Leviticus 22:2

Posted on April 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

2 Loquere ad Aaron et ad filios eius, ut caveant ab his quæ consecrata sunt filiorum Israel, et non contaminent nomen sanctificatorum mihi, quæ ipsi offerunt. ego Dominus.

“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, that they guard themselves from the holy things of the sons of Israel, and that they do not profane the name of the holy things consecrated to me, which they themselves offer. I am the LORD.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Loquere speak 2SG.PRES.IMP.MOOD.ACT
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 Aaron Aaron ACC.SG.M.INDECL
4 et and CONJ
5 ad to PREP+ACC
6 filios sons ACC.PL.M
7 eius his GEN.SG.M.POSS
8 ut that CONJ
9 caveant they beware 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
10 ab from PREP+ABL
11 his these things ABL.PL.N.DEM
12 quæ which NOM.PL.N.REL
13 consecrata consecrated PERF.PTCP.PASS.NOM.PL.N
14 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
15 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
16 Israel Israel GEN.SG.M.INDECL
17 et and CONJ
18 non not ADV
19 contaminent they defile 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
20 nomen name ACC.SG.N
21 sanctificatorum of the holy things GEN.PL.N
22 mihi to me DAT.SG
23 quæ which ACC.PL.N.REL
24 ipsi they themselves NOM.PL.M
25 offerunt offer 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
26 ego I NOM.SG
27 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Imperative Clause: Loquere (commanded action)
Recipients: ad Aaron + ad filios eius — indirect objects of address

Purpose Clause: ut caveant — subjunctive expressing purpose
Separation Phrase: ab his quæ consecrata sunt filiorum Israel — source from which they must keep themselves

Negative Coordinated Clause: et non contaminent — second purpose, joined by coordination
Direct Object: nomen
Genitive Modifier: sanctificatorum — specifies the sacred referent of the name
Dative of Reference: mihi — divine recipient

Relative Clause: quæ ipsi offerunt — explains the sacred items involved

Divine Self-Identification: ego Dominus — solemn covenantal assertion

Morphology

  1. Loquere — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent); Form: second person singular present imperative active in meaning; Function: issues a direct divine command; Translation: “speak”; Notes: Deponent imperative commonly used in divine speech formulas.
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the accusative; Function: marks the addressee; Translation: “to”; Notes: Standard construction with verbs of speaking.
  3. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine indeclinable; Function: first recipient of the command; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: Hebrew name treated as indeclinable in Latin.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates recipients; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links equal syntactic elements.
  5. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the accusative; Function: repeats directional address; Translation: “to”; Notes: Repetition clarifies multiple recipients.
  6. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative masculine plural (2nd declension); Function: second group addressed; Translation: “sons”; Notes: Refers to the priestly descendants.
  7. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies filios; Translation: “his”; Notes: Establishes filial relationship to Aaron.
  8. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a purpose clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: Requires the subjunctive mood.
  9. caveant — Lemma: caveo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural present active subjunctive; Function: expresses intended precaution; Translation: “they beware”; Notes: Commonly used for ritual vigilance.
  10. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: expresses separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: Signals distancing from sacred misuse.
  11. his — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative neuter plural; Function: object of ab; Translation: “these things”; Notes: Points to specific sacred items.
  12. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative neuter plural; Function: introduces a descriptive clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to his.
  13. consecrata — Lemma: consecro; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: perfect passive participle nominative neuter plural; Function: describes the sacred state; Translation: “consecrated”; Notes: Emphasizes ritual holiness.
  14. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: completes the passive construction; Translation: “are”; Notes: Forms a periphrastic passive with the participle.
  15. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive masculine plural; Function: indicates ownership; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: Connects offerings to Israelite origin.
  16. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine indeclinable; Function: specifies the people; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: Covenant community designation.
  17. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Maintains parallel purpose structure.
  18. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates the verb; Translation: “not”; Notes: Governs the following subjunctive.
  19. contaminent — Lemma: contamino; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural present active subjunctive; Function: negative purpose; Translation: “they defile”; Notes: Strong cultic verb for profanation.
  20. nomen — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative neuter singular (3rd declension); Function: direct object; Translation: “name”; Notes: Represents divine honor and reputation.
  21. sanctificatorum — Lemma: sanctifico; Part of Speech: Noun (verbal); Form: genitive neuter plural; Function: qualifies nomen; Translation: “of the holy things”; Notes: Refers to items made sacred by dedication.
  22. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: dative of reference; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Centers the holiness on the LORD.
  23. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: accusative neuter plural; Function: object of offerunt; Translation: “which”; Notes: Resumes the sacred items.
  24. ipsi — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: Intensive pronoun; Form: nominative masculine plural; Function: emphasizes the subject; Translation: “they themselves”; Notes: Highlights priestly responsibility.
  25. offerunt — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: verbal action of the relative clause; Translation: “offer”; Notes: Cultic term for sacrificial presentation.
  26. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject of identification; Translation: “I”; Notes: Solemn self-reference.
  27. Dominus — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: predicate identification; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Covenant name for YHWH affirming authority.

 

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.