Leviticus 24:12

Posted on April 24, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 24:12 Miseruntque eum in carcerem, donec nossent quid iuberet Dominus.

And they put him in custody, until they might know what the LORD would command.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Miseruntque and they put 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
2 eum him ACC.SG.M PRON
3 in into PREP+ACC
4 carcerem custody / prison ACC.SG.M
5 donec until CONJ
6 nossent they might know 3PL.IMP.SUBJ.ACT
7 quid what ACC.SG.N INTERR
8 iuberet he would command 3SG.IMP.SUBJ.ACT
9 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Miseruntque — perfect indicative narrating the community’s immediate response.

Direct Object: eum — the offender placed under restraint.

Locative Goal: in carcerem — accusative with in expressing motion into custody.

Temporal Clause: donec nossent — subjunctive clause indicating a pending determination.

Indirect Question: quid iuberet Dominus — dependent interrogative expressing awaited divine instruction.

Morphology

  1. Miseruntque — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural perfect indicative active with enclitic conjunction; Function: reports the decisive communal action; Translation: and they put; Notes: perfect tense marks a completed, authoritative step.
  2. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: direct object of Miserunt; Translation: him; Notes: refers to the blasphemer previously mentioned.
  3. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the accusative; Function: indicates motion toward confinement; Translation: into; Notes: accusative contrasts with ablative of location.
  4. carcerem — Lemma: carcer; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative masculine singular, third declension; Function: object of in; Translation: custody / prison; Notes: denotes detention pending judgment.
  5. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: temporal conjunction; Function: introduces a clause of waiting; Translation: until; Notes: regularly takes the subjunctive for anticipated outcome.
  6. nossent — Lemma: nosco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural imperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of the donec-clause; Translation: they might know; Notes: expresses uncertainty pending revelation.
  7. quid — Lemma: quis; Part of Speech: interrogative pronoun; Form: accusative neuter singular; Function: introduces an indirect question; Translation: what; Notes: object of iuberet.
  8. iuberet — Lemma: iubeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular imperfect subjunctive active; Function: verb of the indirect question; Translation: he would command; Notes: subjunctive reflects dependence on quid.
  9. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative masculine singular, second declension; Function: subject of iuberet; Translation: the LORD; Notes: rendered “LORD” because it 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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