Numeri 22:1 (Numbers 22:1)

Posted on May 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 22:1 Profectique castrametati sunt in campestribus Moab, ubi trans Iordanem Iericho sita est.

Then they departed and camped in the plains of Moab, where Jericho is situated across the Jordan.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Profectique and having departed PTCP.PERF.DEP.NOM.PL.M+CONJ
2 castrametati having encamped PTCP.PERF.DEP.NOM.PL.M
3 sunt they are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
4 in in PREP+ABL
5 campestribus plains ABL.PL.N
6 Moab Moab INDECL
7 ubi where ADV
8 trans across PREP+ACC
9 Iordanem Jordan ACC.SG.M
10 Iericho Jericho INDECL
11 sita situated PTCP.PERF.PASS.NOM.SG.F
12 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Profectique castrametati sunt — compound deponent verbal expression describing the movement and encampment of the people.

Locative Phrase: in campestribus Moab — prepositional phrase indicating the place where they camped.

Relative Adverbial Clause: ubi trans Iordanem Iericho sita est — clause identifying the geographical location of the plains of Moab.

Phrase: trans Iordanem — prepositional phrase expressing spatial relation “across the Iordan.”

Predicate Expression: Iericho sita est — predicate participle construction meaning “Jericho is situated.”

Morphology

  1. Profectique — Lemma: proficiscor + que; Part of Speech: deponent participle + enclitic conjunction; Form: perfect deponent participle nominative plural masculine + enclitic conjunction; Function: introduces the sequence of departure and links it to the following action; Translation: “and having departed”; Notes: The participle comes from a deponent verb and carries active meaning despite passive morphology.
  2. castrametati — Lemma: castrametor; Part of Speech: deponent participle; Form: perfect deponent participle nominative plural masculine; Function: describes the completed act of encamping; Translation: “having encamped”; Notes: Frequently used in military and wilderness-travel contexts in the Vulgate.
  3. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: auxiliary verb completing the perfect participial construction; Translation: “they are”; Notes: Functions with the participles to form a completed narrative action.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the ablative case; Function: introduces location; Translation: “in”; Notes: With the ablative it expresses static position rather than movement.
  5. campestribus — Lemma: campestris; Part of Speech: adjective used substantivally; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of the preposition in; Translation: “plains”; Notes: The adjective functions as a noun referring to flat open lands.
  6. Moab — Lemma: Moab; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: specifies the region of the plains; Translation: “Moab”; Notes: Hebrew-derived place name treated as indeclinable in Latin.
  7. ubi — Lemma: ubi; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable adverb of place; Function: introduces the relative locative clause; Translation: “where”; Notes: Connects the geographical explanation to the main clause.
  8. trans — Lemma: trans; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governing the accusative case; Function: expresses movement or position across something; Translation: “across”; Notes: Often used for territorial orientation east or west of the Jordan.
  9. Iordanem — Lemma: Iordanes; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of the preposition trans; Translation: “Iordan”; Notes: Refers to the Jordan River, a major geographical boundary in biblical narrative.
  10. Iericho — Lemma: Iericho; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: subject of the clause; Translation: “Jericho”; Notes: The city name remains unchanged across cases in Vulgate Latin.
  11. sita — Lemma: sino; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle nominative singular feminine; Function: predicate participle describing the state of Jericho; Translation: “situated”; Notes: Agrees with Iericho, treated here as grammatically feminine.
  12. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular present active indicative; Function: copulative verb linking the subject with the predicate participle; Translation: “is”; Notes: Forms a passive descriptive expression together with sita.

 

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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