Numeri 21:3 (Numbers 21:3)

Posted on May 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 21:3 Exaudivitque Dominus preces Israel, et tradidit Chananæum, quem ille interfecit subversis urbibus eius: et vocavit nomen loci illius Horma, id est, anathema.

And the LORD heard the prayers of Israel, and delivered the Chananite, whom that one killed after his cities had been overthrown; and he called the name of that place Horma, that is, anathema.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Exaudivitque and heard 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND+CONJ
2 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
3 preces prayers ACC.PL.F
4 Israel Israel INDECL
5 et and CONJ
6 tradidit delivered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
7 Chananæum the Canaanite ACC.SG.M
8 quem whom REL.ACC.SG.M
9 ille that one NOM.SG.M
10 interfecit killed 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 subversis having been overthrown PERF.PASS.PTCP.ABL.PL.F
12 urbibus cities ABL.PL.F
13 eius his GEN.SG.M
14 et and CONJ
15 vocavit called 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
16 nomen name ACC.SG.N
17 loci of the place GEN.SG.M
18 illius that GEN.SG.M
19 Horma Hormah INDECL
20 id that NOM.SG.N
21 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
22 anathema anathema NOM.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause: Dominus functions as the subject of Exaudivitque and tradidit.

Object: preces Israel serves as the direct object of Exaudivitque.

Second Main Clause: tradidit Chananæum describes the LORD delivering the enemy into Israel’s power.

Relative Clause: quem ille interfecit modifies Chananæum and explains Israel’s action against him.

Ablative Absolute: subversis urbibus eius provides the circumstance accompanying the destruction.

Naming Clause: vocavit nomen loci illius Horma records the naming of the place.

Explanatory Clause: id est anathema explains the meaning associated with the name Horma.

Morphology

  1. Exaudivitque — Lemma: exaudio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative with enclitic conjunction; Function: main verb introducing divine response; Translation: “and heard”; Notes: the enclitic -que closely joins this action to the previous context.
  2. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of Exaudivitque and tradidit; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: refers to YHWH responding favorably to Israel’s vow.
  3. preces — Lemma: prex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of Exaudivitque; Translation: “prayers”; Notes: denotes earnest petitions or supplications.
  4. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: possessive modifier of preces; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: collectively refers to the covenant people.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links the two divine actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: joins hearing with delivering.
  6. tradidit — Lemma: trado; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: second main verb; Translation: “delivered”; Notes: expresses handing over the enemy into Israel’s control.
  7. Chananæum — Lemma: Chananæus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of tradidit; Translation: “the Chananite”; Notes: represents the enemy force defeated by Israel.
  8. quem — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: relative accusative singular masculine; Function: introduces the relative clause; Translation: “whom”; Notes: refers back to Chananæum.
  9. ille — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine demonstrative; Function: subject of interfecit; Translation: “that one”; Notes: emphatically refers to Israel as the acting party.
  10. interfecit — Lemma: interficio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “killed”; Notes: indicates decisive destruction of the enemy.
  11. subversis — Lemma: subverto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect passive participle ablative plural feminine; Function: part of ablative absolute construction; Translation: “having been overthrown”; Notes: describes completed devastation prior to or accompanying the action.
  12. urbibus — Lemma: urbs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: part of ablative absolute construction; Translation: “cities”; Notes: refers to the settlements destroyed in the campaign.
  13. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive modifier of urbibus; Translation: “his”; Notes: refers to the Chananæan enemy.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links the destruction narrative with the naming statement; Translation: “and”; Notes: continues the narrative sequence.
  15. vocavit — Lemma: voco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of naming clause; Translation: “called”; Notes: introduces the assigning of a place name.
  16. nomen — Lemma: nomen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: direct object of vocavit; Translation: “name”; Notes: used idiomatically in naming formulas.
  17. loci — Lemma: locus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: dependent genitive modifying nomen; Translation: “of the place”; Notes: identifies what receives the name.
  18. illius — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine demonstrative; Function: modifies loci; Translation: “that”; Notes: points to the specific location under discussion.
  19. Horma — Lemma: Horma; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: predicate name assigned to the place; Translation: “Horma”; Notes: the Hebrew-derived name is associated with destruction or devotion to destruction.
  20. id — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular neuter demonstrative; Function: subject of explanatory clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: refers to the preceding place name.
  21. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: copulative verb in explanation; Translation: “is”; Notes: links the place name with its meaning.
  22. anathema — Lemma: anathema; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: “anathema”; Notes: denotes something devoted to destruction or placed under a ban.

 

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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