Numeri 1:29 (Numbers 1:29)

Posted on April 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 1:29 recensiti sunt quinquaginta quattuor millia quadringenti.

they were registered fifty-four thousand four hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 recensiti registered NOM.PL.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP
2 sunt they were 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
3 quinquaginta fifty NUM.INDECL
4 quattuor four NUM.INDECL
5 millia thousand NOM.PL.N
6 quadringenti four hundred NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: recensiti sunt forms a perfect passive verbal expression meaning “they were registered” or “they were counted.” The participle recensiti agrees with an implied masculine plural subject referring to the men of the tribe.

Numerical Expression: quinquaginta quattuor millia forms the main count, meaning “fifty-four thousand.” The indeclinable numerals quinquaginta and quattuor modify the plural noun millia.

Additional Enumeration: quadringenti adds “four hundred,” completing the total census figure associated with the registered group.

Predicate Complement: The numeral phrase functions as a predicate complement describing the total number of individuals included in the census.

Morphology

  1. recensiti — Lemma: recenseo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative plural masculine perfect passive participle; Function: forms the passive verbal phrase with sunt; Translation: registered; Notes: Indicates the completed action of enrolling or counting individuals in a census.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary verb completing the perfect passive construction; Translation: they were; Notes: Serves as the auxiliary for perfect passive tense in Latin.
  3. quinquaginta — Lemma: quinquaginta; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: modifies millia as part of the compound number; Translation: fifty; Notes: Used together with quattuor to form the number fifty-four.
  4. quattuor — Lemma: quattuor; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: completes the compound numeral expression; Translation: four; Notes: Specifies the unit component of the number fifty-four.
  5. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: numeral noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: head noun of the number phrase; Translation: thousand; Notes: In the plural it functions substantively to mean “thousands.”
  6. quadringenti — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine cardinal numeral; Function: specifies the additional hundreds beyond the thousands; Translation: four hundred; Notes: Agrees with an implied masculine plural noun referring to the counted men.

 

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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