Numeri 1:27 (Numbers 1:27)

Posted on April 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 1:27 recensiti sunt septuaginta quattuor millia sexcenti.

they were registered seventy-four thousand six hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 recensiti registered NOM.PL.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP
2 sunt they were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
3 septuaginta seventy NUM.INDECL
4 quattuor four NUM.INDECL
5 millia thousand NOM.PL.N
6 sexcenti six hundred NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: recensiti sunt forms a perfect passive construction meaning “they were registered.” The participle recensiti agrees with an implied masculine plural subject referring to the counted men.

Numerical Complement: septuaginta quattuor millia forms the principal numerical expression meaning “seventy-four thousand,” where the indeclinable numerals septuaginta and quattuor modify the plural noun millia.

Additional Enumeration: sexcenti adds “six hundred,” completing the total census figure.

Elliptical Construction: The numerical phrase functions as the predicate complement of the passive clause, with the noun referring to persons understood from the context of the census.

Morphology

  1. recensiti — Lemma: recenseo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: forms the passive verbal phrase with sunt; Translation: registered; Notes: Indicates that the individuals have been counted or enrolled in the census.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary verb completing the perfect passive construction; Translation: they were; Notes: Combines with the participle to express a completed passive action.
  3. septuaginta — Lemma: septuaginta; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: modifies millia as part of the compound numeral; Translation: seventy; Notes: Used with quattuor to produce the compound number seventy-four.
  4. quattuor — Lemma: quattuor; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: completes the compound numeral with septuaginta; Translation: four; Notes: Forms the unit portion of the number seventy-four.
  5. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: numeral noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: head noun of the numerical expression; Translation: thousand; Notes: In the plural it functions substantively meaning “thousands.”
  6. sexcenti — Lemma: sexcenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine cardinal numeral; Function: provides the additional count following the thousands; Translation: six hundred; Notes: Agrees with an implied masculine plural noun referring to the counted men.

 

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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