Numeri 2:6 (Numbers 2:6)

Posted on April 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 2:6 et omnis numerus pugnatorum eius quinquaginta quattuor millia quadringenti.

And all the number of his fighting men: fifty-four thousand four hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 omnis all ADJ.NOM.SG.M
3 numerus number NOUN.NOM.SG.M.2ND DECL
4 pugnatorum of fighters NOUN.GEN.PL.M.3RD DECL
5 eius his PRON.GEN.SG.PERS
6 quinquaginta fifty ADJ.INDECL
7 quattuor four ADJ.INDECL
8 millia thousand NOUN.ACC.PL.N.2ND DECL
9 quadringenti four hundred ADJ.NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: The construction is an elliptical census statement with an implied verb such as sunt.

Subject: omnis numerus — “all the number” or “the entire total.”

Dependent Genitive: pugnatorum modifies numerus, specifying that the count refers to fighting men.

Possessive Modifier: eius indicates that the fighting men belong to the tribe previously mentioned.

Numerical Predicate: quinquaginta quattuor millia quadringenti expresses the census total.
millia conveys the thousands value, while quadringenti adds the remaining four hundred.

Clause Function: This statement provides the recorded number of warriors belonging to the tribe described in the preceding verse.

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links this census statement to the previous enumeration; Translation: and; Notes: Frequently used in the Vulgate census lists to connect successive tribal counts.
  2. omnis — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies numerus; Translation: all / entire; Notes: Emphasizes that the full total is being reported.
  3. numerus — Lemma: numerus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: head noun and implied subject of the elliptical clause; Translation: number / total; Notes: Standard term for census totals in administrative or military records.
  4. pugnatorum — Lemma: pugnator; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, third declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying numerus; Translation: of fighters; Notes: Refers to men counted as warriors or combatants.
  5. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive modifier of pugnatorum; Translation: his / its; Notes: Refers back to the tribe or group previously identified.
  6. quinquaginta — Lemma: quinquaginta; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: first component of the compound number; Translation: fifty; Notes: Does not change form for case or gender.
  7. quattuor — Lemma: quattuor; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: second component of the compound number; Translation: four; Notes: Combined with quinquaginta to form fifty-four.
  8. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, second declension; Function: expresses the thousands unit within the numeral phrase; Translation: thousand; Notes: Plural form used substantively for large numbers; spelling millia reflects an orthographic variant.
  9. quadringenti — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: adds the remaining hundreds in the total; Translation: four hundred; Notes: The masculine plural agrees with an implied noun such as “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.
This entry was posted in Numeri. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.