Leviticus 20:18

Posted on April 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 20:18 Qui coierit cum muliere in fluxu menstruo, et revelaverit turpitudinem eius, ipsaque aperuerit fontem sanguinis sui, interficientur ambo de medio populi sui.

Whoever has had intercourse with a woman in the flow of menstruation, and has uncovered her nakedness, and she herself has opened the source of her blood, both of them shall be put to death from the midst of their people.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Qui whoever NOM.SG.M (REL)
2 coierit has had intercourse 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
3 cum with PREP+ABL
4 muliere woman ABL.SG.F (3RD DECL)
5 in in PREP+ABL
6 fluxu flow ABL.SG.M (4TH DECL)
7 menstruo menstrual ABL.SG.M (ADJ)
8 et and CONJ
9 revelaverit has uncovered 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
10 turpitudinem nakedness ACC.SG.F (3RD DECL)
11 eius her GEN.SG (POSS)
12 ipsaque and she herself NOM.SG.F (DEM)+CONJ
13 aperuerit has opened 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
14 fontem source ACC.SG.M (3RD DECL)
15 sanguinis of blood GEN.SG.M (3RD DECL)
16 sui her GEN.SG.M (POSS)
17 interficientur they shall be put to death 3PL.FUT.PASS.IND
18 ambo both NOM.PL.M (NUM)
19 de from PREP+ABL
20 medio midst ABL.SG.N (2ND DECL)
21 populi of people GEN.SG.M (2ND DECL)
22 sui their GEN.SG.M (POSS)

Syntax

Legal Relative Clause: Qui coierit cum muliere in fluxu menstruo — perfect subjunctive defining the prohibited act, with a prepositional phrase specifying ritual condition.

Exposure Clause: et revelaverit turpitudinem eius — coordinated perfect subjunctive further defining the offense.

Reciprocal Participation Clause: ipsaque aperuerit fontem sanguinis sui — parallel subjunctive clause indicating the woman’s participation.

Penalty Clause: interficientur ambo de medio populi sui — future passive pronouncement of execution and removal from the community.

Morphology

  1. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the legal clause; Translation: “whoever”; Notes: Introduces a general juridical case.
  2. coierit — Lemma: coeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: defines illicit intercourse; Translation: “has had intercourse”; Notes: Euphemistic legal verb.
  3. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces partner; Translation: “with”; Notes: Marks association.
  4. muliere — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative feminine singular; Function: object of cum; Translation: “woman”; Notes: Female participant.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses state/condition; Translation: “in”; Notes: Introduces ritual condition.
  6. fluxu — Lemma: fluxus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: object of in; Translation: “flow”; Notes: Refers to bodily discharge.
  7. menstruo — Lemma: menstruus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: modifies fluxu; Translation: “menstrual”; Notes: Specifies the nature of the flow.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordination; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins offense clauses.
  9. revelaverit — Lemma: revelo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: defines exposure; Translation: “has uncovered”; Notes: Legal euphemism for sexual exposure.
  10. turpitudinem — Lemma: turpitudo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative feminine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “nakedness”; Notes: Moral and ritual shame.
  11. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: modifies turpitudinem; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers to the woman.
  12. ipsaque — Lemma: ipse + -que; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun with enclitic; Form: nominative feminine singular; Function: subject of the reciprocal clause; Translation: “and she herself”; Notes: Emphasizes her direct involvement.
  13. aperuerit — Lemma: aperio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: parallel defining action; Translation: “has opened”; Notes: Idiom for exposing a source.
  14. fontem — Lemma: fons; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “source”; Notes: Metaphor for bodily origin.
  15. sanguinis — Lemma: sanguis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies fontem; Translation: “of blood”; Notes: Identifies the substance.
  16. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies sanguinis; Translation: “her”; Notes: Reflexive reference.
  17. interficientur — Lemma: interficio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future passive indicative; Function: penalty verb; Translation: “they shall be put to death”; Notes: Passive emphasizes judicial action.
  18. ambo — Lemma: ambo; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative masculine plural; Function: subject complement; Translation: “both”; Notes: Indicates shared penalty.
  19. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: Removal from community.
  20. medio — Lemma: medium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: object of de; Translation: “midst”; Notes: Communal sphere.
  21. populi — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies medio; Translation: “of the people”; Notes: The covenant community.
  22. sui — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive masculine singular; Function: modifies populi; Translation: “their”; Notes: Belonging to the offenders.

 

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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