Numeri 2:21 (Numbers 2:21)

Posted on April 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 2:21 cunctusque exercitus pugnatorum eius, qui numerati sunt, triginta duo millia ducenti.

And the whole army of his fighting men, who were counted: thirty-two thousand two hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 cunctusque and the whole ADJ.NOM.SG.M + ENCLITIC
2 exercitus army NOUN.NOM.SG.M.4TH
3 pugnatorum of fighters NOUN.GEN.PL.M
4 eius his PRON.GEN.SG
5 qui who PRON.NOM.PL.REL
6 numerati counted PTCP.NOM.PL.M.PERF.PASS
7 sunt are / were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
8 triginta thirty NUM.INDECL
9 duo two NUM.INDECL
10 millia thousand NOUN.ACC.PL.N
11 ducenti two hundred NUM.NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Coordinating Structure: cunctusque combines the adjective cunctus with the enclitic conjunction -que, meaning “and the whole.” This links the statement with the preceding enumeration of tribal forces.

Subject Phrase: cunctus exercitus — “the whole army.”
The adjective cunctus modifies exercitus, emphasizing the completeness of the military force.

Genitive Construction: pugnatorum eius — “of his fighting men.”
The genitive plural pugnatorum specifies the composition of the army, while eius indicates possession referring to the tribe previously mentioned.

Relative Clause: qui numerati sunt — “who were counted.”
This clause identifies the army as those officially registered in the census.

Numerical Predicate: triginta duo millia ducenti — “thirty-two thousand two hundred.”
The compound numeral expresses the recorded size of the tribal military contingent.

Morphology

  1. cunctusque — Lemma: cunctus + enclitic -que; Part of Speech: adjective with conjunction; Form: nominative singular masculine; Translation: and the whole; Notes: -que attaches to the first word of the phrase to coordinate with the previous statement.
  2. exercitus — Lemma: exercitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, fourth declension; Translation: army; Notes: subject of the clause.
  3. pugnatorum — Lemma: pugnator; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Translation: of fighters; Notes: dependent genitive describing the army.
  4. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Translation: his / its; Notes: possessive pronoun referring to the tribe.
  5. qui — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Translation: who; Notes: introduces the relative clause referring to the soldiers.
  6. numerati — Lemma: numero; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Translation: counted / numbered; Notes: forms a passive perfect with sunt.
  7. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Translation: are / were; Notes: auxiliary completing the passive perfect construction.
  8. triginta — Lemma: triginta; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Translation: thirty; Notes: first element of the compound number.
  9. duo — Lemma: duo; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable in this compound context; Translation: two; Notes: combines with triginta to form thirty-two.
  10. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Translation: thousand; Notes: expresses the thousands unit.
  11. ducenti — Lemma: ducenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Translation: two hundred; Notes: agrees with an implied masculine 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.
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