Leviticus 22:4

Posted on April 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 22:4 Homo de semine Aaron, qui fuerit leprosus, aut patiens fluxum seminis, non vescetur de his quæ sanctificata sunt mihi donec sanetur. Qui tetigerit immundum super mortuo, et ex quo egreditur semen quasi coitus,

A man of the seed of Aaron, who has been leprous or suffering a discharge of seed, shall not eat of the things which have been sanctified to me until he is healed. He who has touched one unclean by reason of a dead body, and from whom seed goes out as in an emission,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Homo man NOM.SG.M
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 semine seed ABL.SG.N
4 Aaron Aaron GEN.SG.M.INDECL
5 qui who NOM.SG.M.REL
6 fuerit has been 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
7 leprosus leprous NOM.SG.M.ADJ
8 aut or CONJ
9 patiens suffering PRES.PTCP.ACT.NOM.SG.M
10 fluxum flow ACC.SG.M
11 seminis of seed GEN.SG.N
12 non not ADV
13 vescetur shall eat 3SG.FUT.DEP.IND
14 de of PREP+ABL
15 his these things ABL.PL.N.DEM
16 quæ which NOM.PL.N.REL
17 sanctificata sanctified PERF.PTCP.PASS.NOM.PL.N
18 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
19 mihi to me DAT.SG
20 donec until CONJ
21 sanetur he is healed 3SG.PRES.PASS.SUBJ
22 Qui who NOM.SG.M.REL
23 tetigerit has touched 3SG.PERF.ACT.SUBJ
24 immundum unclean ACC.SG.M.ADJ
25 super over PREP+ABL
26 mortuo dead body ABL.SG.M
27 et and CONJ
28 ex from PREP+ABL
29 quo whom ABL.SG.M.REL
30 egreditur goes out 3SG.PRES.DEP.IND
31 semen seed NOM.SG.N
32 quasi as if ADV
33 coitus intercourse NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Subject: Homo — qualified by lineage phrase de semine Aaron
Relative Description: qui fuerit leprosus aut patiens fluxum seminis — defining ritual condition

Main Prohibition: non vescetur — future legal restriction
Partitive Phrase: de his quæ sanctificata sunt mihi — sacred items concerned
Temporal Limit: donec sanetur — condition for restoration

New Relative Clause: Qui tetigerit immundum super mortuo — first case of impurity
Coordinated Description: et ex quo egreditur semen quasi coitus — second case of impurity

Morphology

  1. Homo — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: subject of the legal statement; Translation: “man”; Notes: Used generically for any male individual.
  2. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: indicates origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Marks lineage source.
  3. semine — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative neuter singular; Function: object of de; Translation: “seed”; Notes: Denotes genealogical descent.
  4. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine indeclinable; Function: specifies the lineage; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: High-priestly ancestor.
  5. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: introduces defining clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Restricts the subject.
  6. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: describes qualifying condition; Translation: “has been”; Notes: Subjunctive typical in legal-relative clauses.
  7. leprosus — Lemma: leprosus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “leprous”; Notes: Ritual skin condition.
  8. aut — Lemma: aut; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: presents alternative; Translation: “or”; Notes: Disjunctive connector.
  9. patiens — Lemma: patior; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: present active participle nominative masculine singular; Function: describes ongoing condition; Translation: “suffering”; Notes: Expresses continuous state.
  10. fluxum — Lemma: fluxus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: object of patiens; Translation: “flow”; Notes: Technical term for discharge.
  11. seminis — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive neuter singular; Function: specifies the flow; Translation: “of seed”; Notes: Ritual impurity category.
  12. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates the verb; Translation: “not”; Notes: Governs the prohibition.
  13. vescetur — Lemma: vescor; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent); Form: third person singular future indicative; Function: states legal consequence; Translation: “shall eat”; Notes: Deponent with active meaning.
  14. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: partitive relation; Translation: “of”; Notes: Indicates consumption from a set.
  15. his — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: ablative neuter plural; Function: object of de; Translation: “these things”; Notes: Sacred offerings.
  16. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative neuter plural; Function: introduces description; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to his.
  17. sanctificata — Lemma: sanctifico; Part of Speech: Verb (participle); Form: perfect passive participle nominative neuter plural; Function: describes sacred status; Translation: “sanctified”; Notes: Indicates ritual consecration.
  18. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: completes passive phrase; Translation: “are”; Notes: Copular use.
  19. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: dative of reference; Translation: “to me”; Notes: Centers holiness on the LORD.
  20. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal limit; Translation: “until”; Notes: Requires subjunctive.
  21. sanetur — Lemma: sano; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular present passive subjunctive; Function: condition for restoration; Translation: “he is healed”; Notes: Passive reflects received cleansing.
  22. Qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: begins new qualifying clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Introduces additional impurity cases.
  23. tetigerit — Lemma: tango; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular perfect active subjunctive; Function: conditional action; Translation: “has touched”; Notes: Touch conveys impurity.
  24. immundum — Lemma: immundus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “unclean”; Notes: Ritual impurity state.
  25. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: expresses relation; Translation: “over”; Notes: Here indicates contact with a corpse.
  26. mortuo — Lemma: mortuus; Part of Speech: Noun (adjectival); Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: object of super; Translation: “dead body”; Notes: Source of highest impurity.
  27. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Adds further condition.
  28. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: indicates source; Translation: “from”; Notes: Marks bodily origin.
  29. quo — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: refers back to the man; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Connects condition to subject.
  30. egreditur — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: Verb (deponent); Form: third person singular present indicative; Function: states ongoing action; Translation: “goes out”; Notes: Deponent with active sense.
  31. semen — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative neuter singular; Function: subject of egreditur; Translation: “seed”; Notes: Seminal discharge.
  32. quasi — Lemma: quasi; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces comparison; Translation: “as if”; Notes: Indicates resemblance.
  33. coitus — Lemma: coitus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative masculine singular; Function: term of comparison; Translation: “intercourse”; Notes: Technical term for sexual emission.

 

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.