Numeri 1:41 (Numbers 1:41)

Posted on April 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 1:41 quadraginta millia et mille quingenti.

forty thousand and one thousand five hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 quadraginta forty ADJ.INDECL
2 millia thousands NOUN.ACC.PL.N
3 et and CONJ
4 mille thousand ADJ.INDECL
5 quingenti five hundred ADJ.NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Numerical Expression: quadraginta millia et mille quingenti forms a compound numerical phrase expressing a total quantity.

Primary Quantity: quadraginta millia establishes the principal count of forty thousand.

Coordinating Addition: et links the primary quantity with an additional amount.

Secondary Quantity: mille quingenti adds a further amount, with quingenti agreeing with an implied masculine plural noun such as “men” understood from context.

Clause Type: This phrase functions as a nominal numerical statement summarizing the census total.

Morphology

  1. quadraginta — Lemma: quadraginta; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: modifies millia as part of the compound number; Translation: forty; Notes: This numeral remains unchanged in form and contributes the tens component of the number.
  2. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter used as a substantive numeral; Function: head of the expression indicating thousands; Translation: thousands; Notes: In plural usage mille behaves as a noun and typically governs a genitive of the counted entity, which is implied here.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: connects the two numerical units; Translation: and; Notes: Links the principal number with the additional amount.
  4. mille — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: introduces the additional thousand in the coordinated phrase; Translation: thousand; Notes: Unlike plural millia, the singular mille functions adjectivally with the noun understood.
  5. quingenti — Lemma: quingenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine cardinal numeral; Function: adds the remaining hundreds to the count; Translation: five hundred; Notes: The masculine plural form agrees with an implied masculine plural noun such as “men” in the census context.

 

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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