Numeri 2:5 (Numbers 2:5)

Posted on April 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 2:5 Iuxta eum castrametati sunt de tribu Issachar, quorum princeps fuit Nathanael filius Suar.

Next to him they camped from the tribe of Issachar, whose leader was Nathanael son of Suar.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Iuxta next to PREP+ACC
2 eum him PRON.ACC.SG.M.PERS
3 castrametati having camped PTCP.NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP
4 sunt are / were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
5 de from PREP+ABL
6 tribu tribe NOUN.ABL.SG.F.4TH DECL
7 Issachar Issachar NOUN.INDECL
8 quorum whose PRON.GEN.PL.REL
9 princeps leader NOUN.NOM.SG.M.3RD DECL
10 fuit was 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 Nathanael Nathanel NOUN.NOM.SG.M.INDECL
12 filius son NOUN.NOM.SG.M.2ND DECL
13 Suar Zuar NOUN.GEN.SG.M.INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: castrametati sunt (compound verbal form meaning “they camped”).
castrametati is the perfect participle of the deponent verb functioning with sunt to form the perfect tense.

Prepositional Phrase: iuxta eum — indicates spatial relation, “next to him.”

Source Phrase: de tribu Issachar — specifies tribal origin, “from the tribe of Issachar.”

Relative Clause: quorum princeps fuit Nathanael filius Suar — describes the tribe;
quorum introduces the clause referring back to members of the tribe.

Subject of Relative Clause: princeps.

Verb of Relative Clause: fuit.

Predicate Identification: Nathanael filius Suar, naming the tribal leader.

Morphology

  1. Iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing accusative; Function: introduces spatial relation; Translation: next to / beside; Notes: Commonly used in military descriptions to mark relative camp positions.
  2. eum — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine personal pronoun; Function: object of the preposition iuxta; Translation: him; Notes: Refers to the tribal group previously mentioned in the census arrangement.
  3. castrametati — Lemma: castrametor; Part of Speech: verb participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect participle of a deponent verb; Function: forms the perfect tense with sunt; Translation: having camped / encamped; Notes: Deponent verb meaning “to pitch camp,” frequently used in military contexts.
  4. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary forming the perfect tense with castrametati; Translation: are / have; Notes: Combined with the participle to express completed action in narrative context.
  5. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing ablative; Function: introduces phrase of origin; Translation: from / of; Notes: Often used in genealogical or tribal identification.
  6. tribu — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, fourth declension; Function: object of the preposition de; Translation: tribe; Notes: Refers to one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
  7. Issachar — Lemma: Issachar; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: appositional identifier of the tribe; Translation: Issachar; Notes: Hebrew tribal name preserved without Latin declension.
  8. quorum — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: genitive plural; Function: introduces relative clause referring to the tribe’s members; Translation: whose; Notes: Connects the clause describing the tribal leader.
  9. princeps — Lemma: princeps; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, third declension; Function: subject of the verb fuit; Translation: leader / chief; Notes: Denotes the appointed head or prince of a tribe.
  10. fuit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the relative clause; Translation: was; Notes: Indicates the established leadership of the tribe.
  11. Nathanael — Lemma: Nathanael; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine indeclinable; Function: predicate identification of princeps; Translation: Nathanael; Notes: Personal name meaning “God has given.”
  12. filius — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine second declension; Function: apposition to Nathanael; Translation: son; Notes: Used to identify lineage.
  13. Suar — Lemma: Suar; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine indeclinable; Function: dependent genitive modifying filius; Translation: of Suar; Notes: Hebrew personal name preserved in Latin narrative.

 

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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