Numeri 8:6 (Numbers 8:6)

Posted on May 5, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 8:6 Tolle Levitas de medio filiorum Israel, et purificabis eos

“Take the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and you shall purify them

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tolle take 2SG.IMPV.ACT
2 Levitas Levites ACC.PL.M
3 de from PREP+ABL
4 medio midst ABL.SG.N
5 filiorum of sons GEN.PL.M
6 Israel Israel GEN.SG INDECL
7 et and CONJ
8 purificabis you shall purify 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
9 eos them ACC.PL.M

Syntax

Imperative Clause: Tolle Levitas de medio filiorum Israel — command with direct object and prepositional phrase indicating separation from among the people.

Coordinated Clause: et purificabis eos — future indicative expressing the next commanded action.

Morphology

  1. Tolle — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular present active imperative; Function: command; Translation: take; Notes: Direct instruction.
  2. Levitas — Lemma: Levita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: Levites; Notes: Priestly tribe.
  3. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing ablative; Function: separation; Translation: from; Notes: Indicates removal.
  4. medio — Lemma: medium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of preposition; Translation: midst; Notes: Central position.
  5. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies medio; Translation: of sons; Notes: Group identifier.
  6. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular indeclinable; Function: modifies filiorum; Translation: of Israel; Notes: Nation.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: —; Function: links clauses; Translation: and; Notes: Coordination.
  8. purificabis — Lemma: purifico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular future active indicative; Function: command (future imperative nuance); Translation: you shall purify; Notes: Instructional future.
  9. eos — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: them; Notes: Refers to Levites.

 

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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