Numeri 21:25 (Numbers 21:25)

Posted on May 18, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 21:25 Tulit ergo Israel omnes civitates eius, et habitavit in urbibus Amorrhæi, in Hesebon scilicet, et viculis eius.

Therefore Israel took all his cities, and dwelt in the cities of the Amorrhite, namely in Hesebon and its villages.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tulit took 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 ergo therefore CONJ
3 Israel Israel INDECL
4 omnes all ACC.PL.F
5 civitates cities ACC.PL.F
6 eius his GEN.SG
7 et and CONJ
8 habitavit dwelt 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
9 in in PREP+ABL
10 urbibus cities ABL.PL.F
11 Amorrhæi of the Amorite GEN.SG.M
12 in namely in PREP+ABL
13 Hesebon Heshbon INDECL
14 scilicet namely ADV
15 et and CONJ
16 viculis villages ABL.PL.M
17 eius its GEN.SG

Syntax

Main Clause: Israel tulit omnes civitates eius describes Israel’s conquest of the cities.

Direct Object: omnes civitates eius functions as the object of Tulit.

Coordinate Clause: et habitavit in urbibus Amorrhæi describes Israel’s settlement in the conquered territory.

Location Phrase: in urbibus Amorrhæi identifies the cities belonging to the Amorrhæan.

Clarifying Phrase: in Hesebon scilicet specifies Hesebon as the principal city.

Coordinate Location Phrase: et viculis eius adds the surrounding villages associated with Hesebon.

Morphology

  1. Tulit — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “took”; Notes: here refers to military capture or seizure.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: inferential conjunction; Function: introduces result or consequence; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: connects Israel’s victory with the occupation of the land.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: subject of Tulit and habitavit; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: collectively refers to the covenant people.
  4. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies civitates; Translation: “all”; Notes: emphasizes the totality of the conquest.
  5. civitates — Lemma: civitas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: direct object of Tulit; Translation: “cities”; Notes: refers to fortified population centers.
  6. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular demonstrative pronoun; Function: modifies civitates; Translation: “his”; Notes: refers to Sehon and his territory.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins conquest and settlement clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: links military action with occupation.
  8. habitavit — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative; Function: second main narrative verb; Translation: “dwelt”; Notes: indicates settled occupation of the territory.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the ablative; Function: introduces location phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: expresses place where settlement occurred.
  10. urbibus — Lemma: urbs; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of in; Translation: “cities”; Notes: refers to urban settlements occupied by Israel.
  11. Amorrhæi — Lemma: Amorrhæus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: modifies urbibus; Translation: “of the Amorrhite”; Notes: identifies the former Amorite ownership of the cities. The plural sense in phrases like urbibus Amorrhæi stems from the Hebrew “gentilic” tradition, where a grammatically singular ethnic name acts as a collective noun representing an entire nation. In this construction, urbibus is plural (“cities”), while Amorrhæi remains genitive singular (“of the Amorite”), literally translating to “the cities of the Amorite.” Latin translators preserved this singular form to mirror the Hebrew corporate identity, treating the tribe as a single personified entity. Consequently, while the morphology is singular, the semantic scope is plural, which is why modern English translations render the phrase as “the cities of the Amorites” to reflect that the cities belong to the people as a whole.
  12. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the ablative; Function: introduces specific location phrase; Translation: “namely in”; Notes: narrows the focus to Hesebon.
  13. Hesebon — Lemma: Hesebon; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable proper noun; Function: object of in; Translation: “Hesebon”; Notes: chief Amorite city captured by Israel.
  14. scilicet — Lemma: scilicet; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: explanatory adverb; Function: clarifies the preceding phrase; Translation: “namely”; Notes: specifies or explains the principal example.
  15. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins Hesebon with its dependent settlements; Translation: “and”; Notes: adds the surrounding villages.
  16. viculis — Lemma: viculus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: implied object of in; Translation: “villages”; Notes: refers to smaller settlements associated with Hesebon.
  17. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular demonstrative pronoun; Function: modifies viculis; Translation: “its”; Notes: refers to Hesebon and its dependent villages.

 

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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