Numeri 11:18 (Numbers 11:18)

Posted on May 8, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 11:18 Populo quoque dices: Sanctificamini: cras comedetis carnes. ego enim audivi vos dicere: Quis dabit nobis escas carnium? bene nobis erat in Ægypto. Ut det vobis Dominus carnes, et comedatis:

You also shall say to the people: ‘Sanctify yourselves; tomorrow you shall eat meats. For I have heard you saying: “Who will give to us foods of meats? It was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give to you meats, and you shall eat;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Populo to the people DAT.SG.M
2 quoque also ADV
3 dices you shall say 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
4 Sanctificamini sanctify yourselves 2PL.IMP.MOOD.PASS
5 cras tomorrow ADV
6 comedetis you shall eat 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
7 carnes meats ACC.PL.F
8 ego I NOM.SG.PERS.PRON
9 enim for ADV
10 audivi I heard 1SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 vos you ACC.PL.PERS.PRON
12 dicere to say PRES.ACT.INF
13 Quis who NOM.SG.M.INTERROG
14 dabit will give 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
15 nobis to us DAT.PL.PERS.PRON
16 escas foods ACC.PL.F
17 carnium of meats GEN.PL.F
18 bene well ADV
19 nobis for us DAT.PL.PERS.PRON
20 erat it was 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND
21 in in PREP+ABL
22 Ægypto Egypt ABL.SG.F
23 Ut therefore that CONJ
24 det may give 3SG.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
25 vobis to you DAT.PL.PERS.PRON
26 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
27 carnes meats ACC.PL.F
28 et and CONJ
29 comedatis you may eat 2PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Main Clause: dices is the main verb, with an implied subject “you,” and Populo is the dative marking the one addressed. quoque adds the sense “also.”

First Direct Speech Command: Sanctificamini is a passive imperative with reflexive force, followed by cras as a temporal adverb and comedetis carnes as the promised result.

Explanatory Clause: ego enim audivi vos dicere explains the ground for the command and promise. audivi governs the accusative-and-infinitive construction vos dicere.

First Reported Statement: Quis dabit nobis escas carnium is a direct question. Quis is the subject, dabit the verb, nobis the indirect object, and escas carnium the direct object with a dependent genitive.

Second Reported Statement: bene nobis erat in Ægypto is a simple clause with erat as the verb, bene as predicate adverb, nobis as dative of reference, and in Ægypto marking location.

Final Clause: Ut det vobis Dominus carnes, et comedatis is a purpose or result clause. Dominus is the subject of det, vobis the indirect object, carnes the direct object, and comedatis expresses the intended consequence.

Morphology

  1. Populo — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: dative of indirect object with dices; Translation: to the people; Notes: it identifies those who are to receive the command.
  2. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: modifies the whole clause; Translation: also; Notes: it adds this instruction to the previous commands given to Moyses.
  3. dices — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: you shall say; Notes: the future gives a direct instruction about what Moyses must announce.
  4. Sanctificamini — Lemma: sanctifico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present passive imperative; Function: imperative in direct speech; Translation: sanctify yourselves; Notes: the passive form has reflexive force, calling the people to prepare themselves ceremonially.
  5. cras — Lemma: cras; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: temporal modifier; Translation: tomorrow; Notes: it marks the nearness of the promised event.
  6. comedetis — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural future active indicative; Function: main verb of the promise; Translation: you shall eat; Notes: the future is declarative and assured.
  7. carnes — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, 3rd declension; Function: direct object of comedetis; Translation: meats; Notes: this is the very thing the people had been craving.
  8. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular personal pronoun; Function: explicit subject of audivi; Translation: I; Notes: the pronoun is expressed for emphasis, underscoring divine awareness.
  9. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: explanatory particle; Translation: for; Notes: it introduces the reason for the coming judgment and gift.
  10. audivi — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the explanatory clause; Translation: I heard; Notes: it presents the people’s words as fully known by the LORD.
  11. vos — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural personal pronoun; Function: subject accusative of the infinitive construction with dicere; Translation: you; Notes: it identifies the people as the speakers whose complaint was heard.
  12. dicere — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active infinitive; Function: complementary infinitive after audivi; Translation: to say; Notes: it introduces the content of the people’s complaint.
  13. Quis — Lemma: quis; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine interrogative; Function: subject of dabit; Translation: who; Notes: it begins the people’s impatient and challenging question.
  14. dabit — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of the direct question; Translation: will give; Notes: the future asks about forthcoming provision.
  15. nobis — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural personal pronoun; Function: indirect object of dabit; Translation: to us; Notes: it marks the people as the expected recipients.
  16. escas — Lemma: esca; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, 1st declension; Function: direct object of dabit; Translation: foods; Notes: the word points to edible provisions, here specified further by the genitive.
  17. carnium — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine, 3rd declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying escas; Translation: of meats; Notes: it defines the kind of foods desired.
  18. bene — Lemma: bene; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: predicate adverb with erat; Translation: well; Notes: it expresses the people’s nostalgic and distorted judgment of life in Ægypto.
  19. nobis — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural personal pronoun; Function: dative of reference; Translation: for us; Notes: it indicates those in whose view things were “well.”
  20. erat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular imperfect active indicative; Function: verb of the remembered condition; Translation: it was; Notes: the imperfect portrays a past state as they recall it.
  21. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: introduces the locative phrase; Translation: in; Notes: with the ablative it indicates place.
  22. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: Egypt; Notes: it names the place of the people’s former bondage, which they wrongly idealize.
  23. Ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: introduces the final clause; Translation: therefore that; Notes: here it introduces the intended divine response and its outcome.
  24. det — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present active subjunctive; Function: verb of the clause introduced by Ut; Translation: may give; Notes: the subjunctive expresses the action purposed or resulting from the LORD’s decision.
  25. vobis — Lemma: vos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural personal pronoun; Function: indirect object of det; Translation: to you; Notes: it identifies the recipients of the coming gift.
  26. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: subject of det; Translation: the LORD; Notes: here Dominus refers to YHWH, so “LORD” is required.
  27. carnes — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, 3rd declension; Function: direct object of det; Translation: meats; Notes: it is repeated to show that the LORD will answer the very object of their craving.
  28. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: invariable; Function: coordinates the final verb with the previous clause; Translation: and; Notes: it links the giving of meat with the act of eating it.
  29. comedatis — Lemma: comedo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active subjunctive; Function: verb expressing the intended consequence; Translation: you may eat; Notes: the subjunctive presents the eating as the direct outcome of the LORD’s gift.

 

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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