Numeri 4:2 (Numbers 4:2)

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 4:2 Tolle summam filiorum Caath de medio Levitarum per domos et familias suas,

“Take the total of the sons of Caath from the midst of the Levites by their houses and their families,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tolle take 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
2 summam total ACC.SG.F
3 filiorum of sons GEN.PL.M
4 Caath Kohath NOUN.GEN.SG.M.INDECL
5 de from PREP+ABL
6 medio midst ABL.SG.N
7 Levitarum of Levites GEN.PL.M
8 per by PREP+ACC
9 domos houses ACC.PL.F
10 et and CONJ
11 familias families ACC.PL.F
12 suas their POSS.ACC.PL.F

Syntax

Imperative Clause: Tolle summam — command to take or count the total.

Genitive Phrase: filiorum Caath — specifies “of the sons of Caath.”

Prepositional Phrase: de medio Levitarum — indicates separation from the group.

Distributive Phrase: per domos et familias suas — classification by household and family.

Morphology

  1. Tolle — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active imperative; Function: main command; Translation: take; Notes: Instruction to count.
  2. summam — Lemma: summa; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object; Translation: total; Notes: Refers to enumeration.
  3. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies summam; Translation: of sons; Notes: Specifies group.
  4. Caath — Lemma: Caath; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine indeclinable; Function: modifies filiorum; Translation: Caath; Notes: Clan name.
  5. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: separation; Translation: from; Notes: Indicates source group.
  6. medio — Lemma: medium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of de; Translation: midst; Notes: Central location.
  7. Levitarum — Lemma: Levita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies medio; Translation: of Levites; Notes: Larger group.
  8. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: distributive; Translation: by; Notes: Classification method.
  9. domos — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of per; Translation: houses; Notes: Household units.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links objects; Translation: and; Notes: Adds second grouping.
  11. familias — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of per; Translation: families; Notes: Kinship groups.
  12. suas — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies familias; Translation: their; Notes: Reflexive possession.

 

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.