Numeri 2:30 (Numbers 2:30)

Posted on April 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 2:30 cunctus exercitus pugnatorum eius, quinquaginta tria millia quadringenti.

The whole army of his fighting men was fifty-three thousand four hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 cunctus whole NOM.SG.M ADJ POS
2 exercitus army NOM.SG.M NOUN 4TH DECL
3 pugnatorum of fighting men GEN.PL.M NOUN 3RD DECL
4 eius his GEN.SG PERS PRON
5 quinquaginta fifty INDECL ADJ
6 tria three ACC.PL.N ADJ POS
7 millia thousand ACC.PL.N NOUN
8 quadringenti four hundred NOM.PL.M ADJ POS

Syntax

Subject Phrase: cunctus exercitus pugnatorum eius functions as the grammatical subject.
cunctus modifies exercitus, while pugnatorum eius forms a dependent genitive phrase specifying whose army is meant.

Numerical Predicate: quinquaginta tria millia quadringenti provides the census total. The copula is understood but not expressed, a common feature of enumeration statements in Latin census formulas.

Genitive Specification: pugnatorum eius clarifies that the army consists of the fighting men belonging to the referenced tribal leader.

Morphology

  1. cunctus — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine positive; Function: modifies exercitus; Translation: whole; Notes: Expresses totality, emphasizing that the entire troop contingent is counted.
  2. exercitus — Lemma: exercitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine fourth declension; Function: head noun of the subject phrase; Translation: army; Notes: In census lists this term denotes the organized troop body of a tribe.
  3. pugnatorum — Lemma: pugnator; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine third declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying exercitus; Translation: of fighting men; Notes: Specifies that the counted individuals are combat-ready men.
  4. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular personal pronoun; Function: possessive modifier of pugnatorum; Translation: his; Notes: Refers to the tribal chief previously named in the narrative sequence.
  5. quinquaginta — Lemma: quinquaginta; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: first component of the numerical expression; Translation: fifty; Notes: Introduces the major numeric portion of the census total.
  6. tria — Lemma: tres; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter positive; Function: modifies millia; Translation: three; Notes: Together with quinquaginta it forms the number fifty-three thousand.
  7. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: central noun of the numeric phrase; Translation: thousand; Notes: In plural form it behaves as a substantive numeral indicating groups of one thousand.
  8. quadringenti — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine positive; Function: appositional continuation of the number; Translation: four hundred; Notes: Completes the troop total stated in the census enumeration.

 

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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