Exodus 25:38

Posted on March 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 25:38 Emunctoria quoque, et ubi quæ emuncta sunt extinguantur, fiant de auro purissimo.

Snuffers also, and places where the things trimmed may be extinguished, shall be made of very pure gold.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Emunctoria snuffers NOM.PL.N.2ND DECL
2 quoque also ADV
3 et and CONJ
4 ubi where CONJ.REL
5 quæ the things which NOM.PL.N.PRON.REL
6 emuncta trimmed NOM.PL.N.PPP
7 sunt have been 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
8 extinguantur may be extinguished 3PL.PRES.PASS.SUBJ
9 fiant shall be made 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
10 de of PREP+ABL
11 auro gold ABL.SG.N.2ND DECL
12 purissimo very pure ABL.SG.N.ADJ.SUPER

Syntax

Main subject:
Emunctoria quoque — “snuffers also,” part of the menorah’s required utensils.

Coordinated clause:
et ubi quæ emuncta sunt — introduces a relative clause explaining the extinguishing places (“where the trimmed things have been removed”).

Purpose/result:
extinguantur — subjunctive expressing intended function: where the wick trimmings may be extinguished.

Main verb of requirement:
fiant — all these items “shall be made.”

Material phrase:
de auro purissimo — specifies that everything must be of the purest gold.

Morphology

  1. Emunctoria — Lemma: emunctorium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject; Translation: snuffers; Notes: instruments for trimming lamp wicks.
  2. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adds to prior list; Translation: also; Notes: emphatic addition.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins additional item; Translation: and; Notes: connective.
  4. ubi — Lemma: ubi; Part of Speech: relative conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: where; Notes: clause of location.
  5. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun (relative); Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of sunt; Translation: the things which; Notes: refers to wick trimmings.
  6. emuncta — Lemma: emungo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural neuter perfect passive participle; Function: predicate in relative clause; Translation: trimmed; Notes: describes removed wick ends.
  7. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative third plural; Function: auxiliary; Translation: have been; Notes: completes perfect passive sense.
  8. extinguantur — Lemma: extinguo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present passive subjunctive third plural; Function: expresses intended result; Translation: may be extinguished; Notes: subjunctive of purpose.
  9. fiant — Lemma: fio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive third plural; Function: main verb; Translation: shall be made; Notes: subjunctive used as jussive.
  10. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses material; Translation: of; Notes: ablative of material.
  11. auro — Lemma: aurum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: complement of de; Translation: gold; Notes: specifies the material of manufacture.
  12. purissimo — Lemma: purissimus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular neuter superlative; Function: modifies auro; Translation: very pure; Notes: SUPER degree.

 

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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