Numeri 35:5 (Numbers 35:5)

^{Nm 35:5} contra Orientem duo millia erunt cubiti, et contra Meridiem similiter erunt duo millia: ad mare quoque, quod respicit ad Occidentem, eadem mensura erit, et septentrionalis plaga æquali termino finietur. eruntque urbes in medio, et foris suburbana.

toward the East there shall be two thousand cubits, and toward the South likewise there shall be two thousand; toward the sea also, which faces West, the same measurement shall apply, and the northern side shall be bounded by an equal limit. And the cities shall be in the middle, and the surrounding lands outside.

Syntax

Continuation of the Geographical Instructions: contra Orientem duo millia erunt cubiti, et contra Meridiem similiter erunt duo millia continues the preceding verse’s description of the surrounding lands assigned to the Levites. The sentence specifies measurements in the cardinal directions and establishes the cities as the central points of the allocation.

Eastern Measurement: contra Orientem duo millia erunt cubiti means “toward the east there shall be two thousand cubits.” The preposition contra governs the accusative Orientem and specifies the eastern direction. The expression duo millia gives the numerical measurement, while cubiti identifies the unit of length.

Numerical Construction: duo millia consists of the neuter plural numeral duo and the nominative plural numeral substantive millia. The latter expresses thousands as countable units. The following cubiti is formally nominative plural masculine, functioning as a unit designation in a construction less regular than the classical expression duo millia cubitorum.

First Finite Verb: erunt is the third-person plural future indicative of sum. It introduces the prescribed measurement for the eastern side. Its future tense expresses the dimensions that are to characterize the allotted land.

Southern Measurement: et contra Meridiem similiter erunt duo millia means “and toward the south likewise there shall be two thousand.” The second occurrence of contra governs Meridiem, which identifies the southern direction. The adverb similiter indicates that the measurement is the same as that stated for the east.

Ellipsis of the Unit: In similiter erunt duo millia, the noun cubiti is understood from the preceding clause but is not repeated. The omission avoids unnecessary repetition while preserving the same unit of measurement.

Western Measurement: ad mare quoque, quod respicit ad Occidentem, eadem mensura erit means “toward the sea also, which faces west, the same measurement shall apply.” The prepositional phrase ad mare identifies the western direction by reference to the sea. The adverb quoque adds this third direction to the preceding measurements.

Relative Clause: quod respicit ad Occidentem is a relative clause modifying mare. The relative pronoun quod is nominative singular neuter and functions as the subject of respicit. The verb is third-person singular present active indicative, and ad Occidentem specifies the direction expressed by the verb.

Western Geographical Reference: ad mare literally means “toward the sea.” In this geographical description, the sea serves as a reference for the western direction. The additional phrase ad Occidentem explicitly identifies that direction, distinguishing it from the east and south already mentioned.

Subject of the Western Clause: eadem mensura is a nominative singular feminine noun phrase functioning as the subject of erit. The adjective-like pronoun eadem agrees with mensura and emphasizes that the western measurement is identical to those previously specified.

Western Predicate: erit is the third-person singular future indicative of sum. It agrees with the singular subject mensura and expresses the prescribed equality of the western measurement.

Northern Measurement: et septentrionalis plaga æquali termino finietur means “and the northern side shall be bounded by an equal limit.” The adjective septentrionalis modifies the nominative singular noun plaga, which functions as the subject of the passive verb finietur.

Adjective-Noun Agreement: septentrionalis plaga consists of a third-declension adjective and a first-declension noun, both nominative singular feminine. Together they identify the northern side of the area being measured.

Ablative of Means or Standard: æquali termino means “by an equal boundary” or “by an equal limit.” The adjective æquali agrees with termino in the ablative singular masculine. The phrase expresses the boundary or standard by which the northern side is to be defined.

Passive Verb: finietur is the third-person singular future passive indicative of finio. It expresses the establishment of a boundary for the northern side. The passive construction focuses on the prescribed limit rather than on the persons responsible for marking it.

Concluding Clause: eruntque urbes in medio, et foris suburbana means “and the cities shall be in the middle, and the surrounding lands outside.” The finite verb eruntque combines the future indicative erunt with the enclitic conjunction -que, connecting the concluding statement with the preceding geographical specifications.

Subject of the Concluding Clause: urbes is nominative plural feminine and functions as the subject of eruntque. It refers to the cities assigned to the Levites and identifies them as the central settlements within the surrounding land allocation.

Central Location: in medio means “in the middle.” The preposition in governs the ablative singular neuter medio, a substantivized adjective indicating the central position of the cities.

Contrasting Location: et foris suburbana contrasts the surrounding lands with the centrally located cities. The adverb foris means “outside,” while suburbana is nominative plural neuter and refers to the lands extending beyond the inhabited settlements.

Elliptical Verb: In et foris suburbana, the verb erunt is understood from eruntque. The complete sense is that the surrounding lands shall be outside the cities. This elliptical construction presents the two locations in a concise parallel arrangement.

