Numeri 26:50 (Numbers 26:50)

Posted on May 23, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 26:50 hæ sunt cognationes filiorum Nephthali per familias suas: quorum numerus quadraginta quinque millia quadringenti.

These are the clans of the sons of Nephthali according to their families, whose number was forty-five thousand four hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 hæ these NOM.PL.F.DEM
2 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
3 cognationes clans NOM.PL.F
4 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
5 Nephthali Naphtali INDECL.NOUN
6 per according to PREP+ACC
7 familias families ACC.PL.F
8 suas their ACC.PL.F.POSS
9 quorum whose GEN.PL.M.REL
10 numerus number NOM.SG.M
11 quadraginta forty INDECL.NUM
12 quinque five INDECL.NUM
13 millia thousand NOM.PL.N
14 quadringenti four hundred NOM.PL.M.NUM

Syntax

Main Clause: hæ sunt cognationes filiorum Nephthali per familias suas concludes the genealogical listing of the clan divisions of Nephthali.

Subject: hæ cognationes functions as the subject of sunt.

Genitive Relationship: filiorum Nephthali identifies the clans as belonging to the descendants of Nephthali.

Prepositional Phrase: per familias suas indicates organization according to family divisions.

Relative Clause: quorum numerus provides the census total for the descendants just listed.

Subject of Relative Clause: numerus is the subject of an implied form of erat (“was”), which is omitted in the Latin text.

Numerical Predicate: quadraginta quinque millia quadringenti states the total population counted for the tribe of Nephthali.

Morphology

  1. hæ — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: modifies cognationes; Translation: “these”; Notes: points to the clan divisions just enumerated.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: third person plural present active indicative; Function: copulative verb; Translation: “are”; Notes: links the subject with its identification.
  3. cognationes — Lemma: cognatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine, 3rd declension; Function: subject of sunt; Translation: “clans”; Notes: refers to the family divisions within the tribe.
  4. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine, 2nd declension; Function: dependent genitive modifying cognationes; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: identifies the descendants from whom the clans arise.
  5. Nephthali — Lemma: Nephthali; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable singular; Function: dependent identifier modifying filiorum; Translation: “Nephthali”; Notes: son of Iacob and ancestor of the tribe.
  6. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: introduces classification phrase; Translation: “according to”; Notes: indicates arrangement by family groups.
  7. familias — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, 1st declension; Function: object of per; Translation: “families”; Notes: refers to household divisions within the clans.
  8. suas — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies familias; Translation: “their”; Notes: refers to the descendants of Nephthali.
  9. quorum — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: links the relative clause to filiorum; Translation: “whose”; Notes: refers back to the descendants listed.
  10. numerus — Lemma: numerus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, 2nd declension; Function: subject of the implied verb; Translation: “number”; Notes: refers to the census total.
  11. quadraginta — Lemma: quadraginta; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: part of numerical predicate; Translation: “forty”; Notes: first component of the census total.
  12. quinque — Lemma: quinque; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: indeclinable cardinal numeral; Function: completes the number forty-five; Translation: “five”; Notes: combines with quadraginta to form the total.
  13. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: numeral noun; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: part of numerical predicate; Translation: “thousand”; Notes: denotes groups of one thousand.
  14. quadringenti — Lemma: quadringenti; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: completes the numerical predicate; Translation: “four hundred”; Notes: completes the total of 45,400.

 

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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