Numeri 2:23 (Numbers 2:23)

Posted on April 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

23 et cunctus exercitus pugnatorum eius, qui recensiti sunt, triginta quinque millia quadringenti.

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

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 cunctus whole ADJ.NOM.SG.M
3 exercitus army NOUN.NOM.SG.M.4TH
4 pugnatorum of fighters NOUN.GEN.PL.M
5 eius his PRON.GEN.SG
6 qui who PRON.NOM.PL.REL
7 recensiti counted PTCP.NOM.PL.M.PERF.PASS
8 sunt are / were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
9 triginta thirty NUM.INDECL
10 quinque five NUM.INDECL
11 millia thousand NOUN.ACC.PL.N
12 quadringenti four hundred NUM.NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Coordinating Conjunction: et links this census statement to the preceding enumeration of tribal forces.

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

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

Relative Clause: qui recensiti sunt — “who were counted.”
This clause specifies that the men were formally enrolled in the census.

Numerical Predicate: triginta quinque millia quadringenti — “thirty-five thousand four hundred.”
The numeral phrase functions as the implied predicate indicating the total number of soldiers.

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Translation: and; Notes: connects the clause with the previous enumeration.
  2. cunctus — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Translation: whole / entire; Notes: modifies exercitus.
  3. exercitus — Lemma: exercitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, fourth declension; Translation: army; Notes: subject of the clause.
  4. pugnatorum — Lemma: pugnator; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Translation: of fighters; Notes: dependent genitive modifying exercitus.
  5. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Translation: his / its; Notes: possessive pronoun referring to the tribe.
  6. qui — Lemma: qui, quae, quod; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Translation: who; Notes: introduces the relative clause.
  7. recensiti — Lemma: recenseo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Translation: counted / enrolled; Notes: forms passive perfect with sunt.
  8. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Translation: are / were; Notes: auxiliary verb completing the passive perfect construction.
  9. triginta — Lemma: triginta; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Translation: thirty; Notes: first element of the compound number.
  10. quinque — Lemma: quinque; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Translation: five; Notes: combines with triginta to form thirty-five.
  11. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Translation: thousand; Notes: expresses the thousands unit.
  12. quadringenti — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Translation: four 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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