Exodus 32:3

Posted on March 23, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 32:3 Fecitque populus quæ iusserat, deferens inaures ad Aaron.

And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Fecitque and did 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
2 populus the people NOM.SG.M NOUN 2ND DECL
3 quæ what / the things which ACC.PL.N PRON REL
4 iusserat he had commanded 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND 2ND CONJ
5 deferens bringing NOM.SG.M PTCP.PRES.ACT 3RD CONJ
6 inaures earrings ACC.PL.F NOUN 3RD DECL
7 ad to PREP+ACC
8 Aaron Aaron ACC.SG.M NOUN INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause:
Fecitque populus quæ iusserat — the people are the subject; fecitque is the narrative verb; quæ iusserat is a relative clause functioning as the direct object.

Circumstantial Participle:
deferens inaures ad Aaron — explains how they fulfilled the command, “bringing the earrings to Aaron.”

Prepositional Phrase:
ad Aaron — indicates the recipient or destination of the action.

Morphology

  1. Fecitque — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active indicative third singular + enclitic -que; Function: main verb of the narrative; Translation: and did; Notes: -que links this action to prior commands.
  2. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: the people; Notes: refers to Israel as a collective unit.
  3. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of iusserat; Translation: the things which; Notes: refers to Aaron’s commands.
  4. iusserat — Lemma: iubeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: pluperfect active indicative third singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: he had commanded; Notes: refers to Aaron’s instructions.
  5. deferens — Lemma: defero; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine present active; Function: circumstantial participle describing accompanying action; Translation: bringing; Notes: modifies populus and explains how the command was fulfilled.
  6. inaures — Lemma: inaures; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of deferens; Translation: earrings; Notes: valuable items offered for the idol.
  7. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates direction; Translation: to; Notes: marks destination.
  8. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: object of ad; Translation: Aaron; Notes: standard Vulgate treatment of the name.

 

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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