Numeri 27:8 (Numbers 27:8)

Posted on May 24, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 27:8 Homo cum mortuus fuerit absque filio, ad filiam eius transibit hereditas.

‘If a man dies without a son, the inheritance shall pass to his daughter.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Homo man NOM.SG.M
2 cum when CONJ
3 mortuus dead PTCP.NOM.SG.M
4 fuerit shall have been 3SG.FUTP.ACT.SUBJ
5 absque without PREP+ABL
6 filio son ABL.SG.M
7 ad to PREP+ACC
8 filiam daughter ACC.SG.F
9 eius his PERS.GEN.SG
10 transibit shall pass 3SG.FUT.ACT.IND
11 hereditas inheritance NOM.SG.F

Syntax

Conditional-Temporal Clause: cum mortuus fuerit absque filio — establishes the circumstance under which the legal ruling applies. The subject is Homo, and the clause describes a man dying without a son.

Main Clause: hereditas transibit — hereditas is the subject and transibit is the main verb.

Directional Phrase: ad filiam eius — indicates the person to whom the inheritance is transferred.

Legal Function: This verse establishes the first rule of inheritance succession: when no son exists, the daughter becomes the heir.

Morphology

  1. Homo — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative Singular Masculine; Function: Subject of the conditional clause; Translation: “man”; Notes: Introduces a general legal case rather than a specific individual.
  2. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Introduces a temporal-conditional clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Establishes the condition under which the inheritance law applies.
  3. mortuus — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: Participle; Form: Perfect Participle Nominative Singular Masculine from a deponent verb; Function: Predicate participle with fuerit; Translation: “dead”; Notes: Forms part of the expression meaning “has died” or “shall have died.”
  4. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Future Perfect Active Subjunctive 3rd Person Singular; Function: Verb of the conditional clause; Translation: “shall have been”; Notes: Combined with mortuus, it expresses the completed event of death before the inheritance transfer.
  5. absque — Lemma: absque; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces an exclusion phrase; Translation: “without”; Notes: Specifies the absence of a legal male heir.
  6. filio — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative Singular Masculine; Function: Object of absque; Translation: “son”; Notes: Identifies the missing heir whose absence triggers the rule.
  7. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the recipient of the inheritance; Translation: “to”; Notes: Marks legal transfer toward a new heir.
  8. filiam — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative Singular Feminine; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: The daughter becomes the legal successor when no son exists.
  9. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Personal Pronoun; Form: Genitive Singular; Function: Possessive genitive modifying filiam; Translation: “his”; Notes: Refers to the deceased man whose inheritance is being discussed.
  10. transibit — Lemma: transeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Future Active Indicative 3rd Person Singular; Function: Main verb; Translation: “shall pass”; Notes: Expresses the legal transfer of inheritance rights.
  11. hereditas — Lemma: hereditas; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative Singular Feminine; Function: Subject of transibit; Translation: “inheritance”; Notes: Refers to the hereditary estate governed by this law.

 

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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