Numeri 21:26 (Numbers 21:26)

Posted on May 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 21:26 Urbs Hesebon fuit Sehon regis Amorrhæi, qui pugnavit contra regem Moab: et tulit omnem terram, quæ ditionis illius fuerat, usque Arnon.

The city Hesebon belonged to Sehon king of the Amorrhite, who fought against the king of Moab; and he took all the land which had been under his dominion, as far as Arnon.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Urbs city NOM.SG.F
2 Hesebon Hesebon INDECL
3 fuit belonged 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
4 Sehon to Sihon INDECL
5 regis king GEN.SG.M
6 Amorrhæi of the Amorite GEN.SG.M
7 qui who REL.NOM.SG.M
8 pugnavit fought 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 contra against PREP+ACC
10 regem king ACC.SG.M
11 Moab Moab INDECL
12 et and CONJ
13 tulit took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
14 omnem all ACC.SG.F
15 terram land ACC.SG.F
16 quæ which REL.NOM.SG.F
17 ditionis of the dominion GEN.SG.F
18 illius of him GEN.SG.M
19 fuerat had been 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
20 usque as far as ADV
21 Arnon Arnon INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: Urbs Hesebon fuit Sehon regis Amorrhæi identifies Hesebon as belonging to Sehon.

Genitive Construction: regis Amorrhæi further defines Sehon as king of the Amorrhites.

Relative Clause: qui pugnavit contra regem Moab describes Sehon’s military conflict with Moab.

Coordinate Clause: et tulit omnem terram narrates the conquest of the land.

Relative Clause: quæ ditionis illius fuerat explains that the land had formerly belonged to Moab’s dominion.

Territorial Phrase: usque Arnon marks the geographical extent of the conquered territory.

Morphology

  1. Urbs — Lemma: urbs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of fuit; Translation: “city”; Notes: refers to a principal fortified settlement.
  2. Hesebon — Lemma: Hesebon; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: apposition to Urbs; Translation: “Hesebon”; Notes: major Amorite city later occupied by Israel.
  3. fuit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main copulative verb; Translation: “belonged”; Notes: here conveys possession or association in past time.
  4. Sehon — Lemma: Sehon; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: dependent possessor with fuit; Translation: “to Sehon”; Notes: Amorite king defeated by Israel.
  5. regis — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies Sehon; Translation: “king”; Notes: identifies Sehon’s royal status.
  6. Amorrhæi — Lemma: Amorrhæus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies regis; Translation: “of the Amorrhite”; Notes: identifies the people ruled by Sehon. The plural sense of Amorrhæi stems from how Latin and Hebrew handle ethnic designations through the use of a “collective singular.” In Hebrew, the word ’Ĕmōrî (אֱמֹרִי) is a gentilic—a grammatically singular term that represents an entire nation as a single corporate entity rather than an individual. Latin translators preserved this idiom, using the singular Amorrhæus to denote the Amorite people; thus, a phrase like regis Amorrhæi literally means “of the king of the Amorite,” yet it is idiomatically understood as “of the king of the Amorites.” Ultimately, the plural meaning is not found in a plural grammatical ending, but in the collective nature of the name itself, which is why modern English translations render these singular forms as plural to capture the intended scope of the whole people.
  7. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: relative nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of pugnavit; Translation: “who”; Notes: refers back to Sehon.
  8. pugnavit — Lemma: pugno; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “fought”; Notes: describes completed military conflict.
  9. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces opposition phrase; Translation: “against”; Notes: expresses hostile confrontation.
  10. regem — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of contra; Translation: “king”; Notes: identifies the opposing ruler.
  11. Moab — Lemma: Moab; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: dependent identifier with regem; Translation: “Moab”; Notes: refers to the Moabite kingdom.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins the military actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: links battle with territorial conquest.
  13. tulit — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: second main verb; Translation: “took”; Notes: refers to seizure or conquest of territory.
  14. omnem — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: modifies terram; Translation: “all”; Notes: emphasizes the complete extent of the conquest.
  15. terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of tulit; Translation: “land”; Notes: refers to territory formerly controlled by Moab.
  16. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: relative nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of fuerat; Translation: “which”; Notes: refers back to terram.
  17. ditionis — Lemma: ditio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular feminine; Function: predicate genitive with fuerat; Translation: “of the dominion”; Notes: denotes rule, control, or authority.
  18. illius — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine demonstrative pronoun; Function: modifies ditionis; Translation: “of him”; Notes: refers to the king of Moab.
  19. fuerat — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had been”; Notes: indicates prior possession before Sehon’s conquest.
  20. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: adverb of extent; Function: marks territorial limit; Translation: “as far as”; Notes: indicates geographical extension.
  21. Arnon — Lemma: Arnon; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: endpoint of territorial range; Translation: “Arnon”; Notes: important river boundary east of the Jordan.

 

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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