Numeri 22:29 (Numbers 22:29)

Posted on May 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 22:29 Respondit Balaam: Quia commeruisti, et illusisti mihi: utinam haberem gladium, ut te percuterem.

Balaam answered: “Because you have deserved it, and you have mocked me. If only I had a sword, so that I might strike you.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Respondit answered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
2 Balaam Balaam INDECL
3 Quia because CONJ
4 commeruisti you have deserved 2SG.PERF.ACT.IND
5 et and CONJ
6 illusisti you have mocked 2SG.PERF.ACT.IND
7 mihi me DAT.SG
8 utinam if only ADV
9 haberem I had 1SG.IMP.ACT.SUBJ
10 gladium a sword ACC.SG.M
11 ut so that CONJ
12 te you ACC.SG.PERS
13 percuterem I might strike 1SG.IMP.ACT.SUBJ

Syntax

Main Clause: Balaam (subject) + Respondit (main verb).

Causal Clause: Quia commeruisti et illusisti mihi — subordinate clause expressing Balaam’s reason for anger.

Coordinate Verbs: commeruisti and illusisti — linked actions attributed to the donkey.

Optative Expression: utinam haberem gladium — wish construction expressing unreal desire.

Purpose Clause: ut te percuterem — subordinate clause expressing intended result or purpose.

Morphology

  1. Respondit — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the sentence; Translation: “answered”; Notes: introduces Balaam’s direct speech.
  2. Balaam — Lemma: Balaam; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: subject of Respondit; Translation: “Balaam”; Notes: retains Hebrew form without Latin inflection.
  3. Quia — Lemma: quia; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating conjunction; Function: introduces causal clause; Translation: “because”; Notes: gives Balaam’s justification.
  4. commeruisti — Lemma: commeror; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: verb of causal clause; Translation: “you have deserved”; Notes: Balaam claims the donkey deserved punishment.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins verbal actions; Translation: “and”; Notes: links the accusations together.
  6. illusisti — Lemma: illudo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: second verb of causal clause; Translation: “you have mocked”; Notes: conveys Balaam’s feeling of humiliation or ridicule.
  7. mihi — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: dative singular; Function: indirect object of illusisti; Translation: “me”; Notes: indicates the person affected by the mockery.
  8. utinam — Lemma: utinam; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: invariable; Function: introduces optative wish; Translation: “if only”; Notes: expresses strong unreal desire.
  9. haberem — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person singular imperfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of optative clause; Translation: “I had”; Notes: subjunctive used with utinam for unreal wish.
  10. gladium — Lemma: gladius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: direct object of haberem; Translation: “a sword”; Notes: symbolizes intended violent retaliation.
  11. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating conjunction; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “so that”; Notes: expresses intended result.
  12. te — Lemma: tu; Part of Speech: personal pronoun; Form: accusative singular; Function: direct object of percuterem; Translation: “you”; Notes: refers to the donkey being threatened.
  13. percuterem — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person singular imperfect active subjunctive; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “I might strike”; Notes: expresses intended violent action dependent on possessing the sword.

 

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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