Numeri 22:2 (Numbers 22:2)

Posted on May 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 22:2 Videns autem Balac filius Sephor omnia quæ fecerat Israel Amorrhæo,

Now Balac son of Sephor, seeing all that Israel had done to the Amorrhite,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Videns seeing PTCP.PRES.ACT.NOM.SG.M
2 autem now CONJ
3 Balac Balak INDECL
4 filius son NOM.SG.M
5 Sephor Zippor INDECL
6 omnia all things ACC.PL.N
7 quæ which ACC.PL.N.REL
8 fecerat had done 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
9 Israel Israel INDECL
10 Amorrhæo to the Amorite DAT.SG.M

Syntax

Participial Construction: Videns autem Balac filius Sephor — nominative participial phrase introducing Balac as the observing subject of the narrative.

Apposition: filius Sephor — appositional phrase identifying Balac by lineage.

Object Clause: omnia quæ fecerat Israel Amorrhæo — accusative construction functioning as the object of Videns.

Relative Clause: quæ fecerat Israel Amorrhæo — clause modifying omnia and specifying the deeds performed.

Indirect Object: Amorrhæo — dative expressing the recipient or target of Israel’s actions.

Morphology

  1. Videns — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: introduces the observing action of Balac; Translation: “seeing”; Notes: The present participle conveys an ongoing or contemporaneous perception.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: connects this event with the preceding narrative; Translation: “now”; Notes: Frequently used in biblical Latin to transition into a new scene or development.
  3. Balac — Lemma: Balac; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: subject of the participial construction; Translation: “Balac”; Notes: Moabite king whose fear of Israel drives the following narrative.
  4. filius — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: apposition to Balac; Translation: “son”; Notes: Establishes familial identity according to ancient Near Eastern convention.
  5. Sephor — Lemma: Sephor; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: dependent identifier linked to filius; Translation: “Sephor”; Notes: Foreign proper name retained without declensional change.
  6. omnia — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective used substantivally; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object of Videns; Translation: “all things”; Notes: Refers comprehensively to Israel’s military actions.
  7. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: introduces the relative clause modifying omnia; Translation: “which”; Notes: Agrees with omnia in gender and number.
  8. fecerat — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular pluperfect active indicative; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had done”; Notes: The pluperfect places the actions prior to Balac’s observation.
  9. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: subject of fecerat; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: The covenant people are represented collectively as a singular entity.
  10. Amorrhæo — Lemma: Amorrhæus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: indirect object of fecerat; Translation: “to the Amorrhite”; Notes: Refers collectively to the Amorrhite people defeated by Israel.

 

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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