Numeri 1:4 (Numbers 1:4)

Posted on April 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 1:4 Eruntque vobiscum principes tribuum ac domorum in cognationibus suis,

And the chiefs of the tribes and of the houses in their clans shall be with you,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Eruntque and they will be 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND
2 vobiscum with you ABL.PL.PERS
3 principes chiefs NOM.PL.M
4 tribuum of tribes GEN.PL.F
5 ac and CONJ
6 domorum of houses GEN.PL.F
7 in in PREP+ABL
8 cognationibus clans ABL.PL.F
9 suis their ABL.PL.F.POSS

Syntax

Main Clause: principes (subject) + Eruntque (verb).

Association Phrase: vobiscum — ablative phrase indicating accompaniment with the addressed leaders.

Genitive Description: tribuum ac domorum — genitive construction describing the chiefs as belonging to tribes and households.

Locative Phrase: in cognationibus suis — prepositional phrase specifying the clan divisions within which these chiefs belong.

Morphology

  1. Eruntque — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: future active indicative third person plural with enclitic -que; Function: main verb linking the clause to the previous statement; Translation: and they will be; Notes: The enclitic -que connects the statement to the preceding instruction.
  2. vobiscum — Lemma: vos + cum; Part of Speech: personal pronoun with postpositional preposition; Form: ablative plural; Function: phrase indicating accompaniment; Translation: with you; Notes: The preposition cum attaches to the pronoun to form a single word.
  3. principes — Lemma: princeps; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: grammatical subject of Eruntque; Translation: chiefs; Notes: Refers to leading representatives or heads of tribes and families.
  4. tribuum — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: genitive dependent on principes; Translation: of tribes; Notes: Specifies the tribal structure of Israel.
  5. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links parallel nouns; Translation: and; Notes: Stylistic variant of et often used before consonants.
  6. domorum — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine; Function: second genitive modifying principes; Translation: of houses; Notes: Indicates family households within each tribe.
  7. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative; Function: introduces the locative phrase; Translation: in; Notes: With the ablative, it denotes location or sphere.
  8. cognationibus — Lemma: cognatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: clans; Notes: Refers to kinship divisions within the tribal structure.
  9. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: modifier of cognationibus; Translation: their; Notes: Indicates that the clans belong to the respective tribes and households.

 

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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