Numeri 32:26 (Numbers 32:26)

Posted on May 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 32:26 Parvulos nostros, et mulieres, et pecora, ac iumenta relinquemus in urbibus Galaad:

We will leave our little ones, and the women, and the livestock, and the beasts in the cities of Galaad;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Parvulos little ones ACC.PL.M.OBJ
2 nostros our ACC.PL.M.POSS
3 et and CONJ.INVAR
4 mulieres women ACC.PL.F.OBJ
5 et and CONJ.INVAR
6 pecora livestock ACC.PL.N.OBJ
7 ac and CONJ.INVAR
8 iumenta beasts ACC.PL.N.OBJ
9 relinquemus we will leave 1PL.FUT.ACT.IND
10 in in PREP+ABL
11 urbibus cities ABL.PL.F
12 Galaad of Gilead INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: Parvulos nostros, et mulieres, et pecora, ac iumenta relinquemus states what the sons of Gad and Ruben will leave behind while they go to battle. The subject is contained in the first-person plural ending of relinquemus, meaning “we.”

Direct Objects: Parvulos nostros, mulieres, pecora, and iumenta are coordinated direct objects of relinquemus. They identify the people and animals that will remain behind.

Possessive Phrase: Parvulos nostros means “our little ones.” The possessive adjective nostros agrees with the substantivally used adjective Parvulos in case, number, and gender.

Prepositional Phrase: in urbibus Galaad modifies relinquemus and specifies where the families and livestock will remain. in governs the ablative urbibus because it expresses location rather than motion.

Genitival Specification: Galaad is an indeclinable proper name associated with urbibus, giving the sense “the cities of Galaad.”

Morphology

  1. Parvulos — Lemma: parvulus; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantivally; Form: Accusative plural masculine, positive degree; Function: Direct object of relinquemus; Translation: “little ones”; Notes: Used substantivally, it refers to the children and young dependants of the tribes.
  2. nostros — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Accusative plural masculine, positive degree; Function: Modifier of Parvulos; Translation: “our”; Notes: It identifies the little ones as belonging to the speakers and agrees with Parvulos.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects Parvulos nostros with mulieres; Translation: “and”; Notes: It begins the enumeration of those who will remain in Galaad.
  4. mulieres — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural feminine, third declension; Function: Direct object of relinquemus; Translation: “women”; Notes: The women are included among those who will remain in the protected settlements while the fighting men depart.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects mulieres with pecora; Translation: “and”; Notes: It continues the coordinated list of direct objects.
  6. pecora — Lemma: pecus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural neuter, third declension; Function: Direct object of relinquemus; Translation: “livestock”; Notes: It denotes the herds and livestock whose abundance had originally motivated the request for territory in this region.
  7. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects pecora with iumenta; Translation: “and”; Notes: A form of coordinating conjunction closely equivalent to atque, it joins the final two categories of animals.
  8. iumenta — Lemma: iumentum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural neuter, second declension; Function: Direct object of relinquemus; Translation: “beasts”; Notes: It refers especially to domestic animals and beasts of burden belonging to the tribes.
  9. relinquemus — Lemma: relinquo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: First person plural, future active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Main verb of the sentence; Translation: “we will leave”; Notes: The future expresses the speakers’ declared plan to leave their families and animals securely behind while they fulfil their military obligation.
  10. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the locative phrase in urbibus Galaad; Translation: “in”; Notes: With the ablative, it denotes the place where the people and livestock will remain.
  11. urbibus — Lemma: urbs; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural feminine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition in; Translation: “cities”; Notes: These are the settlements in which the noncombatants and livestock will remain during the campaign.
  12. Galaad — Lemma: Galaad; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Genitival specification of urbibus; Translation: “of Galaad”; Notes: The proper name identifies the region in which the cities designated for the families and livestock are located.

 

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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