Numeri 5:3 (Numbers 5:3)

Posted on May 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 5:3 tam masculum quam feminam eiicite de castris, ne contaminent ea cum habitaverint vobiscum.

both male and female you shall cast out from the camps, lest they defile them while I dwell with you.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 tam as much ADV
2 masculum male ACC.SG.M
3 quam as CONJ
4 feminam female ACC.SG.F
5 eiicite cast out 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
6 de from PREP+ABL
7 castris camps ABL.PL.N
8 ne lest CONJ
9 contaminent they defile 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
10 ea them ACC.PL.N
11 cum when CONJ
12 habitaverint they shall have dwelt 3PL.FUTP.ACT.IND
13 vobiscum with you PERS

Syntax

Main Clause: eiicite is the main verb and governs the implied second person plural subject “you.” masculum and feminam function as the coordinated direct objects, framed by tam … quam for distributive emphasis.

Object(s): masculum and feminam identify the persons to be expelled.

Phrase: de castris is a prepositional phrase expressing separation or removal from the camp area.

Subordinate Clause: ne contaminent ea is a negative purpose clause, with contaminent in the present subjunctive after ne, expressing the reason for the command.

Object(s): ea is the direct object of contaminent, referring back to the camps.

Clause: cum habitaverint vobiscum is a temporal subordinate clause. habitaverint marks the circumstance in which the camps are occupied by the divine presence among the people.

Morphology

  1. tam — Lemma: tam; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: positive adverb, indeclinable; Function: first correlative element in the comparison tam … quam; Translation: as much; Notes: it strengthens the inclusive pairing of male and female.
  2. masculum — Lemma: masculus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantivally; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: first direct object of eiicite; Translation: male; Notes: the adjective is used as a noun here, referring to a male person.
  3. quam — Lemma: quam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable coordinating correlative; Function: second element paired with tam; Translation: as; Notes: together with tam, it expresses “both … and” in this context.
  4. feminam — Lemma: femina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, 1st declension; Function: second direct object of eiicite; Translation: female; Notes: it balances masculum and completes the full inclusion of both sexes.
  5. eiicite — Lemma: eicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person plural present active imperative, 3rd conjugation; Function: main verb of command; Translation: cast out; Notes: the imperative gives a direct legal instruction to the community.
  6. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: takes the ablative; Function: introduces a phrase of separation; Translation: from; Notes: it marks removal away from the camp space.
  7. castris — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter, 2nd declension; Function: object of the preposition de; Translation: camps; Notes: castra is a plural-form noun commonly used for a military or communal camp.
  8. ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable subordinating conjunction; Function: introduces a negative purpose clause; Translation: lest; Notes: it explains the preventive aim of the command.
  9. contaminent — Lemma: contamino; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active subjunctive, 1st conjugation; Function: verb of the negative purpose clause; Translation: they defile; Notes: the subjunctive is required after ne to express intended prevention.
  10. ea — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter demonstrative pronoun; Function: direct object of contaminent; Translation: them; Notes: it refers back to the camps, treated as neuter plural.
  11. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable subordinating conjunction; Function: introduces a temporal clause; Translation: when; Notes: here it marks the circumstance under which the camp must remain undefiled.
  12. habitaverint — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural future perfect active indicative, 1st conjugation; Function: verb of the temporal clause; Translation: they shall have dwelt; Notes: the future perfect gives a completed future sense relative to the main instruction and refers to divine dwelling among the people.
  13. vobiscum — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: personal pronoun with enclitic prepositional element; Form: ablative plural with postposed -cum; Function: complement of accompaniment with habitaverint; Translation: with you; Notes: this compact form is the regular Latin way of expressing accompaniment with personal pronouns.

 

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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