Numeri 21:10 (Numbers 21:10)

Posted on May 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 21:10 Profectique filii Israel castrametati sunt in Oboth.

And the sons of Israel, having departed, encamped in Oboth.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Profectique and having departed PERF.DEP.PTCP.NOM.PL.M+CONJ
2 filii sons NOM.PL.M
3 Israel Israel INDECL
4 castrametati having encamped PERF.DEP.PTCP.NOM.PL.M
5 sunt they are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
6 in in PREP+ABL
7 Oboth Oboth INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: filii Israel functions as the subject of castrametati sunt.

Participial Phrase: Profectique describes prior departure before the encampment.

Main Verb Phrase: castrametati sunt expresses the completed action of encamping.

Prepositional Phrase: in Oboth identifies the place of encampment.

Morphology

  1. Profectique — Lemma: proficiscor; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect deponent participle nominative plural masculine with enclitic conjunction; Function: participial modifier of filii Israel; Translation: “and having departed”; Notes: deponent form with active meaning, the enclitic -que links the action to the preceding journey narrative.
  2. filii — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of castrametati sunt; Translation: “sons”; Notes: part of the covenant expression identifying the people of Israel.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: dependent identifier modifying filii; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: specifies the national identity of the sons.
  4. castrametati — Lemma: castrametor; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect deponent participle nominative plural masculine; Function: forms compound perfect with sunt; Translation: “having encamped”; Notes: military term referring to establishing a camp.
  5. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary verb with castrametati; Translation: “they are”; Notes: completes the perfect tense construction.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the ablative; Function: introduces location phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: with the ablative it expresses place where.
  7. Oboth — Lemma: Oboth; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: object of in; Translation: “Oboth”; Notes: one of the wilderness encampment locations during Israel’s journey.

 

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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