Exodus 4:21

Posted on February 23, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 4:21 Dixitque ei Dominus revertenti in Ægyptum: Vide ut omnia ostenta quæ posui in manu tua, facias coram Pharaone: ego indurabo cor eius, et non dimittet populum.

And the LORD said to him as he was returning into Egypt: “See that you do all the wonders which I have placed in your hand before Pharao; I will harden his heart, and he will not release the people.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Dixitque and said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ei to him DAT.SG.M
3 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
4 revertenti to the one returning DAT.SG.M.PRES.DEP.PTCP
5 in into PREP+ACC
6 Ægyptum Egypt ACC.SG.F
7 Vide see 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
8 ut that CONJ
9 omnia all ACC.PL.N
10 ostenta wonders ACC.PL.N
11 quæ which NOM.PL.N
12 posui I placed 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
13 in in PREP+ABL
14 manu hand ABL.SG.F
15 tua your ABL.SG.F
16 facias you may do 2SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
17 coram before PREP+ABL
18 Pharaone Pharaoh ABL.SG.M
19 ego I NOM.SG
20 indurabo I will harden 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
21 cor heart ACC.SG.N
22 eius his GEN.SG.M
23 et and CONJ
24 non not ADV
25 dimittet he will release 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
26 populum the people ACC.SG.M

Syntax

Opening clause: Dixitque ei Dominus — the subject is Dominus, verb Dixitque, with ei as indirect object.
Supplementary participial phrase: revertenti in Ægyptum describes Moses’ state when addressed.
Main command: Vide ut omnia ostenta … facias — “See that you do…” with ut introducing the object clause with subjunctive facias.
Relative clause: quæ posui in manu tua modifies ostenta.
Prepositional phrase: coram Pharaone denotes the audience of the acts.
Independent divine declaration: ego indurabo cor eius — statement of divine causation.
Final clause: et non dimittet populum — predicted refusal by Pharaoh.

Morphology

  1. Dixitque — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative with enclitic -que; Function: introduces divine statement; Translation: and said; Notes: -que links the action to previous narrative.
  2. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of Dixit; Translation: to him; Notes: refers to Moses.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: LORD; Notes: denotes YHWH.
  4. revertenti — Lemma: revertor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: dative singular masculine present participle; Function: describes Moses’ state; Translation: to the one returning; Notes: agrees with implied dative ei.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative for motion; Function: directional preposition; Translation: into; Notes: expresses movement toward Egypt.
  6. Ægyptum — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: Egypt; Notes: destination of Moses’ return.
  7. Vide — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active imperative; Function: command; Translation: see; Notes: idiomatically means “see to it.”
  8. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating; Function: introduces object/purpose clause; Translation: that; Notes: takes the subjunctive.
  9. omnia — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective/pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of facias; Translation: all; Notes: refers to all the signs.
  10. ostenta — Lemma: ostentum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object; Translation: wonders; Notes: portents or miracles given by God.
  11. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of posui; Translation: which; Notes: agrees with ostenta.
  12. posui — Lemma: pono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: I placed; Notes: refers to divine assignment of miraculous power.
  13. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces location; Translation: in; Notes: locative usage.
  14. manu — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: hand; Notes: ablative of place.
  15. tua — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies manu; Translation: your; Notes: indicates Moses’ possession.
  16. facias — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb of ut-clause; Translation: you may do; Notes: subjunctive required after Vide ut….
  17. coram — Lemma: coram; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses presence before someone; Translation: before; Notes: formal setting before a ruler.
  18. Pharaone — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of coram; Translation: Pharaoh; Notes: Egyptian king confronting Moses.
  19. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: emphatic subject; Translation: I; Notes: stresses divine action.
  20. indurabo — Lemma: induro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: I will harden; Notes: expresses divine judicial action.
  21. cor — Lemma: cor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of indurabo; Translation: heart; Notes: refers to Pharaoh’s will and resolve.
  22. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: genitive pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies cor; Translation: his; Notes: refers to Pharaoh.
  23. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinative; Function: links clauses; Translation: and; Notes: joins divine action with Pharaoh’s reaction.
  24. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: negator; Function: negates the verb; Translation: not; Notes: indicates refusal.
  25. dimittet — Lemma: dimitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of final clause; Translation: he will release; Notes: predicted stubbornness of Pharaoh.
  26. populum — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of dimittet; Translation: the people; Notes: refers to 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.
This entry was posted in Exodus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.