Exodus 7:23

Posted on February 26, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 7:23 Avertitque se, et ingressus est domum suam, nec apposuit cor etiam hac vice.

And he turned away and went into his house, and he did not set his heart even this time.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Avertitque and he turned away 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND+ENCLITIC
2 se himself ACC.SG.REFL.PRON
3 et and CONJ
4 ingressus having gone in NOM.SG.M.PERF.PTCP.DEP
5 est has 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
6 domum house ACC.SG.F
7 suam his ACC.SG.F.POSS
8 nec and not CONJ/ADV
9 apposuit he set 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
10 cor heart ACC.SG.N
11 etiam even ADV
12 hac this ABL.SG.F.DEM
13 vice time ABL.SG.F

Syntax

First clause:
Avertitque se — main narrative action: verb Avertitque (“and he turned away”) with reflexive object se, indicating that he turned himself away, withdrawing.

Second clause (subsequent action):
et ingressus est domum suam — periphrastic perfect of the deponent verb: participle ingressus + auxiliary est; implied subject is the same man as in the first clause; object domum suam (“his house”) with possessive suam.

Third clause (negative attitude):
nec apposuit cor etiam hac vice — coordinating negative particle nec introduces what he did not do; verb apposuit with direct object cor (“heart”); adverb etiam and ablative of time hac vice (“this time”) highlight his continuing refusal to pay attention.

Morphology

  1. Avertitque — Lemma: averto; Part of Speech: verb with enclitic; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative with enclitic -que; Function: main narrative verb describing his turning away; Translation: and he turned away; Notes: the enclitic -que connects this action closely with the preceding context, continuing the sequence of Pharaoh’s responses.
  2. se — Lemma: sui; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object of Avertitque, referring back to the subject; Translation: himself; Notes: marks the action as reflexive: he turns himself away.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: coordinating conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links the first action to the next; Translation: and; Notes: simple additive coordination.
  4. ingressus — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle; Function: forms a periphrastic perfect with est; Translation: having gone in; Notes: deponent verb with active meaning though built on a passive participial form.
  5. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary with ingressus to express a completed action (“he went in”); Translation: has / has gone; Notes: standard auxiliary for deponent perfects.
  6. domum — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: accusative of place to which, object of the motion implied by ingressus est; Translation: house; Notes: the use of bare accusative (without a preposition) is idiomatic for “homeward, into the house.”
  7. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: reflexive possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies domum, indicating possession by the subject; Translation: his; Notes: agrees with domum in case, number, and gender, and refers back to the same subject as se.
  8. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: coordinating negative particle; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a further negative clause; Translation: and not / nor; Notes: links this refusal with the previous actions, stressing continued hardness.
  9. apposuit — Lemma: appono; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the negative clause; Translation: he set; Notes: in the idiom apponere cor meaning “to set one’s heart, pay attention, take to heart.”
  10. cor — Lemma: cor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of apposuit; Translation: heart; Notes: internal object in the idiom “set (one’s) heart,” expressing attention or concern.
  11. etiam — Lemma: etiam; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: intensifier modifying the whole clause; Translation: even; Notes: underscores that despite everything, he still did not pay attention.
  12. hac — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun/adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies vice in an ablative of time expression; Translation: this; Notes: deictic element indicating the specific occasion.
  13. vice — Lemma: vicis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: ablative of time (“on this occasion, this time”); Translation: time; Notes: together with hac yields the phrase “even this time,” marking repeated obstinacy.

 

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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