Numeri 32:28 (Numbers 32:28)

Posted on May 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 32:28 Præcepit ergo Moyses Eleazaro sacerdoti, et Iosue filio Nun, et principibus familiarum per tribus Israel, et dixit ad eos:

Therefore Moyses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Josue the son of Nun, and the chiefs of the families throughout the tribes of Israel, and said to them:

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Præcepit commanded 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ergo therefore ADV.INVAR
3 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
4 Eleazaro Eleazar DAT.SG.M.IOBJ
5 sacerdoti the priest DAT.SG.M.APPOS
6 et and CONJ.INVAR
7 Iosue Joshua DAT.SG.M.IOBJ
8 filio the son DAT.SG.M.APPOS
9 Nun of Nun INDECL
10 et and CONJ.INVAR
11 principibus to the chiefs DAT.PL.M.IOBJ
12 familiarum of the families GEN.PL.F
13 per throughout PREP+ACC
14 tribus the tribes ACC.PL.F
15 Israel of Israel INDECL
16 et and CONJ.INVAR
17 dixit said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
18 ad to PREP+ACC
19 eos them ACC.PL.M.PERS

Syntax

Main Clause: Præcepit ergo Moyses introduces Moyses’ formal instruction following the agreement with the sons of Gad and Ruben. Moyses is the subject, Præcepit is the main verb, and ergo marks the instruction as a consequence of the preceding agreement.

Indirect Objects: Eleazaro sacerdoti, Iosue filio Nun, and principibus familiarum identify those to whom Moyses gives the instruction. sacerdoti stands in apposition to Eleazaro, while filio stands in apposition to Iosue.

Genitival Phrase: familiarum depends on principibus, specifying them as chiefs “of the families.”

Prepositional Phrase: per tribus Israel further identifies the distribution of the family chiefs throughout the tribes of Israel. per governs the accusative plural tribus.

Coordinated Clause: et dixit ad eos introduces the direct speech that follows. The understood subject of dixit remains Moyses, while ad eos identifies the persons addressed.

Morphology

  1. Præcepit — Lemma: præcipio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, perfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Main verb governing the recipients of Moyses’ instruction; Translation: “commanded”; Notes: It introduces the formal instruction by which Moyses communicates the terms of the agreement to Israel’s other leaders.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable inferential adverb; Function: Modifies Præcepit; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: It presents Moyses’ instruction as the consequence of the promise just confirmed by Gad and Ruben.
  3. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of Præcepit and dixit; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: He now communicates the agreed conditions to the leaders who will be responsible for their implementation.
  4. Eleazaro — Lemma: Eleazar; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Dative singular masculine; Function: Indirect object of Præcepit; Translation: “Eleazar”; Notes: The nominative form of the proper name is used in the English translation, while the Latin dative marks him as a recipient of the instruction.
  5. sacerdoti — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Apposition to Eleazaro; Translation: “the priest”; Notes: The title identifies Eleazar’s priestly office and agrees with his name in case and number.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects the recipients of Præcepit; Translation: “and”; Notes: It adds Josue to those receiving Moyses’ instruction.
  7. Iosue — Lemma: Iosue; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Dative singular masculine; Function: Indirect object of Præcepit; Translation: “Josue”; Notes: The context and accompanying dative filio establish its syntactic role as another recipient of the command.
  8. filio — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Apposition to Iosue; Translation: “the son”; Notes: It identifies Josue through his paternal relationship to Nun.
  9. Nun — Lemma: Nun; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Genitival specification dependent on filio; Translation: “of Nun”; Notes: The indeclinable proper name identifies the father of Josue.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Adds principibus familiarum to the recipients; Translation: “and”; Notes: It extends the instruction beyond Eleazar and Josue to the tribal family leaders.
  11. principibus — Lemma: princeps; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Indirect object of Præcepit; Translation: “to the chiefs”; Notes: It denotes the leaders who represent the families within Israel’s tribes.
  12. familiarum — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural feminine, first declension; Function: Genitive dependent on principibus; Translation: “of the families”; Notes: It specifies the social groups over which the principes exercise leadership.
  13. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces per tribus Israel; Translation: “throughout”; Notes: It expresses distribution across the tribes of Israel.
  14. tribus — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural feminine, fourth declension; Function: Object of the preposition per; Translation: “the tribes”; Notes: The form tribus is accusative plural here, as required by per, despite being identical in spelling to other forms of this fourth-declension noun.
  15. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Genitival specification of tribus; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: It identifies the tribes as those belonging to the people of Israel.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects dixit with the preceding action; Translation: “and”; Notes: It moves from the fact of Moyses’ command to the words with which he states its terms.
  17. dixit — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, perfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Coordinated narrative verb with Moyses as its understood subject; Translation: “said”; Notes: It introduces the direct speech addressed to the assembled leaders.
  18. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces ad eos; Translation: “to”; Notes: With the verb of speaking, it marks those toward whom Moyses directs his words.
  19. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Object of the preposition ad; Translation: “them”; Notes: It refers collectively to Eleazar, Josue, and the chiefs of Israel’s families.

 

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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