Numeri 20:18 (Numbers 20:18)

Posted on May 17, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 20:18 Cui respondit Edom: Non transibis per me, alioquin armatus occurram tibi.

To him Edom answered: “You shall not pass through me, otherwise I will come armed against you.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cui to whom DAT.SG.M.REL
2 respondit answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Edom Edom INDECL
4 Non not ADV
5 transibis you shall pass through 2SG.FUT.ACT.IND
6 per through PREP+ACC
7 me me ACC.SG
8 alioquin otherwise ADV
9 armatus armed NOM.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP
10 occurram I will meet 1SG.FUT.ACT.IND
11 tibi you DAT.SG

Syntax

Introductory Clause: Cui respondit Edom introduces Edom’s answer to Israel’s request.

Indirect Object: Cui refers back to Israel or the messengers and functions as the dative recipient of respondit.

Subject: Edom functions as the responding party.

Direct Speech: Non transibis per me gives Edom’s refusal in direct and emphatic form.

Phrase: per me functions as a route phrase, treating Edom’s territory as the land through which Israel seeks passage.

Threat Clause: alioquin armatus occurram tibi states the consequence if Israel attempts to pass.

Predicate Participle: armatus describes the subject’s armed condition while coming out to confront Israel.

Morphology

  1. Cui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular masculine relative pronoun; Function: indirect object of respondit; Translation: “to whom”; Notes: refers back to Israel’s diplomatic appeal or its representatives.
  2. respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “answered”; Notes: introduces Edom’s formal reply to the request for passage.
  3. Edom — Lemma: Edom; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: subject of respondit; Translation: “Edom”; Notes: represents the Edomite ruler or nation collectively.
  4. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates transibis; Translation: “not”; Notes: gives the refusal direct force.
  5. transibis — Lemma: transeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of direct speech; Translation: “you shall pass through”; Notes: the future form expresses a firm prohibition in context.
  6. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing accusative; Function: introduces route phrase; Translation: “through”; Notes: marks passage across territory.
  7. me — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular first person personal pronoun; Function: object of per; Translation: “me”; Notes: Edom speaks of his land or national territory as himself.
  8. alioquin — Lemma: alioquin; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: conditional consequence marker; Translation: “otherwise”; Notes: introduces the threatened result of disobedience.
  9. armatus — Lemma: armo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle; Function: predicate participle modifying the implied subject of occurram; Translation: “armed”; Notes: describes Edom as prepared for military confrontation.
  10. occurram — Lemma: occurro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular future active indicative; Function: main verb of threat clause; Translation: “I will meet”; Notes: in this context it implies hostile confrontation rather than neutral meeting.
  11. tibi — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative singular second person personal pronoun; Function: indirect object of occurram; Translation: “you”; Notes: addresses Israel as the party being threatened.

 

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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