Overall Clause Function: The verse gives directional measurements for the lands surrounding the Levitical cities. The eastern and southern sides receive explicit numerical measurements, the western side is assigned the same measurement, and the northern side is bounded by an equal limit. The concluding statement establishes the cities as central settlements surrounded by the designated lands.

Morphology

1. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces Orientem as the direction of the first prescribed measurement; Translation: “toward”; Notes: In this geographical construction, the preposition expresses direction or orientation rather than opposition or hostility.
2. Orientem — Lemma: oriens, orientis; Part of Speech: Substantivized present participle used as a noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Object of contra, identifying the eastern direction; Translation: “the east”; Notes: Derived from orior, meaning “to rise,” the word designates the direction of the rising sun and therefore the east.
3. duo — Lemma: duo, duæ, duo; Part of Speech: Cardinal numeral; Form: Nominative plural neuter; Function: Modifies millia to specify the number of thousands; Translation: “two”; Notes: The numeral agrees with the neuter plural millia and forms the expression for two thousand units of measurement.
4. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: Cardinal numeral used substantivally; Form: Nominative plural neuter, with the plural form functioning as a numeral substantive; Function: Forms the numerical expression duo millia, specifying the prescribed measurement; Translation: “thousand”; Notes: Unlike singular mille, the plural form millia is inflected. Here it combines with duo to express two thousand cubits.
5. erunt — Lemma: sum, esse, fui; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person plural, future tense, active voice, indicative mood, irregular conjugation; Function: Predicate of the eastern measurement clause; Translation: “there shall be”; Notes: The future tense expresses the prescribed dimensions of the surrounding lands. The verb presents the measurement as part of the required arrangement.
6. cubiti — Lemma: cubitus, cubiti; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural masculine, second declension; Function: Identifies the unit of length associated with duo millia; Translation: “cubits”; Notes: A cubit is a traditional unit of length based on the forearm. The nominative plural form occurs here in a biblical Latin numerical construction where more regular classical Latin would use the genitive plural cubitorum after millia.
7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Coordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable conjunction; Function: Connects the southern measurement clause with the preceding eastern measurement; Translation: “and”; Notes: The conjunction joins two parallel directional specifications within the description of the Levitical lands.
8. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces Meridiem as the direction of the second measurement; Translation: “toward”; Notes: The repeated preposition establishes a parallel construction between the eastern and southern sides.
9. Meridiem — Lemma: meridies, meridiei; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, fifth declension; Function: Object of contra, identifying the southern direction; Translation: “the south”; Notes: The noun originally denotes midday or noon. Because the midday sun appears toward the south in the geographical setting of Israel, the word also designates the southern direction.
10. similiter — Lemma: similiter; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable adverb derived from similis; Function: Modifies erunt by expressing equality with the preceding measurement; Translation: “likewise”; Notes: The adverb indicates that the southern measurement corresponds to the eastern measurement already stated.
11. erunt — Lemma: sum, esse, fui; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person plural, future tense, active voice, indicative mood, irregular conjugation; Function: Predicate of the southern measurement clause; Translation: “there shall be”; Notes: The repeated future verb maintains the parallel structure of the geographical instructions and introduces the southern measurement.
12. duo — Lemma: duo, duæ, duo; Part of Speech: Cardinal numeral; Form: Nominative plural neuter; Function: Modifies the following millia to specify the number of thousands; Translation: “two”; Notes: The numeral repeats the quantity prescribed for the eastern side, establishing equal measurements in the two directions.
13. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: Cardinal numeral used substantivally; Form: Nominative plural neuter; Function: Completes the numerical expression duo millia in the southern measurement clause; Translation: “thousand”; Notes: The unit of measurement, cubits, is understood from the preceding clause and is not repeated after this occurrence of millia.
14. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces mare as a geographical reference for the western direction; Translation: “toward”; Notes: The preposition expresses direction toward a geographical feature, here the sea associated with the western side.
15. mare — Lemma: mare, maris; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter, third declension; Function: Object of ad, identifying the western geographical reference; Translation: “the sea”; Notes: The sea functions as a directional landmark. In the geographical setting of the biblical land, reference to the sea commonly indicates the west, associated with the Mediterranean Sea.
16. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable additive adverb; Function: Adds the western measurement to the previously stated eastern and southern measurements; Translation: “also”; Notes: The adverb emphasizes that the same boundary arrangement extends to another direction, continuing the series of geographical specifications.
17. quod — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular neuter; Function: Subject of respicit, referring back to mare; Translation: “which”; Notes: The relative pronoun agrees in gender and number with mare. Its nominative case is determined by its function as the subject of the relative clause.
18. respicit — Lemma: respicio, respicere, respexi, respectum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person singular, present tense, active voice, indicative mood, third conjugation in -io; Function: Predicate of the relative clause introduced by quod; Translation: “faces”; Notes: The verb can mean “look toward,” “face,” or “have regard to.” Here it expresses geographical orientation toward the west rather than literal visual perception.
19. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces Occidentem as the direction associated with respicit; Translation: “toward”; Notes: The prepositional phrase clarifies the western orientation of the sea mentioned immediately before it.
