Numeri 19:18 (Numbers 19:18)

Posted on May 16, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 19:18 in quibus cum homo mundus tinxerit hyssopum, asperget ex eo omne tentorium, et cunctam supellectilem, et homines huiuscemodi contagione pollutos:

And when a clean man shall dip hyssop in them, he shall sprinkle from it the whole tent, and all the furnishings, and the men defiled by contamination of this kind;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 in in PREP+ABL
2 quibus which ABL.PL.N.REL
3 cum when CONJ
4 homo man NOM.SG.M
5 mundus clean NOM.SG.M.ADJ
6 tinxerit shall dip 3SG.FUTP.ACT.IND
7 hyssopum hyssop ACC.SG.M
8 asperget he shall sprinkle 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
9 ex from PREP+ABL
10 eo it ABL.SG.N.PERS
11 omne whole ACC.SG.N.ADJ
12 tentorium tent ACC.SG.N
13 et and CONJ
14 cunctam all ACC.SG.F.ADJ
15 supellectilem furnishings ACC.SG.F
16 et and CONJ
17 homines men ACC.PL.M
18 huiuscemodi of this kind INDECL.ADJ
19 contagione by contamination ABL.SG.F
20 pollutos defiled ACC.PL.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP

Syntax

Relative Prepositional Phrase: in quibus refers back to the purification waters and introduces the setting for the ritual action.

Temporal Clause: cum homo mundus tinxerit hyssopum describes the circumstance in which the sprinkling takes place.

Main Clause: asperget ex eo states the ritual act of sprinkling from the prepared mixture.

Compound Direct Objects: omne tentorium, cunctam supellectilem, and homines … pollutos identify all recipients of the purification rite.

Ablative Phrase: huiuscemodi contagione expresses the means or cause by which the men became defiled.

Morphology

  1. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs the ablative case; Function: introduces location or medium; Translation: “in”; Notes: Refers to the purification waters mentioned previously.
  2. quibus — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of the preposition in; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to the waters mixed with ashes.
  3. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces a temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Marks the circumstance under which the ritual act occurs.
  4. homo — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, third declension; Function: subject of tinxerit; Translation: “man”; Notes: Refers to the ritually qualified individual performing the rite.
  5. mundus — Lemma: mundus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine positive degree; Function: modifies homo; Translation: “clean”; Notes: Indicates ritual purity.
  6. tinxerit — Lemma: tingo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the temporal clause; Translation: “shall dip”; Notes: Expresses completed preparatory action before sprinkling.
  7. hyssopum — Lemma: hyssopus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, second declension; Function: direct object of tinxerit; Translation: “hyssop”; Notes: Hyssop was commonly used in purification rituals for sprinkling.
  8. asperget — Lemma: aspergo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular future active indicative; Function: principal verb of the sentence; Translation: “he shall sprinkle”; Notes: Refers to ritual purification by sprinkling.
  9. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs the ablative case; Function: introduces source or means; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates the liquid source used for sprinkling.
  10. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of the preposition ex; Translation: “it”; Notes: Refers to the purification mixture.
  11. omne — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: modifies tentorium; Translation: “whole”; Notes: Emphasizes complete purification of the tent.
  12. tentorium — Lemma: tentorium; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, second declension; Function: first direct object of asperget; Translation: “tent”; Notes: Refers to the dwelling contaminated by death.
  13. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the direct objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the purified objects and persons.
  14. cunctam — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine positive degree; Function: modifies supellectilem; Translation: “all”; Notes: Indicates the totality of household furnishings.
  15. supellectilem — Lemma: supellex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, third declension; Function: second direct object of asperget; Translation: “furnishings”; Notes: Refers to household equipment or movable property.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates the final direct object; Translation: “and”; Notes: Adds the contaminated persons to the objects being purified.
  17. homines — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine, third declension; Function: third direct object of asperget; Translation: “men”; Notes: Refers to persons rendered unclean through corpse contamination.
  18. huiuscemodi — Lemma: huiuscemodi; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies contagione; Translation: “of this kind”; Notes: Specifies the type of contamination under discussion.
  19. contagione — Lemma: contagio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: ablative of means or cause; Translation: “by contamination”; Notes: Refers to ritual impurity transmitted through contact.
  20. pollutos — Lemma: polluo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: accusative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: modifies homines; Translation: “defiled”; Notes: Describes the men as already contaminated and requiring purification.

 

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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