Numeri 24:24 (Numbers 24:24)

Posted on May 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 24:24 Venient in trieribus de Italia, superabunt Assyrios, vastabuntque Hebræos, et ad extremum etiam ipsi peribunt.

They shall come in triremes from Italia, they shall overcome the Assyrians, and they shall destroy the Hebrews, and at the end even they themselves shall perish.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Venient they shall come 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
2 in in PREP+ABL
3 trieribus triremes ABL.PL.F
4 de from PREP+ABL
5 Italia Italy [Kittim; Cyprus] ABL.SG.F
6 superabunt they shall overcome 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
7 Assyrios Assyrians ACC.PL.M
8 vastabuntque and they shall destroy 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
9 Hebræos Hebrews [Eber] ACC.PL.M
10 et and CONJ
11 ad to PREP+ACC
12 extremum the end ACC.SG.N
13 etiam even ADV
14 ipsi they themselves NOM.PL.M
15 peribunt shall perish 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Venient in trieribus de Italia predicts the arrival of invading forces by sea from Italia.

Prepositional Phrases: in trieribus describes the means of arrival, while de Italia identifies the place of origin.

Coordinated Military Clause: superabunt Assyrios foretells victory over the Assyrians.

Coordinated Destruction Clause: vastabuntque Hebræos adds destruction directed toward the Hebrews.

Temporal Phrase: ad extremum marks the final outcome of the invading power.

Final Clause: etiam ipsi peribunt announces that the conquerors themselves will ultimately perish.

Emphatic Pronoun: ipsi emphasizes the ironic reversal that the victors themselves will face destruction.

Morphology

  1. Venient — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural future active indicative; Function: Main verb of prophetic clause; Translation: “they shall come”; Notes: Predicts the arrival of future invaders.
  2. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Preposition governing ablative; Function: Introduces means or circumstance phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: Indicates transportation or instrumentality.
  3. trieribus — Lemma: trieris; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural feminine third declension; Function: Object of in; Translation: “triremes”; Notes: Refers to warships with three rows of oars.
  4. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Preposition governing ablative; Function: Introduces source phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates geographical origin.
  5. Italia — Lemma: Italia; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine first declension; Function: Object of de; Translation: “Italia”; Notes: Refers to the Italian peninsula.
  6. superabunt — Lemma: supero; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural future active indicative; Function: Main verb of conquest clause; Translation: “they shall overcome”; Notes: Expresses military victory or domination.
  7. Assyrios — Lemma: Assyrius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine second declension; Function: Direct object of superabunt; Translation: “Assyrians”; Notes: Refers to the Assyrian people or empire.
  8. vastabuntque — Lemma: vasto; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural future active indicative with enclitic conjunction; Function: Main verb of coordinated clause; Translation: “and they shall destroy”; Notes: The enclitic -que closely links this action with the previous conquest.
  9. Hebræos — Lemma: Hebræus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine second declension; Function: Direct object of vastabuntque; Translation: “Hebrews”; Notes: Refers to the Hebrew people.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects final outcome clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues the prophetic sequence.
  11. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Preposition governing accusative; Function: Introduces temporal expression; Translation: “to”; Notes: Indicates progression toward an endpoint.
  12. extremum — Lemma: extremum; Part of Speech: Noun used substantivally; Form: Accusative singular neuter; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “the end”; Notes: Refers to the final outcome or conclusion.
  13. etiam — Lemma: etiam; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable adverb; Function: Modifies ipsi; Translation: “even”; Notes: Intensifies the unexpected reversal.
  14. ipsi — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: Intensive pronoun; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject of peribunt; Translation: “they themselves”; Notes: Emphasizes that the conquerors will not escape judgment.
  15. peribunt — Lemma: pereo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural future active indicative; Function: Main verb of final clause; Translation: “shall perish”; Notes: Predicts ultimate destruction despite temporary success.

 

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 Numeri. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.