Numeri 21:31 (Numbers 21:31)

Posted on May 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 21:31 Habitavit itaque Israel in Terra Amorrhæi.

And so Israel dwelt in the Land of the Amorrhite.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Habitavit dwelt 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 itaque and so CONJ
3 Israel Israel INDECL
4 in in PREP+ABL
5 Terra Land ABL.SG.F
6 Amorrhæi of the Amorite GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Israel habitavit states that Israel settled in the conquered territory.

Inferential Connector: itaque introduces the result of the preceding conquest narrative.

Location Phrase: in Terra Amorrhæi identifies the territory where Israel dwelt.

Genitive Construction: Terra Amorrhæi specifies that the land formerly belonged to the Amorrhæan.

Morphology

  1. Habitavit — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “dwelt”; Notes: indicates settled occupation and continued residence.
  2. itaque — Lemma: itaque; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: inferential conjunction; Function: introduces result or consequence; Translation: “and so”; Notes: connects the settlement with the preceding victories.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: subject of Habitavit; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: collectively refers to the covenant people.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the ablative; Function: introduces location phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: expresses place where residence occurred.
  5. Terra — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “land”; Notes: refers to the conquered territory east of the Jordan.
  6. Amorrhæi — Lemma: Amorrhæus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies Terra; Translation: “of the Amorrhite”; Notes: identifies the former Amorite ownership of the land. Terra Amorrhæi literally means “the land of the Amorite,” with terra as nominative singular (“land”) and Amorrhæi as genitive singular (“of the Amorite”), but because the gentilic Amorrhæus mirrors the Hebrew collective singular ’Ĕmōrî (אֱמֹרִי), the phrase is idiomatically understood as “the land of the Amorites.” The singular morphology reflects the corporate identity of the nation as one entity, while the semantic scope is plural, so modern English translations render it “the land of the Amorites” to capture the intended reference to the whole people rather than a single individual.

 

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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