Numeri 31:11 (Numbers 31:11)

Posted on May 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 31:11 Et tulerunt prædam, et universa quæ ceperant tam ex hominibus quam ex iumentis,

And they carried away the spoil, and everything that they had captured, both from people and from beasts of burden,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ
2 tulerunt they carried away 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
3 prædam the spoil ACC.SG.F
4 et and CONJ
5 universa everything ACC.PL.N
6 quæ which ACC.PL.N.REL.PRON
7 ceperant had captured 3PL.PLUP.ACT.IND
8 tam both CORR.ADV
9 ex from PREP+ABL
10 hominibus people ABL.PL.M
11 quam and CORR.CONJ
12 ex from PREP+ABL
13 iumentis beasts of burden ABL.PL.N

Syntax

1. Coordinated Main Clause
The sentence consists of a single principal clause with two coordinated direct objects governed by the verb tulerunt. The conjunction Et links this verse with the preceding narrative, continuing the account of the Israelites’ actions after the victory.

2. Main Verb
tulerunt is a third-person plural perfect active indicative. The subject is understood from the context as the Israelite warriors. The perfect tense presents the removal of the spoil as a completed historical action.

3. Coordinated Direct Objects
The verb governs two direct objects: prædam and universa quæ ceperant. The first is a simple noun, while the second is expanded by a relative clause that specifies exactly what is included in “everything.”

4. Relative Clause
The pronoun quæ introduces the relative clause quæ ceperant. It refers back to universa and serves as the direct object of ceperant. The clause therefore means “everything that they had captured.”

5. Pluperfect Verb
ceperant is a third-person plural pluperfect active indicative. The pluperfect indicates that the act of capturing preceded the act of carrying away. First the Israelites captured the people and animals; afterwards they transported the spoil.

6. Correlative Construction
The pair tam … quam forms the correlative expression “both … and.” Here it links two prepositional phrases: ex hominibus and ex iumentis. The repetition of ex before each noun clearly marks both sources.

7. Prepositional Phrases
The preposition ex governs the ablative in both phrases. ex hominibus indicates that captives taken from among human beings formed part of the spoil, while ex iumentis adds beasts of burden or domestic animals to the list. Both phrases modify ceperant.

8. Overall Sentence Structure
The syntax moves from the principal action (“they carried away the spoil”) to an explanatory expansion (“everything that they had captured”), ending with the balanced correlative expression that specifies the two principal categories from which the spoil was taken. The sentence combines brevity with completeness by first stating the action and then defining its full scope.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Connects this sentence with the preceding narrative; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues the sequence of historical events.
  2. tulerunt — Lemma: fero; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person plural perfect active indicative; Function: Main verb of the sentence; Translation: “they carried away”; Notes: tuli is the suppletive perfect stem of fero.
  3. prædam — Lemma: præda; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, first declension; Function: First direct object of tulerunt; Translation: “the spoil”; Notes: Refers collectively to the booty taken in war.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates the second direct object; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins universa with prædam.
  5. universa — Lemma: universus; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantivally; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: Second direct object of tulerunt; Translation: “everything”; Notes: Used substantivally to denote the totality of captured goods.
  6. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: Direct object of ceperant within the relative clause; Translation: “which”; Notes: Refers back to universa.
  7. ceperant — Lemma: capio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person plural pluperfect active indicative, third conjugation (-io); Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had captured”; Notes: Expresses an action completed before tulerunt.
  8. tam — Lemma: tam; Part of Speech: Correlative adverb; Form: Indeclinable; Function: First element of the correlative construction tam … quam; Translation: “both”; Notes: Introduces the first member of the pair.
  9. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative case; Function: Introduces the source phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates the source from which the spoil was taken.
  10. hominibus — Lemma: homo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Object of ex; Translation: “people”; Notes: Refers to human captives.
  11. quam — Lemma: quam; Part of Speech: Correlative conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Completes the construction tam … quam; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the second member of the balanced pair.
  12. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative case; Function: Introduces the second source phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: Repeated for clarity and balance.
  13. iumentis — Lemma: iumentum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative plural neuter, second declension; Function: Object of ex; Translation: “beasts of burden”; Notes: Refers to domestic pack or draft animals included among the spoil.

 

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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