Numeri 11:21 (Numbers 11:21)

Posted on May 8, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 11:21 Et ait Moyses: Sexcenta millia peditum huius populi sunt. et tu dicis: Dabo eis esum carnium mense integro?

And Moyses said: “Six hundred thousand footmen of this people there are. And You say: ‘I shall give them food of meats for a whole month?’

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 ait said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
4 Sexcenta six hundred ACC.PL.N
5 millia thousands ACC.PL.N
6 peditum of footmen GEN.PL.M
7 huius of this GEN.SG.M.DEM
8 populi people GEN.SG.M
9 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
10 et and CONJ
11 tu You NOM.SG.2.PERS
12 dicis say 2SG.PRES.ACT.IND
13 Dabo I shall give 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
14 eis to them DAT.PL.3.PERS
15 esum food ACC.SG.M
16 carnium of meats GEN.PL.F
17 mense for a month ABL.SG.M
18 integro whole / complete ABL.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Moyses is the subject, and ait is the verb. Et links this statement to the previous narrative movement.

Quoted Statement: Sexcenta millia peditum huius populi sunt is a nominal clause. Sexcenta millia functions as the quantitative subject expression, peditum is a partitive genitive, huius populi is a dependent genitive specifying whose footmen are in view, and sunt is the copular verb.

Coordinated Clause: et tu dicis introduces a second statement within the speech. tu is the explicit subject, and dicis is the finite verb. The expressed pronoun adds emphasis and mild incredulity.

Quoted Content Clause: Dabo eis esum carnium mense integro functions as the content of what is being said. Dabo is the main verb, eis is the indirect object, esum is the direct object, carnium is a dependent genitive, and mense integro is an ablative of time duration.

Clause Function: The whole utterance forms a rhetorical question, contrasting the immense number of the people with the promise of meat for an entire month.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links this clause to the preceding narrative; Translation: and; Notes: It continues the flow of the account without introducing a sharp contrast.
  2. ait — Lemma: aiō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the narrative clause; Translation: said; Notes: This verb is a common narrative form for direct speech in biblical Latin.
  3. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, indeclinable proper noun in this form; Function: subject of ait; Translation: Moses; Notes: The name identifies the speaker who responds to the divine declaration.
  4. Sexcenta — Lemma: sexcentī; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter cardinal numeral; Function: modifies millia; Translation: six hundred; Notes: The neuter plural agrees with millia, the counted unit.
  5. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter indeclinable numeral noun usage; Function: core quantitative expression functioning as the subject idea of the clause; Translation: thousands; Notes: With a following genitive, it denotes a large counted multitude.
  6. peditum — Lemma: pedes; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, third declension; Function: partitive genitive depending on millia; Translation: of footmen; Notes: It specifies that the number refers to infantry or men on foot.
  7. huius — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular masculine demonstrative pronoun; Function: modifies populi; Translation: of this; Notes: It points directly to the people presently under discussion.
  8. populi — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine, second declension; Function: dependent genitive further defining peditum; Translation: people; Notes: The phrase narrows the count to the community of Israel.
  9. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: copular verb of the quantitative statement; Translation: are; Notes: The plural verb agrees with the sense of the counted multitude.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins the next clause to the previous statement; Translation: and; Notes: Here it moves from factual description to direct challenge.
  11. tu — Lemma: tū; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular second person personal pronoun; Function: explicit subject of dicis; Translation: You; Notes: The expressed pronoun adds emphasis, making the address more pointed.
  12. dicis — Lemma: dīcō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active indicative; Function: main verb of the second clause; Translation: say; Notes: The present tense presents the divine statement as immediate and direct.
  13. Dabo — Lemma: dō; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of the quoted content; Translation: I shall give; Notes: The future tense expresses the promised provision as forthcoming.
  14. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural personal pronoun; Function: indirect object of Dabo; Translation: to them; Notes: It refers back to the people whose number has just been mentioned.
  15. esum — Lemma: esus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, fourth declension; Function: direct object of Dabo; Translation: food; Notes: The noun denotes food for eating and is then specified by the genitive carnium.
  16. carnium — Lemma: caro; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural feminine, third declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying esum; Translation: of meats; Notes: It specifies the kind of food promised, namely flesh for consumption.
  17. mense — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, third declension; Function: part of an ablative expression of time duration; Translation: for a month; Notes: In context it marks the length of time for which the provision is to last.
  18. integro — Lemma: integer; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular masculine positive degree; Function: modifies mense; Translation: whole / complete; Notes: It strengthens the sense that the month is entire 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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