Exodus 34:33

Posted on March 25, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 34:33 Impletisque sermonibus, posuit velamen super faciem suam.

And when the words were completed, he placed a veil over his face.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Impletisque and the words having been completed ABL.PL.M/F/N PTCP.PERF.PASS 3RD CONJ + ENCLITIC -QUE
2 sermonibus words ABL.PL.M 3RD DECL
3 posuit he placed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
4 velamen veil ACC.SG.N 3RD DECL
5 super over PREP+ACC
6 faciem face ACC.SG.F 5TH DECL
7 suam his ACC.SG.F POSS.ADJ

Syntax

Temporal Ablative Absolute:
Impletis… sermonibus — “when the words had been completed.”
• Ablative absolute expresses prior completed action.
• Impletis (perfect passive participle) + sermonibus (ablative plural noun).

Main Clause:
posuit velamen super faciem suam — “he placed a veil over his face.”
• Subject implied in verb posuit = Moses.
• Direct object: velamen.
• Prepositional phrase: super faciem suam = location of placement.

Morphology

  1. Impletisque — Lemma: impleō; Part of Speech: participle; Form: ablative plural perfect passive participle + enclitic -que; Function: forms ablative absolute; Translation: and (the words) having been completed; Notes: -que joins participial phrase to the narrative.
  2. sermonibus — Lemma: sermō; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: noun of ablative absolute; Translation: words; Notes: ablative shows circumstances.
  3. posuit — Lemma: pōnō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: he placed; Notes: perfect denotes completed action by Moses.
  4. velamen — Lemma: velāmen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of posuit; Translation: veil; Notes: neuter object placed on Moses’s face.
  5. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses spatial relation; Translation: over; Notes: shows location of the veil.
  6. faciem — Lemma: faciēs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of super; Translation: face; Notes: 5th declension noun.
  7. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies faciem; Translation: his; Notes: reflexive → refers to Moses himself.

 

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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