Numeri 19:16 (Numbers 19:16)

Posted on May 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 19:16 Si quis in agro tetigerit cadaver occisi hominis, aut per se mortui, sive os illius, vel sepulchrum, immundus erit septem diebus.

If anyone in the field shall touch the corpse of a slain man, or one dead by himself, or his bone, or a grave, he shall be unclean for seven days.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Si if CONJ
2 quis anyone NOM.SG.M.INDEF
3 in in PREP+ABL
4 agro field ABL.SG.M
5 tetigerit shall touch 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
6 cadaver corpse ACC.SG.N
7 occisi of a slain man GEN.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP
8 hominis of a man GEN.SG.M
9 aut or CONJ
10 per by PREP+ACC
11 se himself ACC.SG.REFL
12 mortui dead GEN.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP
13 sive or CONJ
14 os bone ACC.SG.N
15 illius of him GEN.SG.M.DEM
16 vel or CONJ
17 sepulchrum grave ACC.SG.N
18 immundus unclean NOM.SG.M.ADJ
19 erit he shall be 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
20 septem seven INDECL.NUM
21 diebus days ABL.PL.M

Syntax

Conditional Clause: Si quis in agro tetigerit introduces the circumstance under which ritual impurity occurs.

Prepositional Phrase: in agro specifies the location of contact outside the camp or dwelling.

Compound Direct Object: cadaver occisi hominis, aut per se mortui, sive os illius, vel sepulchrum lists the various sources of corpse impurity.

Main Clause: immundus erit septem diebus declares the resulting condition and duration of ritual uncleanness.

Temporal Expression: septem diebus specifies the length of the impurity period.

Morphology

  1. Si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces the conditional clause; Translation: “if”; Notes: Establishes the legal condition for ritual impurity.
  2. quis — Lemma: quis; Part of Speech: indefinite pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of tetigerit; Translation: “anyone”; Notes: Refers generally to any individual under the law.
  3. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs the ablative case; Function: introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: Indicates the place where contact occurs.
  4. agro — Lemma: ager; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: object of the preposition in; Translation: “field”; Notes: Refers to open country outside habitation.
  5. tetigerit — Lemma: tango; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the conditional clause; Translation: “shall touch”; Notes: Expresses completed contact prior to the resulting impurity.
  6. cadaver — Lemma: cadaver; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, third declension; Function: direct object of tetigerit; Translation: “corpse”; Notes: Refers to a human dead body as a source of contamination.
  7. occisi — Lemma: occido; Part of Speech: participle; Form: genitive singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies hominis; Translation: “of a slain man”; Notes: Specifies violent death.
  8. hominis — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine, third declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying cadaver; Translation: “of a man”; Notes: Identifies the corpse as human.
  9. aut — Lemma: aut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces an alternative source of impurity; Translation: “or”; Notes: Distinguishes another possible type of corpse contact.
  10. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs the accusative case; Function: forms part of the expression per se; Translation: “by”; Notes: Indicates action occurring of itself.
  11. se — Lemma: sui; Part of Speech: reflexive pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: object of the preposition per; Translation: “himself”; Notes: In the expression per se mortui, it refers to natural death.
  12. mortui — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: participle; Form: genitive singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies an implied noun referring to a dead person; Translation: “dead”; Notes: Refers to one who died naturally rather than violently.
  13. sive — Lemma: sive; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces another alternative; Translation: “or”; Notes: Continues the list of impurity sources.
  14. os — Lemma: os; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, third declension; Function: direct object linked to tetigerit; Translation: “bone”; Notes: Even skeletal remains transmit ritual impurity.
  15. illius — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies os; Translation: “of him”; Notes: Refers back to the deceased individual.
  16. vel — Lemma: vel; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces another alternative source of impurity; Translation: “or”; Notes: Continues the legal enumeration.
  17. sepulchrum — Lemma: sepulchrum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, second declension; Function: direct object linked to tetigerit; Translation: “grave”; Notes: Contact even with a burial place transmits impurity.
  18. immundus — Lemma: immundus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine positive degree; Function: predicate adjective linked with erit; Translation: “unclean”; Notes: Describes ritual contamination requiring purification.
  19. erit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: copulative verb; Translation: “he shall be”; Notes: Declares the resulting ritual condition.
  20. septem — Lemma: septem; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: modifies diebus; Translation: “seven”; Notes: Indicates the full ritual impurity period.
  21. diebus — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, fifth declension; Function: ablative of duration of time; Translation: “days”; Notes: Specifies the length of the uncleanness.

 

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.