Exodus 39:43

Posted on March 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 39:43 Quæ postquam Moyses cuncta vidit completa, benedixit eis.

After Moyses saw that all things had been completed, he blessed them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quæ which things PRON.NOM.PL.N.REL
2 postquam after CONJ
3 Moyses Moses NOUN.NOM.SG.M
4 cuncta all things ADJ.ACC.PL.N
5 vidit saw 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 completa completed PTCP.PERF.PASS.ACC.PL.N
7 benedixit blessed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
8 eis them PRON.DAT.PL.M/F/N

Syntax

The verse begins with Quæ, a relative pronoun summarizing the entire set of items described in the preceding passage — “all the things the Israelites made.”
It functions as the internal antecedent of the clause that follows.

postquam Moyses cuncta vidit completa is a temporal clause introduced by postquam, with:

  • Moyses — subject,
  • vidit — perfect active verb (“saw”),
  • cuncta completa — object phrase: “all things completed,” with perfect passive participle modifying cuncta.

The main clause is:
benedixit eis — “he blessed them.”
benedixit is the verb; eis is the dative indirect object, referring to the Israelites.

Morphology

  1. Quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of subordinate clause, referring to the completed items; Translation: which (things); Notes: resumes the entire list of tabernacle objects.
  2. postquam — Lemma: postquam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: after; Notes: marks sequence of actions.
  3. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of vidit; Translation: Moses; Notes: standard Vulgate spelling.
  4. cuncta — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object of vidit; Translation: all things; Notes: comprehensive totality.
  5. vidit — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: saw; Notes: perfect indicates completed inspection by Moses.
  6. completa — Lemma: completus; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle accusative plural neuter; Function: predicate adjective modifying cuncta; Translation: completed; Notes: marks fulfillment of divine instructions.
  7. benedixit — Lemma: benedico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: blessed; Notes: often takes a dative object in ecclesiastical Latin.
  8. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object; Translation: them; Notes: refers to the sons of Israel.

 

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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