Exodus 39:31

Posted on March 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 39:31 Perfectum est igitur omne opus tabernaculi et tecti testimonii: feceruntque filii Israel cuncta quæ præceperat Dominus Moysi.

Thus the whole work of the tabernacle and the tent of the testimony was completed, and the sons of Israel made all the things that the LORD had commanded Moyses.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Perfectum completed PTCP.NOM.SG.N
2 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 igitur therefore / thus ADV
4 omne all / every ADJ.NOM.SG.N
5 opus work NOUN.NOM.SG.N
6 tabernaculi of the tabernacle NOUN.GEN.SG.N
7 et and CONJ
8 tecti of the tent / covering NOUN.GEN.SG.N
9 testimonii of the testimony NOUN.GEN.SG.N
10 feceruntque and they made 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND.3RD CONJ+ENCL
11 filii sons NOUN.NOM.PL.M
12 Israel Israel NOUN.GEN.SG.M.INDECL
13 cuncta all things ADJ.ACC.PL.N
14 quæ which PRON.NOM/ACC.PL.N.REL
15 præceperat had commanded 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND.1ST CONJ
16 Dominus the LORD NOUN.NOM.SG.M
17 Moysi to Moses NOUN.DAT.SG.M

Syntax

The sentence opens with the passive periphrastic construction Perfectum est, with omne opus as the nominative subject, meaning “the whole work was completed.”

The genitive phrases tabernaculi and tecti testimonii specify precisely which work is meant: that of the tabernacle and of the tent/covering of the testimony.

The coordinated clause introduced by feceruntque (“and they made”) shifts to active voice, with filii Israel as the subject and cuncta quæ præceperat Dominus Moysi as the object (“all the things which the LORD had commanded Moses”).

Morphology

  1. Perfectum — Lemma: perfectus; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular neuter, perfect passive participle; Function: predicate with est; Translation: completed; Notes: expresses the completed state of the work.
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary verb; Translation: was; Notes: completes the passive periphrastic construction.
  3. igitur — Lemma: igitur; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: inferential particle; Translation: thus; Notes: summarizes and transitions from prior material.
  4. omne — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: modifies opus; Translation: whole; Notes: universal quantifier.
  5. opus — Lemma: opus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: subject; Translation: work; Notes: refers to the full construction project of the tabernacle.
  6. tabernaculi — Lemma: tabernaculum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: of the tabernacle; Notes: specifies the location or domain of the work.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links genitive elements; Translation: and; Notes: simple connector.
  8. tecti — Lemma: tectum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: of the tent/covering; Notes: part of the phrase describing the “tent of the testimony.”
  9. testimonii — Lemma: testimonium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: of the testimony; Notes: refers to the covenant tablets.
  10. feceruntque — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb with enclitic; Form: third person plural perfect active indicative, third conjugation + enclitic -que; Function: main verb of second clause; Translation: and they made; Notes: enclitic emphasizes continuity of actions.
  11. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: sons; Notes: common biblical designation for the people of Israel.
  12. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine (indeclinable in form, declined by context); Function: genitive of possession with filii; Translation: Israel; Notes: treated as genitive although indeclinable in shape.
  13. cuncta — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: all things; Notes: modifies the implicit object of the verb.
  14. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: which; Notes: agrees with cuncta.
  15. præceperat — Lemma: praecipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect active indicative, first conjugation; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: had commanded; Notes: refers to prior divine instruction.
  16. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of præceperat; Translation: the LORD; Notes: refers to YHWH, translated “LORD” per rule.
  17. Moysi — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: to Moses; Notes: recipient of divine command.

 

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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