Leviticus 27:2

Posted on April 27, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

2 Loquere filiis Israel, et dices ad eos: Homo qui votum fecerit, et spoponderit Deo animam suam, sub æstimatione dabit pretium.

“Speak to the sons of Israel, and you will say to them: ‘A man who will have made a vow and will have promised to God his own life, under valuation he will give a price.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Loquere speak 2SG.PRES.IMP.MOOD.ACT
2 filiis to the sons DAT.PL.M
3 Israel of Israel INDECL
4 et and CONJ
5 dices you will say 2SG.FUT.IND.ACT
6 ad to PREP+ACC
7 eos them ACC.PL.M.PRON.PERS
8 Homo a man NOM.SG.M
9 qui who REL.NOM.SG.M
10 votum a vow ACC.SG.N
11 fecerit will have made 3SG.FUTP.IND.ACT
12 et and CONJ
13 spoponderit will have promised 3SG.FUTP.IND.ACT
14 Deo to God DAT.SG.M
15 animam life / soul ACC.SG.F
16 suam his own ACC.SG.F.PRON.POSS
17 sub under PREP+ABL
18 æstimatione valuation ABL.SG.F
19 dabit will give 3SG.FUT.IND.ACT
20 pretium a price ACC.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Loquere (Verb, command) + filiis (Indirect object) + Israel (Genitival specification by name)
Main Clause 2: dices (Verb, future instruction) + ad eos (Prepositional phrase marking addressees)
Stated Case / Legal Subject: Homo (Subject) + dabit (Verb) + pretium (Direct object)
Relative Clause Modifying Homo: qui (Clause introducer) + votum (Direct object) + fecerit (Verb) + spoponderit (Coordinated verb) + Deo (Indirect object) + animam suam (Direct object with possessive)
Prepositional Modifier of dabit: sub æstimatione — circumstantial phrase expressing evaluation basis

Morphology

  1. Loquere — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person singular, present imperative, deponent; Function: command directed to the speaker’s intermediary; Translation: speak; Notes: Though deponent in form, loquor carries active meaning and regularly governs a dative of person addressed.
  2. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: dative plural masculine, second declension; Function: indirect object of Loquere, marking those addressed; Translation: to the sons; Notes: The dative after verbs of speaking is idiomatic, giving a direct and personal target for the command.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper Noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: specifies whose sons are meant, by name; Translation: of Israel; Notes: As an indeclinable name, Israel relies on context and proximity for its syntactic relation.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates the second instruction with the first; Translation: and; Notes: The conjunction keeps the sequence tight: first speak, then deliver the formal wording.
  5. dices — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person singular, future indicative active; Function: future directive describing what must be said; Translation: you will say; Notes: The future here has prescriptive force, functioning as a legal instruction rather than mere prediction.
  6. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces the addressees of the statement; Translation: to; Notes: With persons, ad marks directed speech toward a group.
  7. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine, personal demonstrative; Function: object of ad, referring back to the sons of Israel; Translation: them; Notes: The pronoun tightens cohesion by pointing back to the immediate audience without repeating filiis.
  8. Homo — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, third declension; Function: subject for the case-rule that follows; Translation: a man; Notes: In legal style, Homo introduces a general category: any person meeting the stated condition.
  9. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine, relative; Function: introduces the defining relative clause about Homo; Translation: who; Notes: The relative clause restricts the category, narrowing it to vow-makers.
  10. votum — Lemma: votum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, second declension; Function: direct object of fecerit; Translation: a vow; Notes: votum is a concrete act of dedication, not merely a spoken intention.
  11. fecerit — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular, future perfect indicative active; Function: verb of the relative clause, expressing a completed condition prior to the obligation; Translation: will have made; Notes: The future perfect frames the vow as antecedent: once the vow is made, the stated requirement follows.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates two qualifying actions in the relative clause; Translation: and; Notes: The coordination treats the two verbs as a paired description of the same committed act.
  13. spoponderit — Lemma: spondeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular, future perfect indicative active; Function: second verb of the relative clause; Translation: will have promised; Notes: spondeo is a formal verb of binding commitment, fitting covenantal and legal speech.
  14. Deo — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: dative singular masculine, second declension; Function: indirect object of spoponderit, marking the recipient of the promise; Translation: to God; Notes: The dative highlights direction of obligation: the commitment is rendered God-ward rather than merely social.
  15. animam — Lemma: anima; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, first declension; Function: direct object of spoponderit; Translation: life / soul; Notes: anima can denote life as lived, or the inner self; the legal force is total personal dedication.
  16. suam — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine, possessive; Function: modifies animam with reflexive possession; Translation: his own; Notes: The reflexive possessive ties the vowed life back to the subject Homo, excluding any substitute referent.
  17. sub — Lemma: sub; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: preposition governing the ablative; Function: introduces the evaluative basis for the payment; Translation: under; Notes: With the ablative, sub commonly signals a governing condition or framework rather than physical position.
  18. æstimatione — Lemma: æstimatio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: object of sub, expressing valuation as the determining standard; Translation: valuation; Notes: The ablative here points to an assessed value, implying an established scale rather than an arbitrary price.
  19. dabit — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular, future indicative active; Function: main verb of the rule, stating the required action; Translation: will give; Notes: The future indicative functions as an enforceable requirement: the giving is obligatory once the condition is met.
  20. pretium — Lemma: pretium; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, second declension; Function: direct object of dabit; Translation: a price; Notes: pretium emphasizes a concrete assessed amount, matching the framework introduced by sub æstimatione.

 

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.