Numeri 21:1 (Numbers 21:1)

Posted on May 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 21:1 Quod cum audisset Chananæus rex Arad, qui habitabat ad meridiem, venisse scilicet Israel per exploratorum viam, pugnavit contra illum, et victor existens, duxit ex eo prædam.

When the Chananite king of Arad, who was dwelling in the south, had heard that Israel had indeed come by the way of the spies, he fought against him, and being victorious, he led from him captives as spoil.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quod when CONJ
2 cum when CONJ
3 audisset had heard 3SG.PLUP.ACT.SUBJ
4 Chananæus Canaanite NOM.SG.M
5 rex king NOM.SG.M
6 Arad Arad INDECL
7 qui who REL.NOM.SG.M
8 habitabat was dwelling 3SG.IMP.ACT.IND
9 ad toward PREP+ACC
10 meridiem south ACC.SG.M
11 venisse to have come PERF.ACT.INF
12 scilicet indeed ADV
13 Israel Israel INDECL
14 per through PREP+ACC
15 exploratorum of the spies GEN.PL.M
16 viam way ACC.SG.F
17 pugnavit fought 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
18 contra against PREP+ACC
19 illum him ACC.SG.M
20 et and CONJ
21 victor victorious NOM.SG.M
22 existens being PRES.ACT.PTCP
23 duxit led 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
24 ex from PREP+ABL
25 eo him ABL.SG.M
26 prædam spoil ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Chananæus rex Arad functions as the subject of pugnavit and duxit.

Temporal Clause: Quod cum audisset introduces a temporal circumstance explaining when the conflict began.

Relative Clause: qui habitabat ad meridiem modifies rex Arad, identifying the king geographically.

Indirect Statement: venisse Israel per exploratorum viam functions as the content of what the king had heard.

Prepositional Phrase: per exploratorum viam expresses the route by which Israel approached.

Object Phrase: contra illum identifies the target of the military action.

Participial Phrase: victor existens describes the victorious state accompanying the action of duxit.

Object: prædam serves as the direct object of duxit.

Morphology

  1. Quod — Lemma: quod; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating conjunction; Function: introduces a temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: introduces the circumstance surrounding the following action.
  2. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating conjunction; Function: introduces a clause with the subjunctive verb; Translation: “when”; Notes: commonly used with the subjunctive in temporal narration.
  3. audisset — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of the temporal clause; Translation: “had heard”; Notes: the pluperfect indicates completed action prior to the battle.
  4. Chananæus — Lemma: Chananæus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: ethnic identifier modifying rex; Translation: “Chananite”; Notes: identifies the king as belonging to the people of Chanaan.
  5. rex — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of the main verbs; Translation: “king”; Notes: central governing figure in the sentence.
  6. Arad — Lemma: Arad; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: identifies the kingdom ruled by the king; Translation: “Arad”; Notes: a southern Chananite city-region.
  7. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: relative nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces a relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: refers back to rex.
  8. habitabat — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular imperfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “was dwelling”; Notes: the imperfect portrays an ongoing state or residence.
  9. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces directional phrase; Translation: “toward”; Notes: indicates geographical orientation.
  10. meridiem — Lemma: meridies; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “south”; Notes: refers to the southern region.
  11. venisse — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect active infinitive; Function: infinitive in indirect statement; Translation: “to have come”; Notes: expresses completed arrival within reported speech.
  12. scilicet — Lemma: scilicet; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable adverb; Function: emphasizes the statement; Translation: “indeed”; Notes: adds explanatory or confirmatory force.
  13. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: subject of the infinitive venisse; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: collective designation for the people.
  14. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces route phrase; Translation: “through”; Notes: indicates movement along a path.
  15. exploratorum — Lemma: explorator; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies viam; Translation: “of the spies”; Notes: identifies the route associated with prior reconnaissance.
  16. viam — Lemma: via; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of per; Translation: “way”; Notes: denotes a route or road of travel.
  17. pugnavit — Lemma: pugno; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main action verb; Translation: “fought”; Notes: describes a completed military engagement.
  18. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces adversarial object; Translation: “against”; Notes: marks opposition or hostility.
  19. illum — Lemma: ille; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine demonstrative; Function: object of contra; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers to Israel collectively.
  20. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links two actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: joins the battle and its outcome.
  21. victor — Lemma: victor; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate complement with existens; Translation: “victorious”; Notes: describes the result of the conflict.
  22. existens — Lemma: existo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: participial modifier of the subject; Translation: “being”; Notes: expresses the state accompanying the subsequent action.
  23. duxit — Lemma: duco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: second main action verb; Translation: “led”; Notes: often used for carrying away captives or spoil.
  24. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the ablative; Function: introduces source phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: marks origin or separation.
  25. eo — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of ex; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers back to Israel as the defeated party.
  26. prædam — Lemma: præda; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of duxit; Translation: “spoil”; Notes: can refer to captives or goods seized in war.

 

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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