Numeri 23:15 (Numbers 23:15)

Posted on May 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 23:15 dixit ad Balac: Sta hic iuxta holocaustum tuum, donec ego obvius pergam.

he said to Balac: “Stand here beside your holocaust, until I go forth to meet him.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 dixit he said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ad to PREP+ACC
3 Balac Balak ACC.SG.M.INDECL
4 Sta stand 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
5 hic here ADV
6 iuxta beside PREP+ACC
7 holocaustum holocaust ACC.SG.N.2ND DECL
8 tuum your ACC.SG.N.POSS.PRON
9 donec until CONJ
10 ego I NOM.SG.PERS.PRON
11 obvius to meet NOM.SG.M.POS.ADJ
12 pergam I go forth 1SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Main Narrative Clause: dixit ad Balac introduces Balaam’s speech directed toward Balac.

Imperative Clause: Sta hic iuxta holocaustum tuum commands Balac to remain beside his sacrificial offering.

Locational Phrase: iuxta holocaustum tuum specifies the place where Balac must remain standing.

Temporal Clause: donec ego obvius pergam expresses the duration of Balac’s waiting.

Predicate Adjective Construction: obvius functions predicatively with pergam, conveying the sense “to go to meet.”

Emphatic Subject: ego is explicitly stated for emphasis, highlighting Balaam’s personal action in seeking the encounter.

Morphology

  1. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “he said”; Notes: The perfect tense introduces Balaam’s spoken instruction to Balac.
  2. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces the addressee of the speech; Translation: “to”; Notes: The preposition marks direction toward the listener.
  3. Balac — Lemma: Balac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine indeclinable; Function: object of the preposition ad; Translation: “Balac”; Notes: The indeclinable form depends on syntax and preposition for grammatical role.
  4. Sta — Lemma: sto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active imperative; Function: direct command addressed to Balac; Translation: “stand”; Notes: The imperative orders Balac to remain in position beside the sacrifice.
  5. hic — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable adverb of place; Function: modifies Sta; Translation: “here”; Notes: The adverb fixes the precise place where Balac must remain.
  6. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces the nearby location; Translation: “beside”; Notes: The preposition indicates close physical proximity.
  7. holocaustum — Lemma: holocaustum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter second declension; Function: object of the preposition iuxta; Translation: “holocaust”; Notes: The noun refers to the burnt sacrificial offering.
  8. tuum — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter agreeing with holocaustum; Function: modifies holocaustum; Translation: “your”; Notes: The possessive identifies the offering as belonging to Balac.
  9. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: temporal conjunction; Function: introduces the temporal clause; Translation: “until”; Notes: The conjunction establishes the duration of Balac’s waiting.
  10. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: nominative singular first person; Function: subject of pergam; Translation: “I”; Notes: The explicit pronoun adds emphasis to Balaam’s personal action.
  11. obvius — Lemma: obvius; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine positive adjective; Function: predicate adjective with pergam; Translation: “to meet”; Notes: With verbs of motion, obvius conveys the idea of going out to meet someone.
  12. pergam — Lemma: pergo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb of the temporal clause introduced by donec; Translation: “I go forth”; Notes: The subjunctive expresses anticipated future action within the temporal clause.

 

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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