Numeri 34:17 (Numbers 34:17)

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 34:17 Hæc sunt nomina virorum, qui Terram vobis divident, Eleazar sacerdos, et Iosue filius Nun,

“These are the names of the men who shall divide the Land for you: Eleazar the priest, and Josue son of Nun,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Hæc these NOM.PL.N.DEM
2 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
3 nomina the names NOM.PL.N 3RD DECL.PRED
4 virorum of the men GEN.PL.M 2ND DECL
5 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL
6 Terram the Land ACC.SG.F 1ST DECL.OBJ
7 vobis for you DAT.PL.PERS
8 divident shall divide 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND 3RD CONJ
9 Eleazar Eleazar NOM.SG.M INDECL
10 sacerdos the priest NOM.SG.M 3RD DECL.APPOS
11 et and CONJ INVAR
12 Iosue Joshua NOM.SG.M INDECL
13 filius son NOM.SG.M 2ND DECL.APPOS
14 Nun of Nun INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: Hæc sunt nomina virorum means “These are the names of the men.” Hæc is a neuter plural demonstrative functioning as the subject, sunt is the copular verb, and nomina is the predicate nominative. The genitive virorum depends on nomina and identifies whose names are being given.

Relative Clause: qui Terram vobis divident modifies virorum in sense: “who shall divide the Land for you.” Although virorum is genitive in the main clause, qui is nominative plural because it functions as the subject of divident within its own clause.

Direct Object and Dative: Terram is the accusative singular direct object of divident. vobis is a dative of advantage or recipient, indicating that the division of the Land is to be carried out for the Israelites.

Naming Apposition: Eleazar sacerdos, et Iosue filius Nun begins the enumeration of the men whose nomina have just been introduced. Eleazar and Iosue stand as nominative names identifying the men, while sacerdos is in apposition to Eleazar and filius is in apposition to Iosue.

Genealogical Construction: Iosue filius Nun means “Josue son of Nun.” filius identifies Josue’s relationship to Nun, while the indeclinable proper name Nun functions in a genitival sense, “of Nun.”

Morphology

  1. Hæc — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Nominative plural neuter; Function: Subject of sunt; Translation: “these”; Notes: The neuter plural form corresponds conceptually to the predicate nomina, “names,” and introduces the list that follows.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, present active indicative, irregular verb; Function: Copular verb linking Hæc with nomina; Translation: “are”; Notes: The plural verb agrees with the neuter plural demonstrative Hæc and introduces the identification of the named men.
  3. nomina — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural neuter, third declension; Function: Predicate nominative with sunt; Translation: “the names”; Notes: The noun introduces the enumeration beginning with Eleazar and Josue and continuing with further representatives in the following context.
  4. virorum — Lemma: vir; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine, second declension; Function: Genitive dependent on nomina; Translation: “of the men”; Notes: These are specifically the men appointed to carry out the division of the Land.
  5. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject of divident, with virorum as its antecedent in sense; Translation: “who”; Notes: Its nominative case comes from its function inside the relative clause, even though its antecedent virorum is genitive in the main clause.
  6. Terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Direct object of divident; Translation: “the Land”; Notes: The noun refers to the promised territory whose boundaries and tribal allotment have been described in the preceding verses.
  7. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: Dative plural, second person; Function: Dative of advantage or recipient with divident; Translation: “for you”; Notes: The pronoun refers to the Israelites, for whose benefit the appointed men will divide the Land.
  8. divident — Lemma: divido; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, future active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Verb of the relative clause, with qui as subject and Terram as direct object; Translation: “shall divide”; Notes: The future tense describes the forthcoming allocation of the Land among the Israelites.
  9. Eleazar — Lemma: Eleazar; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: First personal name in the enumeration identifying the men introduced by nomina virorum; Translation: “Eleazar”; Notes: The following noun sacerdos stands in apposition and identifies Eleazar by his priestly office.
  10. sacerdos — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Apposition to Eleazar; Translation: “the priest”; Notes: The title identifies Eleazar’s office and distinguishes his role within the group appointed to divide the Land.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable coordinating conjunction; Function: Coordinates Iosue with Eleazar; Translation: “and”; Notes: The conjunction joins the first two named leaders in the list of those responsible for the division of the Land.
  12. Iosue — Lemma: Iosue; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Second personal name in the enumeration; Translation: “Josue”; Notes: The following filius Nun identifies Josue genealogically as the son of Nun.
  13. filius — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Apposition to Iosue; Translation: “son”; Notes: The noun forms a genealogical identification, specifying Josue through his father Nun.
  14. Nun — Lemma: Nun; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Dependent modifier of filius, equivalent in sense to “of Nun”; Translation: “of Nun”; Notes: The genitival relationship is conveyed syntactically because the proper name itself remains indeclinable.

 

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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