Numeri 2:8 (Numbers 2:8)

Posted on April 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 2:8 Omnis de stirpe eius exercitus pugnatorum, quinquaginta septem millia quadringenti.

All from his stock, the army of fighting men: fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Omnis all ADJ.NOM.SG.M
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 stirpe stock / lineage NOUN.ABL.SG.F.3RD DECL
4 eius his PRON.GEN.SG.PERS
5 exercitus army NOUN.NOM.SG.M.4TH DECL
6 pugnatorum of fighters NOUN.GEN.PL.M.3RD DECL
7 quinquaginta fifty ADJ.INDECL
8 septem seven ADJ.INDECL
9 millia thousand NOUN.ACC.PL.N.2ND DECL
10 quadringenti four hundred ADJ.NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: This census statement is elliptical with an implied verb such as sunt.

Subject: omnis exercitus — “the entire army.”

Source Phrase: de stirpe eius — prepositional phrase indicating lineage or tribal descent.

Dependent Genitive: pugnatorum modifies exercitus, specifying that the army consists of fighting men.

Numerical Predicate: quinquaginta septem millia quadringenti provides the recorded census total.
millia expresses the thousands unit, while quadringenti adds the remaining four hundred.

Clause Function: The expression serves as a formal military census summary for the tribe being described.

Morphology

  1. Omnis — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: modifies exercitus; Translation: all / entire; Notes: Emphasizes the completeness of the total military force.
  2. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing ablative; Function: introduces phrase of origin; Translation: from / of; Notes: Often used in genealogical or tribal identification.
  3. stirpe — Lemma: stirps; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: object of the preposition de; Translation: stock / lineage; Notes: Indicates family or tribal descent.
  4. eius — Lemma: is, ea, id; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive modifier of stirpe; Translation: his / its; Notes: Refers to the tribe or ancestor mentioned previously.
  5. exercitus — Lemma: exercitus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, fourth declension; Function: head noun and implied subject of the elliptical clause; Translation: army; Notes: Refers to the organized military body of the tribe.
  6. pugnatorum — Lemma: pugnator; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, third declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying exercitus; Translation: of fighters; Notes: Specifies that the army consists of combatants.
  7. quinquaginta — Lemma: quinquaginta; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: first component of the compound number; Translation: fifty; Notes: Cardinal numerals of this type do not decline.
  8. septem — Lemma: septem; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: second component of the compound number; Translation: seven; Notes: Combined with quinquaginta to form fifty-seven.
  9. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, second declension; Function: expresses the thousands unit in the numeral phrase; Translation: thousand; Notes: Used substantively for large numbers; spelling millia reflects an orthographic variant.
  10. quadringenti — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: adds the remaining hundreds; Translation: four hundred; Notes: Masculine plural agrees with an implied noun such as “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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