Numeri 22:41 (Numbers 22:41)

Posted on May 19, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 22:41 Mane autem facto duxit eum ad excelsa Baal, et intuitus est extremam partem populi.

Then when morning had come, he led him to the high places of Baal, and he looked upon the outermost part of the people.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Mane morning ABL.SG.N
2 autem then CONJ
3 facto having been made PTCP.ABL.SG.N
4 duxit he led 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
5 eum him ACC.SG.M.PERS
6 ad to PREP+ACC
7 excelsa the high places ACC.PL.N
8 Baal of Baal INDECL
9 et and CONJ
10 intuitus having looked upon PTCP.NOM.SG.M.DEP
11 est has 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
12 extremam outermost ACC.SG.F
13 partem part ACC.SG.F
14 populi of the people GEN.SG.M

Syntax

Ablative Absolute: Mane autem facto — temporal construction meaning “when morning had come.”

Main Clause: duxit eum ad excelsa Baal — principal narrative clause describing Balac leading Balaam.

Prepositional Phrase: ad excelsa Baal — expresses movement toward the cultic high places associated with Baal.

Coordinate Clause: et intuitus est extremam partem populi — describes Balaam’s act of viewing the people.

Direct Object Phrase: extremam partem populi — indicates Balaam saw only the outermost portion of Israel.

Morphology

  1. Mane — Lemma: mane; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter, indeclinable; Function: part of ablative absolute; Translation: “morning”; Notes: marks the time of the following events.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: transitional particle; Translation: “then”; Notes: introduces continuation in the narrative.
  3. facto — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle ablative singular neuter; Function: part of ablative absolute; Translation: “having been made”; Notes: idiomatically means “when morning had come.”
  4. duxit — Lemma: duco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of narrative clause; Translation: “he led”; Notes: refers to Balac guiding Balaam.
  5. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of duxit; Translation: “him”; Notes: refers to Balaam.
  6. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: indicates motion toward; Translation: “to”; Notes: expresses destination.
  7. excelsa — Lemma: excelsum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, 2nd declension; Function: object of ad; Translation: “the high places”; Notes: refers to elevated cultic sites.
  8. Baal — Lemma: Baal; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: dependent genitive sense with excelsa; Translation: “of Baal”; Notes: identifies the pagan deity associated with the site.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins narrative clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: links leading and viewing actions.
  10. intuitus — Lemma: intueor; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect participle nominative singular masculine deponent; Function: forms compound verb with est; Translation: “having looked upon”; Notes: deponent verb expressing attentive observation.
  11. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary verb with intuitus; Translation: “has”; Notes: completes the perfect tense construction.
  12. extremam — Lemma: extremus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine superlative degree; Function: modifies partem; Translation: “outermost”; Notes: denotes the furthest visible section.
  13. partem — Lemma: pars; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, 3rd declension; Function: direct object of intuitus est; Translation: “part”; Notes: refers to a section of Israel’s camp.
  14. populi — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying partem; Translation: “of the people”; Notes: refers to the people of 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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