homine identifies the source from which offerings may be taken.
Relative clause: qui offeret ultroneus restricts the donors to those who offer willingly.
Second command: accipietis eas instructs Moses and Israel’s leaders to receive the offerings.

Morphology

  1. Loquere — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular future imperative active; Function: direct divine command; Translation: speak; Notes: used frequently in divine instructions to Moses.
  2. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: to the sons; Notes: dative of address.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies *filiis*; Translation: Israel; Notes: treated as an invariable proper name.
  4. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: that; Notes: governs subjunctive.
  5. tollant — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active subjunctive; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: they may take; Notes: expresses intended action.
  6. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: advantage; Translation: for me; Notes: dative of interest.
  7. primitias — Lemma: primitias; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of *tollant*; Translation: first-offerings; Notes: technical cultic term.
  8. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: source; Translation: from; Notes: standard ablative of origin.
  9. omni — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies *homine*; Translation: every; Notes: distributive sense.
  10. homine — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of *ab*; Translation: man; Notes: ablative of source.
  11. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun (relative); Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of subordinate clause; Translation: who; Notes: introduces restrictive clause.
  12. offeret — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third singular future active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: offers; Notes: future expressing expected donor behavior.
  13. ultroneus — Lemma: ultroneus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate to *qui*; Translation: willing; Notes: denotes voluntary action.
  14. accipietis — Lemma: accipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second plural future active indicative; Function: divine instruction to Moses and Israel; Translation: you shall receive; Notes: authoritative future command.
  15. eas — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of *accipietis*; Translation: them; Notes: refers to the offerings.

 

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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