20. Occidentem — Lemma: occidens, occidentis; Part of Speech: Substantivized present participle used as a noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition ad, identifying the western direction; Translation: “the west”; Notes: Derived from occido, meaning “to fall” or “to set,” the word denotes the direction of the setting sun and therefore the west.
21. eadem — Lemma: idem, eadem, idem; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun used adjectivally to express identity; Form: Nominative singular feminine; Function: Modifies mensura and expresses identity with the preceding measurements; Translation: “the same”; Notes: The form emphasizes that the western measurement is identical to those already prescribed for the eastern and southern sides.
22. mensura — Lemma: mensura, mensuræ; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Subject of erit, identifying the measurement prescribed for the western side; Translation: “measurement”; Notes: The noun denotes a measured quantity, dimension, or extent. In this context, it refers to the distance assigned to the surrounding lands in the western direction.
23. erit — Lemma: sum, esse, fui; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person singular, future tense, active voice, indicative mood, irregular conjugation; Function: Predicate of the clause with eadem mensura as its subject; Translation: “shall be”; Notes: The future tense establishes the required measurement for the western side and connects it with the equal dimensions stated earlier.
24. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Coordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable conjunction; Function: Connects the northern boundary clause with the preceding western measurement clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: The conjunction introduces the final cardinal direction, completing the four-sided geographical description.
25. septentrionalis — Lemma: septentrionalis, septentrionale; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular feminine, third declension, positive degree; Function: Modifies plaga, identifying the northern side; Translation: “northern”; Notes: The adjective derives from septentriones, a traditional Latin designation associated with the northern stars. Here it identifies the northern boundary of the surrounding lands.
26. plaga — Lemma: plaga, plagæ; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Subject of the passive verb finietur; Translation: “side”; Notes: In geographical usage, the noun can designate a region, quarter, or direction. Here it refers specifically to the northern side of the measured area.
27. æquali — Lemma: æqualis, æquale; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Ablative singular masculine, third declension, positive degree; Function: Modifies termino and specifies the equality of the northern boundary; Translation: “equal”; Notes: The adjective indicates that the northern side is to be bounded according to a limit corresponding to the measurements established for the other sides.
28. termino — Lemma: terminus, termini; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Ablative of means or standard with finietur, identifying the boundary by which the northern side is defined; Translation: “by a boundary”; Notes: The noun denotes a limit, boundary, or boundary marker. In combination with æquali, it expresses the equal delimitation prescribed for the northern side.
29. finietur — Lemma: finio, finire, finivi, finitum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person singular, future tense, passive voice, indicative mood, fourth conjugation; Function: Predicate of the northern boundary clause, expressing the prescribed delimitation of plaga; Translation: “shall be bounded”; Notes: The passive verb focuses on the establishment of the boundary rather than on the person who establishes it. Its future tense expresses the required arrangement of the northern side.
30. eruntque — Lemma: sum, esse, fui, with the enclitic conjunction -que; Part of Speech: Verb with attached coordinating conjunction; Form: Third-person plural, future tense, active voice, indicative mood, irregular conjugation, followed by the enclitic conjunction -que; Function: Predicate of the concluding clause, with urbes as its subject, while the enclitic connects the clause to the preceding instructions; Translation: “and there shall be”; Notes: The enclitic -que means “and” and is attached directly to erunt. The combined form introduces the concluding arrangement in which the cities occupy the middle of the allotted area.
31. urbes — Lemma: urbs, urbis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural feminine, third declension; Function: Subject of eruntque, identifying the settlements positioned in the middle; Translation: “the cities”; Notes: The noun refers to the cities allocated to the Levites. Their central position is contrasted with the surrounding lands extending beyond their boundaries.
32. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative in this construction; Function: Introduces medio as the location of the cities; Translation: “in”; Notes: The ablative construction expresses location within a defined area, indicating where the cities are situated relative to the surrounding lands.
33. medio — Lemma: medius, media, medium; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantivally; Form: Ablative singular neuter, first- and second-declension adjective, positive degree; Function: Object of the preposition in, identifying the central position of the cities; Translation: “the middle”; Notes: The neuter adjective functions as a noun denoting the middle or central part of an area. The expression in medio identifies the cities as lying within the surrounding land allocation.
34. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Coordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable conjunction; Function: Connects the statement about the surrounding lands with the preceding statement about the cities; Translation: “and”; Notes: The conjunction joins two contrasting geographical descriptions: the cities are in the middle, while the surrounding lands lie outside them.
35. foris — Lemma: foris; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable adverb of place; Function: Specifies the external location of suburbana relative to the cities; Translation: “outside”; Notes: The adverb indicates a position beyond the inhabited settlements. It contrasts directly with in medio, emphasizing the distinction between the central cities and their surrounding lands.
36. suburbana — Lemma: suburbanus, suburbana, suburbanum; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantivally; Form: Nominative plural neuter, first- and second-declension adjective, positive degree; Function: Subject of an understood erunt, referring to the lands situated outside the cities; Translation: “the surrounding lands”; Notes: The substantivized neuter plural denotes the lands assigned around the Levitical cities. The omitted verb is supplied from eruntque, completing the contrast between the cities in the middle and the surrounding lands outside.