Numeri 33:9 (Numbers 33:9)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

9 Profectique de Mara venerunt in Elim, ubi erant duodecim fontes aquarum, et palmæ septuaginta: ibique castrametati sunt.

And setting out from Mara, they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees: and there they encamped.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Profectique and setting out NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 Mara Marah ABL.SG.F
4 venerunt they came 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
5 in to PREP+ACC
6 Elim Elim INDECL
7 ubi where ADV.INVAR
8 erant there were 3PL.IMP.ACT.IND
9 duodecim twelve ADJ.INDECL
10 fontes springs NOM.PL.M
11 aquarum of water GEN.PL.F
12 et and CONJ.INVAR
13 palmæ palm trees NOM.PL.F
14 septuaginta seventy ADJ.INDECL
15 ibique and there ADV.INVAR
16 castrametati encamped NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
17 sunt they encamped 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Profectique de Mara venerunt in Elim continues the itinerary of the sons of Israel. The subject is understood from the preceding context. Profectique is a perfect deponent participle with enclitic -que, and venerunt is the finite main verb.

Place of Departure: de Mara identifies Mara as the point of departure. de governs the ablative Mara.

Destination: in Elim expresses movement toward Elim. in has directional force and governs the indeclinable place-name Elim with accusative function.

Locative Clause: ubi erant duodecim fontes aquarum, et palmæ septuaginta describes Elim. ubi means “where” and introduces the description of what was present there. fontes and palmæ are coordinated nominative plural subjects of erant.

Genitive Phrase: fontes aquarum means “springs of water.” aquarum is a genitive plural dependent on fontes, specifying the contents or nature of the springs.

Numerical Expressions: duodecim fontes and palmæ septuaginta enumerate the natural resources at Elim: twelve springs and seventy palm trees.

Coordinated Main Clause: ibique castrametati sunt concludes this stage of the itinerary. ibique means “and there,” referring back to Elim, while castrametati sunt is a perfect deponent construction meaning “they encamped.”

Morphology

  1. Profectique — Lemma: proficiscor; Part of Speech: Perfect participle of a deponent verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: Nominative plural masculine, perfect deponent participle, third conjugation, with enclitic -que; Function: Circumstantial participle agreeing with the understood subject, the sons of Israel; Translation: “and setting out”; Notes: proficiscor is deponent and therefore has active meaning despite its passive morphology; the attached -que connects this departure with the preceding itinerary.
  2. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place of departure; Translation: “from”; Notes: It marks Mara as the location from which the Israelites departed.
  3. Mara — Lemma: Mara; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Object of de; Translation: “Mara”; Notes: Mara was the preceding station and now functions as the starting point for the journey to Elim.
  4. venerunt — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, perfect active indicative, fourth conjugation; Function: Main verb with the sons of Israel understood as subject; Translation: “they came”; Notes: The perfect tense presents their arrival at Elim as a completed stage of the journey.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the destination Elim; Translation: “to”; Notes: With a verb of movement, in has directional force and indicates movement toward the destination.
  6. Elim — Lemma: Elim; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as accusative after in; Function: Complement of in and destination of venerunt; Translation: “Elim”; Notes: The location is immediately characterized by its twelve springs and seventy palm trees.
  7. ubi — Lemma: ubi; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable relative adverb of place; Function: Introduces the locative clause describing Elim; Translation: “where”; Notes: It refers back to Elim and introduces a description of the features found there.
  8. erant — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, imperfect active indicative, irregular; Function: Verb of the locative clause, with fontes and palmæ as coordinated subjects; Translation: “there were”; Notes: The imperfect describes the springs and palm trees as existing at Elim when the Israelites arrived.
  9. duodecim — Lemma: duodecim; Part of Speech: Numeral adjective; Form: Indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: Modifies fontes; Translation: “twelve”; Notes: It gives the precise number of springs present at Elim.
  10. fontes — Lemma: fons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Subject of erant, coordinated with palmæ; Translation: “springs”; Notes: The noun denotes natural sources or springs of water and identifies one of Elim’s notable features.
  11. aquarum — Lemma: aqua; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural feminine, first declension; Function: Genitive modifying fontes; Translation: “of water”; Notes: The genitive specifies the substance associated with the springs and forms the natural expression “springs of water.”
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Coordinates palmæ septuaginta with duodecim fontes aquarum; Translation: “and”; Notes: It joins the two features used to characterize Elim.
  13. palmæ — Lemma: palma; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural feminine, first declension; Function: Coordinated subject of erant; Translation: “palm trees”; Notes: In this geographical description, palma denotes the palm tree rather than the palm of the hand.
  14. septuaginta — Lemma: septuaginta; Part of Speech: Numeral adjective; Form: Indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: Modifies palmæ; Translation: “seventy”; Notes: It specifies the number of palm trees present at Elim.
  15. ibique — Lemma: ibi; Part of Speech: Adverb with enclitic conjunction; Form: Invariable adverb of place with enclitic -que; Function: Modifies castrametati sunt and connects the encampment with the preceding description; Translation: “and there”; Notes: ibi refers directly back to Elim, while attached -que links the encampment to the preceding clause.
  16. castrametati — Lemma: castrametor; Part of Speech: Perfect participle of a deponent verb; Form: Nominative plural masculine, perfect deponent participle, first conjugation; Function: Forms the perfect deponent construction castrametati sunt and agrees with the understood subject, the sons of Israel; Translation: “encamped”; Notes: The deponent verb means to pitch or establish a camp and has active meaning despite its passive morphological form.
  17. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, present active indicative, irregular; Function: Auxiliary completing the perfect deponent construction castrametati sunt; Translation: “they encamped”; Notes: With castrametati, it forms the perfect tense and describes the completed act of establishing camp at Elim.

 

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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