Numeri 32:13 (Numbers 32:13)

Posted on May 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 32:13 Iratusque Dominus adversum Israel, circumduxit eum per desertum quadraginta annis, donec consumeretur universa generatio, quæ fecerat malum in conspectu eius.

And the LORD, being angry with Israel, led them about through the wilderness for forty years, until the entire generation that had done evil in his sight was consumed.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Iratusque and being angry NOM.SG.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
2 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
3 adversum against PREP+ACC
4 Israel Israel ACC.SG.M.INDECL
5 circumduxit led about 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
6 eum them ACC.SG.M.PERS.OBJ
7 per through PREP+ACC
8 desertum the wilderness ACC.SG.N
9 quadraginta forty ADJ.INDECL
10 annis years ABL.PL.M
11 donec until CONJ.INVAR
12 consumeretur was consumed 3SG.IMPF.PASS.SUBJ
13 universa entire NOM.SG.F
14 generatio generation NOM.SG.F
15 quæ which NOM.SG.F.REL
16 fecerat had done 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
17 malum evil ACC.SG.N.OBJ
18 in in PREP+ABL
19 conspectu the sight ABL.SG.M
20 eius of him GEN.SG.M.PERS

Syntax

Main Clause: Dominus … circumduxit eum per desertum quadraginta annis is the principal clause. Dominus is the subject, circumduxit is the verb, and eum is the direct object referring collectively to Israel.

Circumstantial Participle: Iratusque agrees with Dominus and describes the LORD as being angry when he led Israel through the wilderness. The enclitic -que connects this consequence with the preceding account of Israel’s disobedience.

Prepositional Phrase: adversum Israel depends on Iratusque and identifies Israel as the object of the LORD’s anger.

Prepositional Phrase: per desertum modifies circumduxit and describes the territory through which the LORD led Israel.

Expression of Duration: quadraginta annis is an ablative of time during which, specifying that the wandering continued for forty years.

Temporal Clause: donec consumeretur universa generatio marks the endpoint of the wilderness wandering. universa generatio is the subject of the imperfect passive subjunctive consumeretur.

Relative Clause: quæ fecerat malum in conspectu eius modifies generatio. The relative pronoun quæ is the subject of fecerat, while malum is its direct object.

Prepositional Phrase: in conspectu eius modifies fecerat and means that the generation had committed evil in the LORD’s sight.

Morphology

  1. Iratusque — Lemma: irascor; Part of Speech: Perfect participle of a deponent verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: Nominative singular masculine, perfect deponent participle, third conjugation, with enclitic -que; Function: Circumstantial participle modifying Dominus; Translation: “and being angry”; Notes: Although passive in form, it has active meaning because irascor is deponent, while -que links the divine anger to the preceding disobedience.
  2. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Subject of circumduxit; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: Refers to YHWH as the one who imposed the wilderness wandering.
  3. adversum — Lemma: adversum; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces adversum Israel; Translation: “against”; Notes: It identifies the people toward whom the LORD’s anger was directed.
  4. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, indeclinable; Function: Object of the preposition adversum; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: The singular name refers collectively to the whole people.
  5. circumduxit — Lemma: circumduco; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, perfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Main verb of the sentence; Translation: “led about”; Notes: The compound verb describes Israel’s prolonged wandering through the wilderness.
  6. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: Accusative singular masculine; Function: Direct object of circumduxit; Translation: “them”; Notes: Grammatically singular, it refers collectively to Israel and is naturally rendered by the plural pronoun in English.
  7. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces per desertum; Translation: “through”; Notes: It expresses movement throughout the wilderness region.
  8. desertum — Lemma: desertum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter, second declension; Function: Object of the preposition per; Translation: “the wilderness”; Notes: It denotes the uncultivated region through which Israel wandered.
  9. quadraginta — Lemma: quadraginta; Part of Speech: Cardinal numeral adjective; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Modifies annis; Translation: “forty”; Notes: It specifies the duration of Israel’s wandering.
  10. annis — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural masculine, second declension; Function: Ablative of duration of time; Translation: “years”; Notes: The ablative expresses the period during which Israel was led through the wilderness.
  11. donec — Lemma: donec; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable subordinating conjunction; Function: Introduces the temporal clause; Translation: “until”; Notes: It marks the disappearance of the disobedient generation as the endpoint of the wandering.
  12. consumeretur — Lemma: consumo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, imperfect passive subjunctive, third conjugation; Function: Verb of the temporal clause; Translation: “was consumed”; Notes: The imperfect subjunctive presents the generation’s gradual disappearance as the awaited endpoint.
  13. universa — Lemma: universus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular feminine, positive degree, first and second declension; Function: Modifier of generatio; Translation: “entire”; Notes: It emphasizes that the whole guilty generation was included in the judgment.
  14. generatio — Lemma: generatio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine, third declension; Function: Subject of consumeretur; Translation: “generation”; Notes: It refers to the adult generation that had refused to enter the promised land.
  15. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Subject of fecerat; Translation: “which”; Notes: It refers back to the feminine singular antecedent generatio.
  16. fecerat — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, pluperfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had done”; Notes: The pluperfect places the generation’s wrongdoing before its destruction in the wilderness.
  17. malum — Lemma: malum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter, second declension; Function: Direct object of fecerat; Translation: “evil”; Notes: It refers to the generation’s unbelief and disobedience toward the LORD.
  18. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces in conspectu eius; Translation: “in”; Notes: It forms the idiomatic expression “in the sight of.”
  19. conspectu — Lemma: conspectus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine, fourth declension; Function: Object of the preposition in; Translation: “the sight”; Notes: It emphasizes that the wrongdoing was committed openly before the LORD.
  20. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: Genitive singular masculine; Function: Genitive modifying conspectu; Translation: “of him”; Notes: It refers to the LORD and completes the expression “in his sight.”

 

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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