Leviticus 1:3

Posted on April 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 1:3 si holocaustum fuerit eius oblatio, ac de armento; masculum immaculatum offeret ad ostium tabernaculi testimonii, ad placandum sibi Dominum:

if his offering should be a holocaust, and from the herd, he shall offer an unblemished male to the entrance of the tabernacle of testimony, to make atonement for himself to the LORD;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 si if CONJ, INDECL
2 holocaustum holocaust NOUN, ACC.SG.N, 2ND DECL
3 fuerit should be VERB, 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
4 eius his PRON, GEN.SG.M/N, POSS
5 oblatio offering NOUN, NOM.SG.F, 3RD DECL
6 ac and CONJ, INDECL
7 de from PREP+ABL
8 armento the herd NOUN, ABL.SG.N, 2ND DECL
9 masculum a male NOUN/ADJ, ACC.SG.M, 2ND DECL
10 immaculatum unblemished ADJ, ACC.SG.M, POS
11 offeret he shall offer VERB, 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
12 ad to PREP+ACC
13 ostium entrance NOUN, ACC.SG.N, 2ND DECL
14 tabernaculi of the tabernacle NOUN, GEN.SG.N, 2ND DECL
15 testimonii of testimony NOUN, GEN.SG.N, 2ND DECL
16 ad to PREP+ACC
17 placandum to appease / to atone SUP, ACC.SG.N
18 sibi for himself PRON, DAT.SG.M, REFL
19 Dominum the LORD NOUN, ACC.SG.M, 2ND DECL

Syntax

Conditional Clause: si holocaustum fuerit eius oblatio — introduces the case where the type of offering is a holocaust.
Prepositional Clarification: ac de armento — specifies that the holocaust comes from cattle.
Main Clause: masculum immaculatum offeret — the sacrificer must offer an unblemished male.
Spatial Phrase: ad ostium tabernaculi testimonii — designates where the sacrifice must be presented.
Purpose Phrase: ad placandum sibi Dominum — indicates the purpose of the sacrifice: atonement before the LORD.

Morphology

  1. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces a conditional clause; Translation: if; Notes: common legal-ritual conditional marker.
  2. holocaustum — Lemma: holocaustum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: predicate accusative with fuerit; Translation: holocaust; Notes: technical sacrificial term for whole-burnt offering.
  3. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb in conditional protasis; Translation: should be; Notes: future perfect expresses a completed condition relevant to ritual procedure.
  4. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine/neuter; Function: possessive modifier; Translation: his; Notes: marks ownership of the offering.
  5. oblatio — Lemma: oblatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of fuerit; Translation: offering; Notes: key ritual term for presented gift.
  6. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: links clarifying phrase; Translation: and; Notes: stylistic variant of et with slightly tighter connection.
  7. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces source; Translation: from; Notes: marks material class of acceptable offerings.
  8. armento — Lemma: armentum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of de; Translation: herd/cattle; Notes: refers to large domestic animals.
  9. masculum — Lemma: masculus; Part of Speech: noun/adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of offeret; Translation: a male; Notes: sacrificial laws require unblemished males.
  10. immaculatum — Lemma: immaculatus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies masculum; Translation: unblemished; Notes: denotes ritual purity and physical perfection.
  11. offeret — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of instruction; Translation: he shall offer; Notes: future indicative expresses legal requirement.
  12. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates direction; Translation: to; Notes: introduces ritual location.
  13. ostium — Lemma: ostium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: complement of ad; Translation: entrance; Notes: refers to the threshold of the sanctuary.
  14. tabernaculi — Lemma: tabernaculum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: modifies ostium; Translation: of the tabernacle; Notes: identifies the sacred structure.
  15. testimonii — Lemma: testimonium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter; Function: dependent genitive; Translation: of testimony; Notes: denotes covenantal significance of the sanctuary.
  16. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces purpose; Translation: to; Notes: marks intentional goal.
  17. placandum — Lemma: placo; Part of Speech: supine; Form: supine in -um, accusative singular neuter; Function: purpose construction; Translation: to make atonement / to appease; Notes: classical supine indicating purpose before a verb of motion.
  18. sibi — Lemma: sui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: reflexive indirect object; Translation: for himself; Notes: indicates beneficiary of the atonement.
  19. Dominum — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of placandum; Translation: the LORD; Notes: refers to YHWH.

 

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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