Numeri 19:5 (Numbers 19:5)

Posted on May 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

5 comburetque eam cunctis videntibus, tam pelle et carnibus eius quam sanguine et fimo flammæ traditis.

then he shall burn her while all are watching, with both her hide and her flesh, together with her blood and dung having been handed over to the flames.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 comburetque and he shall burn 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND+CONJ
2 eam her ACC.SG.F.PERS
3 cunctis while all ABL.PL.M
4 videntibus are watching PRES.ACT.PTCP.ABL.PL.M
5 tam both ADV
6 pelle hide ABL.SG.F
7 et and CONJ
8 carnibus flesh ABL.PL.F
9 eius its GEN.SG.POSS
10 quam as well as CONJ
11 sanguine blood ABL.SG.M
12 et and CONJ
13 fimo dung ABL.SG.M
14 flammæ to the flame DAT.SG.F
15 traditis having been handed over PERF.PASS.PTCP.ABL.PL.N

Syntax

Main Clause: comburetque eam forms the principal ritual action, with the implied priestly subject continuing from the preceding context.

Ablative Absolute: cunctis videntibus functions circumstantially, indicating that the action occurs while all are observing.

Instrumental/Accompaniment Phrase: tam pelle et carnibus eius quam sanguine et fimo lists the components consumed in the burning.

Participial Phrase: flammæ traditis modifies the preceding ablative elements and describes them as having been committed to the fire.

Morphology

  1. comburetque — Lemma: comburo; Part of Speech: verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: third person singular future active indicative with enclitic -que; Function: principal verb of the ritual instruction; Translation: “and he shall burn”; Notes: The future indicative continues the sequence of ceremonial directives.
  2. eam — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of comburetque; Translation: “her”; Notes: Refers to the red cow being sacrificed.
  3. cunctis — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantivally; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: part of the ablative absolute construction; Translation: “while all”; Notes: Denotes the gathered witnesses to the ritual.
  4. videntibus — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle ablative plural masculine; Function: completes the ablative absolute; Translation: “are watching”; Notes: Expresses simultaneous observation during the sacrificial act.
  5. tam — Lemma: tam; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces the correlative construction tam … quam; Translation: “both”; Notes: Balances the two coordinated groups of sacrificial elements.
  6. pelle — Lemma: pellis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: element within the accompaniment phrase; Translation: “hide”; Notes: Refers to the animal’s skin being consumed in the fire.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates related sacrificial elements; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects the listed components of the offering.
  8. carnibus — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine, third declension; Function: coordinated ablative element; Translation: “flesh”; Notes: Indicates the bodily substance of the animal.
  9. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: possessive pronoun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: modifies carnibus; Translation: “its”; Notes: Refers back to the sacrificial animal.
  10. quam — Lemma: quam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: completes the correlative expression tam … quam; Translation: “as well as”; Notes: Extends the list of items included in the burning.
  11. sanguine — Lemma: sanguis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, third declension; Function: coordinated ablative element; Translation: “blood”; Notes: The blood itself is included in the total destruction of the sacrifice.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the final sacrificial element; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the final component to the previous noun.
  13. fimo — Lemma: fimus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: coordinated ablative element; Translation: “dung”; Notes: Indicates that even the refuse of the animal is consumed in the rite.
  14. flammæ — Lemma: flamma; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular feminine, first declension; Function: indirect object associated with traditis; Translation: “to the flame”; Notes: Personifies the consuming fire as the recipient of the offering.
  15. traditis — Lemma: trado; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle ablative plural neuter; Function: modifies the sacrificial components in an ablative construction; Translation: “having been handed over”; Notes: Expresses completed transfer of the animal’s parts into the consuming fire.

 

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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