Leviticus 27:5

Posted on April 27, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 27:5 A quinto autem anno usque ad vigesimum, masculus dabit viginti siclos: femina decem.

But from the fifth year up to the twentieth, a male will give twenty shekels: a female, ten.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 A from PREP+ABL
2 quinto fifth ABL.SG.M
3 autem however ADV
4 anno year ABL.SG.M
5 usque up to ADV
6 ad to PREP+ACC
7 vigesimum twentieth ACC.SG.M
8 masculus male NOM.SG.M
9 dabit will give 3SG.FUT.IND.ACT
10 viginti twenty INDECL.NUM
11 siclos shekels ACC.PL.M
12 femina female NOM.SG.F
13 decem ten INDECL.NUM

Syntax

Age Range Phrase: A quinto anno — ablative of starting point (“from the fifth year”)
Adversative Particle: autem — marks a new bracket within the valuation system
Limit Phrase: usque ad vigesimum — endpoint of the age range

Main Clause 1: masculus (Subject) + dabit (Verb) + viginti siclos (Direct object)

Elliptical Clause 2: femina (Subject) + implied dabit + decem (Direct object)

The second clause omits the repeated verb and object noun, relying on parallelism with the preceding structure.

Morphology

  1. A — Lemma: a; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: preposition governing the ablative; Function: marks the beginning of the age range; Translation: from; Notes: With temporal nouns, a introduces the lower boundary of a legal valuation bracket.
  2. quinto — Lemma: quintus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ordinal adjective, ablative singular masculine; Function: modifies anno; Translation: fifth; Notes: The ordinal defines the precise starting threshold for the assessment.
  3. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: invariable; Function: transitional particle contrasting with the previous age bracket; Translation: however; Notes: autem signals progression to a new category without interrupting narrative flow.
  4. anno — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: object of a; Translation: year; Notes: The singular temporal noun with an ordinal expresses age measured from a specific completed year.
  5. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: invariable; Function: intensifies the upper limit phrase; Translation: up to; Notes: Often paired with ad to create a complete bounded interval.
  6. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces the upper boundary; Translation: to; Notes: Establishes the terminal point of the valuation range.
  7. vigesimum — Lemma: vicesimus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ordinal adjective, accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies an implied annum; Translation: twentieth; Notes: The noun annum is understood from context, a common elliptical construction.
  8. masculus — Lemma: masculus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: subject of dabit; Translation: male; Notes: Continues the sex-based classification for financial valuation.
  9. dabit — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third person singular, future indicative active; Function: states the required payment; Translation: will give; Notes: The future indicative expresses statutory obligation within the sanctuary system.
  10. viginti — Lemma: viginti; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: quantifies siclos; Translation: twenty; Notes: As indeclinable, it depends syntactically on its accompanying noun.
  11. siclos — Lemma: siclus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural masculine, second declension; Function: direct object of dabit; Translation: shekels; Notes: Denotes the monetary unit tied to sanctuary valuation standards.
  12. femina — Lemma: femina; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular feminine, first declension; Function: subject of the implied verb dabit; Translation: female; Notes: Parallel to masculus, forming a balanced legal distinction.
  13. decem — Lemma: decem; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: implied direct object of the understood dabit; Translation: ten; Notes: The ellipsis depends on structural parallelism, indicating ten shekels under the same measure.

 

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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