Numeri 25:6 (Numbers 25:6)

Posted on May 22, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 25:6 Et ecce unus de filiis Israel intravit coram fratribus suis ad scortum Madianitidem, vidente Moyse, et omni turba filiorum Israel, qui flebant ante fores tabernaculi.

And behold, one of the sons of Israel entered before his brothers with a Madianite prostitute, while Moyses and the whole assembly of the sons of Israel were watching, who were weeping before the doors of the tabernacle.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 ecce behold INTJ
3 unus one NOM.SG.M
4 de from PREP+ABL
5 filiis sons ABL.PL.M
6 Israel Israel INDECL.NOUN
7 intravit entered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
8 coram before PREP+ABL
9 fratribus brothers ABL.PL.M
10 suis his own ABL.PL.M.POSS
11 ad with PREP+ACC
12 scortum prostitute ACC.SG.N
13 Madianitidem Midianite ACC.SG.F
14 vidente while seeing ABL.SG.M.PRES.ACT.PTCP
15 Moyse Moses ABL.SG.M
16 et and CONJ
17 omni whole ABL.SG.F
18 turba assembly ABL.SG.F
19 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
20 Israel Israel INDECL.NOUN
21 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL
22 flebant were weeping 3PL.IMP.ACT.IND
23 ante before PREP+ACC
24 fores doors ACC.PL.F
25 tabernaculi of the tabernacle GEN.SG.N

Syntax

Main Clause: unus de filiis Israel intravit presents the principal action, with unus functioning as the subject and intravit as the main verb.

Partitive Phrase: de filiis Israel identifies the larger group from which the individual came.

Prepositional Phrase: coram fratribus suis expresses public visibility before his fellow Israelites.

Association Phrase: ad scortum Madianitidem identifies the woman with whom the man entered.

Ablative Absolute: vidente Moyse, et omni turba filiorum Israel describes the surrounding circumstance while the event occurred.

Relative Clause: qui flebant ante fores tabernaculi modifies turba filiorum Israel and describes the assembly’s mourning posture.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable coordinating conjunction; Function: connects the sentence to the preceding narrative; Translation: “and”; Notes: continues the narrative sequence.
  2. ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces dramatic attention; Translation: “behold”; Notes: highlights a shocking or important action.
  3. unus — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantivally; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of intravit; Translation: “one”; Notes: emphasizes a single individual acting publicly.
  4. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces partitive phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: indicates origin from a larger group.
  5. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, 2nd declension; Function: object of de; Translation: “sons”; Notes: part of the expression identifying the Israelites.
  6. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable singular; Function: dependent identifier modifying filiis; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: identifies the covenant nation.
  7. intravit — Lemma: intro; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person singular perfect active indicative, 1st conjugation; Function: main narrative verb; Translation: “entered”; Notes: describes deliberate public action.
  8. coram — Lemma: coram; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: introduces phrase of presence; Translation: “before”; Notes: indicates action performed openly in sight of others.
  9. fratribus — Lemma: frater; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, 3rd declension; Function: object of coram; Translation: “brothers”; Notes: refers to fellow Israelites.
  10. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: modifies fratribus; Translation: “his own”; Notes: reflexively refers back to the subject.
  11. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces association or direction; Translation: “with”; Notes: here conveys movement toward or association with a person.
  12. scortum — Lemma: scortum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter, 2nd declension; Function: object of ad; Translation: “prostitute”; Notes: strongly pejorative term associated with sexual immorality.
  13. Madianitidem — Lemma: Madianitis; Part of Speech: noun/adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine, 3rd declension; Function: modifies scortum; Translation: “Madianite”; Notes: identifies the foreign ethnic origin of the woman.
  14. vidente — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: ablative singular masculine present active participle, 2nd conjugation; Function: participial element in ablative absolute; Translation: “while seeing”; Notes: indicates that the action occurred openly under observation.
  15. Moyse — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: noun within ablative absolute construction; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: identifies the principal witness to the event.
  16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable coordinating conjunction; Function: joins elements of the ablative absolute; Translation: “and”; Notes: coordinates Moyses with the gathered assembly.
  17. omni — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: modifies turba; Translation: “whole”; Notes: emphasizes completeness of the gathered assembly.
  18. turba — Lemma: turba; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular feminine, 1st declension; Function: element within the ablative absolute; Translation: “assembly”; Notes: collective term for the gathered multitude.
  19. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, 2nd declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying turba; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: identifies the assembly as belonging to Israel.
  20. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable singular; Function: dependent identifier modifying filiorum; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: names the covenant nation.
  21. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject of the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: refers to the gathered Israelites.
  22. flebant — Lemma: fleo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural imperfect active indicative, 2nd conjugation; Function: verb of the relative clause; Translation: “were weeping”; Notes: imperfect tense emphasizes ongoing mourning or lamentation.
  23. ante — Lemma: ante; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces locative phrase; Translation: “before”; Notes: expresses position in front of something.
  24. fores — Lemma: fores; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of ante; Translation: “doors”; Notes: plural form commonly used for doorway or entrance.
  25. tabernaculi — Lemma: tabernaculum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular neuter, 2nd declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying fores; Translation: “of the tabernacle”; Notes: refers to the sacred tent of meeting.

 

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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