Numeri 22:39 (Numbers 22:39)

Posted on May 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 22:39 Perrexerunt ergo simul, et venerunt in urbem, quæ in extremis regni eius finibus erat.

Therefore they proceeded together, and they came into the city which was at the furthest borders of his kingdom.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Perrexerunt they proceeded 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ergo therefore ADV
3 simul together ADV
4 et and CONJ
5 venerunt they came 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
6 in into PREP+ACC
7 urbem the city ACC.SG.F
8 quæ which NOM.SG.F.REL
9 in at PREP+ABL
10 extremis furthest ABL.PL.M
11 regni of the kingdom GEN.SG.N
12 eius his GEN.SG
13 finibus borders ABL.PL.M
14 erat was 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Perrexerunt ergo simul — narrative clause describing Balaam and Balac proceeding together.

Adverbial Modifiers: ergo and simul — modify Perrexerunt, indicating logical continuation and joint movement.

Coordinate Clause: et venerunt in urbem — second narrative action describing arrival at the city.

Prepositional Phrase: in urbem — expresses motion into the city.

Relative Clause: quæ in extremis regni eius finibus erat — modifies urbem, describing the city’s location.

Locational Phrase: in extremis regni eius finibus — indicates geographical position at the outer boundaries of the kingdom.

Morphology

  1. Perrexerunt — Lemma: pergo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of narrative clause; Translation: “they proceeded”; Notes: describes continued movement on the journey.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: modifies Perrexerunt; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: marks logical continuation from previous events.
  3. simul — Lemma: simul; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: modifies Perrexerunt; Translation: “together”; Notes: emphasizes joint travel.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins coordinate clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: links sequential actions.
  5. venerunt — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of coordinate clause; Translation: “they came”; Notes: refers to completed arrival.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates motion toward; Translation: “into”; Notes: expresses entrance into the city.
  7. urbem — Lemma: urbs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, 3rd declension; Function: object of in; Translation: “the city”; Notes: destination of Balaam and Balac.
  8. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of erat; Translation: “which”; Notes: refers back to urbem.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces locational phrase; Translation: “at”; Notes: expresses fixed geographical position.
  10. extremis — Lemma: extremus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative plural masculine superlative degree; Function: modifies finibus; Translation: “furthest”; Notes: denotes outermost boundaries.
  11. regni — Lemma: regnum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter, 2nd declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying finibus; Translation: “of the kingdom”; Notes: identifies the territorial domain.
  12. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive modifier of regni; Translation: “his”; Notes: refers to Balac’s kingdom.
  13. finibus — Lemma: finis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, 3rd declension; Function: object of in; Translation: “borders”; Notes: refers to territorial boundaries.
  14. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular imperfect active indicative; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “was”; Notes: describes the city’s continuing location in past narrative context.

 

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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