Leviticus 23:15

Posted on April 23, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Lv 23:15 Numerabitis ergo ab altero die Sabbati, in quo obtulistis manipulum primitiarum, septem hebdomadas plenas,

You shall therefore count from the day after the Sabbath, on which you offered the sheaf of firstfruits, seven complete weeks,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Numerabitis you shall count 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
2 ergo therefore ADV
3 ab from PREP+ABL
4 altero other / next ABL.SG.M.ADJ
5 die day ABL.SG.M
6 Sabbati of the Sabbath GEN.SG.N
7 in on PREP+ABL
8 quo which ABL.SG.M.REL
9 obtulistis you offered 2PL.PERF.ACT.IND
10 manipulum sheaf ACC.SG.M
11 primitiarum of firstfruits GEN.PL.F
12 septem seven INDECL.NUM
13 hebdomadas weeks ACC.PL.F
14 plenas complete ACC.PL.F.ADJ

Syntax

Main Command: Numerabitis ergo — legislative future issuing a binding instruction, with ergo drawing inference from prior ritual requirements.
Point of Origin: ab altero die Sabbati — prepositional phrase marking the starting point for the count, defined relative to the Sabbath.
Temporal Relative Clause: in quo obtulistis manipulum primitiarum — ablative relative clause specifying the exact day by reference to the offering already performed.
Extent of the Count: septem hebdomadas plenas — accusative of extent indicating a full, uninterrupted seven-week period.

Morphology

  1. Numerabitis — Lemma: numero; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person plural future active indicative; Function: principal command; Translation: “you shall count”; Notes: Legislative future expressing an obligatory ritual action.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: inferential connector; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Grounds the command in preceding instructions.
  3. ab — Lemma: ab; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: point of origin; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates the starting point of the count.
  4. altero — Lemma: alter; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: modifies die; Translation: “other / next”; Notes: Denotes the day following the Sabbath.
  5. die — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: object of ab; Translation: “day”; Notes: Serves as the temporal anchor.
  6. Sabbati — Lemma: Sabbatum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive neuter singular; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: “of the Sabbath”; Notes: Defines the reference day.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: temporal location; Translation: “on”; Notes: Introduces the relative time reference.
  8. quo — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: ablative masculine singular; Function: refers back to die; Translation: “which”; Notes: Connects the clause to the specific day.
  9. obtulistis — Lemma: offero; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: second person plural perfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “you offered”; Notes: Looks back to a completed ritual act.
  10. manipulum — Lemma: manipulus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative masculine singular; Function: direct object; Translation: “sheaf”; Notes: Symbolic bundle representing the harvest.
  11. primitiarum — Lemma: primitiæ; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive feminine plural; Function: possessive/descriptive genitive; Translation: “of firstfruits”; Notes: Identifies the sheaf as consecrated produce.
  12. septem — Lemma: septem; Part of Speech: Numeral; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies hebdomadas; Translation: “seven”; Notes: Fixed ritual number.
  13. hebdomadas — Lemma: hebdomas; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative feminine plural; Function: accusative of extent; Translation: “weeks”; Notes: Units of the counting period.
  14. plenas — Lemma: plenus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: accusative feminine plural; Function: modifies hebdomadas; Translation: “complete”; Notes: Emphasizes that the weeks must be full and uninterrupted.

 

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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