Exodus 5:1

Posted on February 24, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 5:1 Post hæc ingressi sunt Moyses et Aaron, et dixerunt Pharaoni: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israel: Dimitte populum meum ut sacrificet mihi in deserto.

After these things Moyses and Aaron went in, and they said to Pharao: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Let my people go, so that they may sacrifice to me in the desert.’”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Post after PREP+ACC
2 hæc these things ACC.PL.N
3 ingressi having entered NOM.PL.M.PERF.PART.DEP
4 sunt they have 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
5 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
6 et and CONJ
7 Aaron Aaron NOM.SG.M
8 et and CONJ
9 dixerunt they said 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
10 Pharaoni to Pharaoh DAT.SG.M
11 Hæc thus NOM.PL.N
12 dicit says 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
13 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
14 Deus God NOM.SG.M
15 Israel Israel GEN.SG.M
16 Dimitte let go 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
17 populum people ACC.SG.M
18 meum my ACC.SG.M
19 ut so that CONJ
20 sacrificet may sacrifice 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
21 mihi to me DAT.SG
22 in in PREP+ABL
23 deserto desert ABL.SG.N

Syntax

Temporal prepositional phrase: Post hæc — situates the event after the previous narrative.
Periphrastic perfect: ingressi sunt Moyses et Aaron — deponent participle + sunt expresses “Moses and Aaron went in.”
Speech introduction: et dixerunt Pharaoni — verb of speaking with dative recipient.
Prophetic formula: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israel — declarative divine authority formula.
Main divine command: Dimitte populum meum — imperative addressed to Pharaoh.
Purpose clause: ut sacrificet mihi in deserto — subjunctive sacrificet expresses intended purpose.

Morphology

  1. Post — Lemma: post; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces temporal phrase; Translation: after; Notes: standard temporal usage.
  2. hæc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: object of post; Translation: these things; Notes: refers to preceding events.
  3. ingressi — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect participle; Function: main verb component; Translation: having entered; Notes: deponent with active meaning.
  4. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary forming perfect; Translation: they have; Notes: completes the periphrastic perfect.
  5. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: Moses; Notes: Hebrew name.
  6. et — conjunction; links compound subject.
  7. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: part of compound subject; Translation: Aaron; Notes: brother of Moses.
  8. et — conjunction; links narrative clauses.
  9. dixerunt — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of speech; Translation: they said; Notes: perfect moves narrative forward.
  10. Pharaoni — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: to Pharaoh; Notes: recipient of divine message.
  11. Hæc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: subject of dicit; Translation: thus / these things; Notes: formulaic prophetic introduction.
  12. dicit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: introduces divine speech; Translation: says; Notes: set formula used by prophets.
  13. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject complement; Translation: LORD; Notes: refers to YHWH.
  14. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: apposition to Dominus; Translation: God; Notes: expresses divine authority.
  15. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies Deus; Translation: of Israel; Notes: covenant designation.
  16. Dimitte — Lemma: dimitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active imperative; Function: direct command; Translation: let go; Notes: divine imperative to Pharaoh.
  17. populum — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: people; Notes: refers to Israel.
  18. meum — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies populum; Translation: my; Notes: divine ownership of Israel.
  19. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: introduces purpose clause; Function: expresses intended result; Translation: so that; Notes: governs subjunctive.
  20. sacrificet — Lemma: sacrifico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: may sacrifice; Notes: denotes cultic worship.
  21. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object; Translation: to me; Notes: expresses direction of worship.
  22. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: indicates location; Translation: in; Notes: static location.
  23. deserto — Lemma: desertum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of in; Translation: desert; Notes: place designated for worship.

 

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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