Leviticus 19:23

Posted on April 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 19:23 Quando ingressi fueritis terram, et plantaveritis in ea ligna pomifera, auferetis præputia eorum: poma, quæ germinant, immunda erunt vobis, nec edetis ex eis.

When you have entered the land, and have planted fruit-bearing trees in it, you shall remove their foreskins; the fruits, which sprout, shall be unclean for you; you shall not eat from them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quando when CONJ
2 ingressi having entered NOM.PL.M PERF.PTCP.DEP
3 fueritis you shall have been 2PL.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ
4 terram land ACC.SG.F 1ST DECL NOUN
5 et and CONJ
6 plantaveritis you shall have planted 2PL.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ
7 in in PREP+ABL
8 ea it ABL.SG.F DEM.PRON
9 ligna trees ACC.PL.N 2ND DECL NOUN
10 pomifera fruit-bearing ACC.PL.N ADJ
11 auferetis you shall remove 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
12 præputia foreskins ACC.PL.N 3RD DECL NOUN
13 eorum their GEN.PL.N PERS.PRON
14 poma fruits NOM.PL.N 2ND DECL NOUN
15 quæ which NOM.PL.N REL.PRON
16 germinant sprout 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
17 immunda unclean NOM.PL.N ADJ
18 erunt shall be 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
19 vobis for you DAT.PL PERS.PRON
20 nec and not CONJ
21 edetis you shall eat 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
22 ex from PREP+ABL
23 eis them ABL.PL PERS.PRON

Syntax

Temporal-Conditional Frame: Quando ingressi fueritis … et plantaveritis (future perfect subjunctives introducing a case-law condition)

Locative Complement: in ea (preposition with ablative specifying location)

Main Command: auferetis præputia eorum (future indicative expressing a legal requirement)

New Subject: poma quæ germinant (nominative plural with defining relative clause)

Predication: immunda erunt vobis (predicate adjective with dative of reference)

Negative Consequence: nec edetis ex eis (coordinated prohibition with prepositional complement)

Morphology

  1. Quando — Lemma: quando; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: temporal; Function: introduces a time-conditioned case; Translation: when; Notes: common in legal-temporal framing.
  2. ingressi — Lemma: ingredior; Part of Speech: participle (deponent); Form: nominative masculine plural perfect; Function: with fueritis forms a future perfect periphrasis; Translation: having entered; Notes: agrees with the implied “you.”
  3. fueritis — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future perfect subjunctive active; Function: completes the temporal protasis; Translation: you shall have been; Notes: standard legal construction after quando.
  4. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular first declension; Function: direct object of motion; Translation: land; Notes: the territory entered.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: links conditions; Translation: and; Notes: additive coordination.
  6. plantaveritis — Lemma: plantō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future perfect subjunctive active; Function: second verb of the temporal protasis; Translation: you shall have planted; Notes: parallels ingressi fueritis.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: marks location; Translation: in; Notes: locative use.
  8. ea — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative feminine singular; Function: object of in; Translation: it; Notes: refers back to the land.
  9. ligna — Lemma: lignum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter plural second declension; Function: direct object of plantaveritis; Translation: trees; Notes: collective term for planted wood.
  10. pomifera — Lemma: pomifer; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: modifies ligna; Translation: fruit-bearing; Notes: specifies productive trees.
  11. auferetis — Lemma: aufero; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future indicative active; Function: main command; Translation: you shall remove; Notes: future indicative with prescriptive force.
  12. præputia — Lemma: præputium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative neuter plural third declension; Function: direct object of auferetis; Translation: foreskins; Notes: metaphorical term for prohibited first yield.
  13. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: genitive neuter plural; Function: modifies præputia; Translation: their; Notes: refers to the trees.
  14. poma — Lemma: pomum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative neuter plural second declension; Function: subject of erunt; Translation: fruits; Notes: produce of the trees.
  15. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative neuter plural; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: which; Notes: links to poma.
  16. germinant — Lemma: germinō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present indicative active; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: sprout; Notes: denotes first growth.
  17. immunda — Lemma: immundus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative neuter plural; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: unclean; Notes: ritually prohibited.
  18. erunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future indicative active; Function: copula; Translation: shall be; Notes: states legal status.
  19. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: dative of reference; Translation: for you; Notes: indicates applicability to the community.
  20. nec — Lemma: nec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: negative coordinator; Function: adds a further prohibition; Translation: and not; Notes: cumulative negation.
  21. edetis — Lemma: edo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural future indicative active; Function: prohibition; Translation: you shall eat; Notes: future indicative used prescriptively.
  22. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: expresses source; Translation: from; Notes: partitive sense.
  23. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: ablative plural; Function: object of ex; Translation: them; Notes: refers back to the fruits.

 

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 Leviticus. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.