Numeri 3:45 (Numbers 3:45)

Posted on April 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 3:45 Tolle Levitas pro primogenitis filiorum Israel, et pecora Levitarum pro pecoribus eorum, eruntque Levitæ mei. ego sum Dominus.

“Take the Levites in place of the firstborn of the sons of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites in place of their livestock, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the LORD.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tolle take 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
2 Levitas Levites ACC.PL.M
3 pro in place of PREP+ABL
4 primogenitis firstborn ABL.PL.M
5 filiorum of sons GEN.PL.M
6 Israel Israel NOUN.GEN.SG.M.INDECL
7 et and CONJ
8 pecora livestock ACC.PL.N
9 Levitarum of Levites GEN.PL.M
10 pro in place of PREP+ABL
11 pecoribus livestock ABL.PL.N
12 eorum their GEN.PL.M
13 eruntque and they shall be 3PL.FUT.ACT.IND+ENCL
14 Levitæ Levites NOM.PL.M
15 mei mine NOM.PL.M
16 ego I NOM.SG
17 sum am 1SG.PRES.ACT.IND
18 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M

Syntax

Imperative Clause: Tolle Levitas — command directed to Moses.

Substitution Phrase: pro primogenitis filiorum Israel — replacement structure.

Coordinated Clause: et pecora Levitarum pro pecoribus eorum — parallel substitution for livestock.

Future Clause: eruntque Levitæ mei — possession, “the Levites shall be mine.”

Independent Clause: ego sum Dominus — divine declaration.

Morphology

  1. Tolle — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: second person singular present active imperative; Function: main command; Translation: take; Notes: Direct instruction.
  2. Levitas — Lemma: Levita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: Levites; Notes: Object of command.
  3. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: substitution; Translation: in place of; Notes: Exchange relationship.
  4. primogenitis — Lemma: primogenitus; Part of Speech: adjective used as noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: object of pro; Translation: firstborn; Notes: Refers to eldest sons.
  5. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies primogenitis; Translation: of sons; Notes: Specifies group.
  6. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine indeclinable; Function: modifies filiorum; Translation: Israel; Notes: Nation.
  7. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links clauses; Translation: and; Notes: Adds parallel structure.
  8. pecora — Lemma: pecus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: direct object (elliptical verb); Translation: livestock; Notes: Animal substitution.
  9. Levitarum — Lemma: Levita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies pecora; Translation: of Levites; Notes: Possessive genitive.
  10. pro — Lemma: pro; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: substitution; Translation: in place of; Notes: Parallel usage.
  11. pecoribus — Lemma: pecus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of pro; Translation: livestock; Notes: Refers to Israel’s animals.
  12. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies pecoribus; Translation: their; Notes: Possessive.
  13. eruntque — Lemma: sum + -que; Part of Speech: verb + enclitic conjunction; Form: third person plural future active indicative + enclitic; Function: predicate verb; Translation: and they shall be; Notes: Future possession.
  14. Levitæ — Lemma: Levita; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: subject; Translation: Levites; Notes: Subject of erunt.
  15. mei — Lemma: meus; Part of Speech: adjective/pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: mine; Notes: Possession.
  16. ego — Lemma: ego; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: nominative singular; Function: subject; Translation: I; Notes: Emphatic declaration.
  17. sum — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: first person singular present active indicative; Function: copulative verb; Translation: am; Notes: Links subject and predicate.
  18. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate nominative; Translation: LORD; Notes: Refers to YHWH.

 

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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