Numeri 35:2 (Numbers 35:2)

Posted on June 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 35:2 Præcipe filiis Israel ut dent Levitis de possessionibus suis

“Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites from their own possessions

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Præcipe command 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
2 filiis the children DAT.PL.M 2ND DECL
3 Israel of Israel INDECL
4 ut that CONJ.INVAR
5 dent they should give 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
6 Levitis to the Levites DAT.PL.M 2ND DECL.IOBJ
7 de from PREP+ABL
8 possessionibus possessions ABL.PL.F 3RD DECL
9 suis their own POSS.REFL.ABL.PL.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Præcipe filiis Israel is an independent imperative clause in which the LORD commands Moses to issue instructions to the children of Israel. The verb Præcipe expresses a direct command, while filiis Israel identifies the people who are to receive that command.

Implied Subject: The subject of Præcipe is the understood second-person singular pronoun tu, referring to Moses. Latin commonly omits the subject pronoun when the verb ending clearly identifies the person being addressed.

Imperative Verb: Præcipe is the second-person singular present active imperative of præcipio, meaning “command” or “instruct.” It directs Moses to communicate an authoritative instruction to the Israelites.

Recipient of the Command: filiis Israel means “to the children of Israel.” The noun filiis is dative plural and identifies the recipients of the instruction. The indeclinable proper name Israel functions as a dependent genitival modifier, specifying the people descended from Israel.

Subordinate Content Clause: ut dent Levitis de possessionibus suis is a subordinate substantive clause introduced by ut. It expresses the content of the command given through Moses. The construction Præcipe … ut dent means “Command … that they give,” naturally rendered in English as “Command … to give.”

Subjunctive Verb: dent is the third-person plural present active subjunctive of do, meaning “they should give.” The subjunctive expresses the action required by the preceding command. Its implied subject is the children of Israel, who are instructed to provide something from their possessions.

Indirect Object: Levitis is dative plural and functions as the indirect object of dent. It identifies the Levites as the intended recipients of what the Israelites are commanded to give.

Source Phrase: de possessionibus suis means “from their own possessions.” The preposition de governs the ablative plural possessionibus and indicates the source from which the required contribution is to be taken.

Reflexive Possessive Construction: suis is an ablative plural feminine reflexive possessive adjective agreeing with possessionibus. It refers to the possessions belonging to the Israelites, the implied subject of dent. The reflexive form emphasizes that the required contribution must come from their own allotted property.

Clause Function: The sentence introduces the LORD’s instruction concerning provision for the Levites. The main imperative directs Moses to command the Israelites, while the subordinate clause specifies the required action and identifies the Levites as its beneficiaries. The direct object of dent is not expressed in the supplied portion of the verse.

Morphology

  1. Præcipe — Lemma: præcipio, præcipere, præcepi, præceptum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Second-person singular, present tense, active voice, imperative mood, third conjugation in -io; Function: Main verb expressing the LORD’s command to Moses; Translation: “command”; Notes: The imperative directs Moses to communicate an authoritative instruction to the children of Israel. The verb emphasizes the obligation to convey the command rather than merely offering advice.
  2. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative plural masculine, second declension; Function: Indirect object of Præcipe, identifying those who are to receive the command; Translation: “the children”; Notes: The expression filiis Israel is a conventional designation for the Israelites collectively, referring to the covenant people rather than only to individual male descendants.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name, functioning in a genitival relationship; Function: Dependent modifier of filiis, identifying the people to whom the command is addressed; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: The name refers collectively to the descendants of Israel. Its grammatical relationship to filiis is established by syntax rather than by a change in its form.
  4. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: Subordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable conjunction introducing a clause with the subjunctive mood; Function: Introduces the substantive clause expressing the content of the command; Translation: “that”; Notes: Following Præcipe, the conjunction introduces what the Israelites are instructed to do. The English construction naturally uses an infinitive, “to give,” although Latin employs ut with a finite subjunctive verb.
  5. dent — Lemma: do, dare, dedi, datum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person plural, present tense, active voice, subjunctive mood, first conjugation; Function: Predicate of the subordinate content clause introduced by ut; Translation: “they should give”; Notes: The verb expresses the action required of the Israelites. Its plural subject is understood from filiis Israel, and the subjunctive reflects its dependence on the preceding command.
  6. Levitis — Lemma: Levita; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative plural masculine, first declension; Function: Indirect object of dent, identifying those who will receive the contribution; Translation: “to the Levites”; Notes: Although Levita belongs to the first declension, it denotes a masculine person. The Levites are identified as the beneficiaries of the provision commanded by the LORD.
  7. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces possessionibus suis as the source of the required contribution; Translation: “from”; Notes: The preposition indicates that the contribution is to be taken out of the Israelites’ existing possessions, expressing a source or partitive relationship.
  8. possessionibus — Lemma: possessio, possessionis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural feminine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition de, identifying the property from which the contribution is to be drawn; Translation: “possessions”; Notes: The noun refers to property or holdings belonging to the Israelites. In the surrounding context of the distribution of Canaan, it particularly concerns their territorial inheritances.
  9. suis — Lemma: suus, sua, suum; Part of Speech: Reflexive possessive adjective; Form: Ablative plural feminine, first- and second-declension adjective; Function: Modifies possessionibus and identifies the possessions as belonging to the Israelites; Translation: “their own”; Notes: The reflexive possessive refers back to the implied subject of dent, namely the children of Israel. It establishes that the commanded contribution comes from property already belonging to them.

 

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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