Exodus 39:42

Posted on March 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 39:42 obtulerunt filii Israel, sicut præceperat Dominus.

the sons of Israel presented them, just as the LORD had commanded.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 obtulerunt they presented 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
2 filii sons NOUN.NOM.PL.M
3 Israel Israel NOUN.GEN.SG.M.INDECL
4 sicut just as CONJ
5 præceperat had commanded 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
6 Dominus LORD NOUN.NOM.SG.M

Syntax

The main clause is:
obtulerunt filii Israel — “the sons of Israel presented (them).”
obtulerunt is the finite verb; filii Israel is the compound nominative subject.

The subordinate clause is introduced by sicut:
sicut præceperat Dominus — “just as the LORD had commanded.”
This is an adverbial clause of comparison and conformity to divine instruction.

The sense is that the Israelites completed their presentation of all tabernacle items in perfect obedience to YHWH.

Morphology

  1. obtulerunt — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: they presented; Notes: perfect indicates completed action.
  2. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: sons; Notes: collective designation of Israel’s people.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine (indeclinable in form but functioning syntactically as genitive); Function: genitive of possession modifying filii; Translation: of Israel; Notes: standard biblical usage.
  4. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces comparative clause; Translation: just as; Notes: expresses conformity to divine command.
  5. præceperat — Lemma: praecipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb in subordinate clause; Translation: had commanded; Notes: pluperfect denotes action prior to the Israelites’ presentation.
  6. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of præceperat; Translation: LORD; Notes: refers to YHWH; translation follows instruction that Dominus referring to YHWH is rendered “LORD.”

 

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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