Numeri 31:13 (Numbers 31:13)

Posted on May 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 31:13 Egressi sunt autem Moyses, et Eleazar sacerdos, et omnes principes synagogæ in occursum eorum extra castra.

But Moyses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Egressi having gone out PERF.DEP.PTCP.NOM.PL.M
2 sunt they were 3PL.PRES.IND
3 autem however CONJ
4 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
5 et and CONJ
6 Eleazar Eleazar NOM.SG.M
7 sacerdos the priest NOM.SG.M
8 et and CONJ
9 omnes all NOM.PL.M
10 principes leaders NOM.PL.M
11 synagogæ of the congregation GEN.SG.F
12 in into PREP+ACC
13 occursum meeting ACC.SG.M
14 eorum of them GEN.PL.3P.PRON
15 extra outside PREP+ACC
16 castra the camp ACC.PL.N

Syntax

1. Deponent Perfect Construction
The sentence begins with Egressi sunt, the perfect tense of the deponent verb egredior. Although formed with a perfect participle and the auxiliary sunt, the expression has active meaning: “they went out.” This is the regular perfect formation of deponent verbs.

2. Delayed Compound Subject
The compound subject follows the verb: Moyses, et Eleazar sacerdos, et omnes principes synagogæ. Latin frequently places the verb before its subject in narrative. The three coordinated nominative elements together form the plural subject that agrees with egressi sunt.

3. Apposition
sacerdos stands in apposition to Eleazar. Both nouns are nominative singular masculine because they refer to the same individual. The apposition identifies Eleazar by his office: “Eleazar the priest.”

4. Adjective–Noun Agreement
omnes modifies principes, agreeing in masculine gender, plural number, and nominative case. Together they mean “all the leaders,” emphasizing that the entire leadership of the congregation participated.

5. Possessive Genitive
synagogæ is a genitive singular dependent upon principes. It identifies the body over which these men exercised authority, yielding the expression “leaders of the congregation.”

6. Purpose of Motion
The phrase in occursum eorum is an idiomatic Latin construction expressing purpose after verbs of motion. Literally meaning “into the meeting of them,” it is naturally translated “to meet them.” The preposition in governs the accusative noun occursum.

7. Objective Genitive
eorum depends upon occursum as an objective genitive. It identifies the persons whom Moses and the leaders intended to meet, namely the returning warriors.

8. Prepositional Phrase of Location
extra castra specifies where the meeting took place. The preposition extra governs the accusative. Although castra is formally plural, it is a plural-only noun meaning “camp.” The phrase indicates that the leaders went outside the camp before receiving the returning army.

9. Narrative Transition
The conjunction autem introduces a mild transition rather than a strong contrast. It shifts attention from the arrival of the returning warriors to the response of Moses, Eleazar, and the leaders.

10. Overall Sentence Structure
The sentence begins with the completed action of going out, identifies the full group who performed it, explains their purpose through the idiom in occursum, and concludes with the precise location of the meeting outside the Israelite camp. The syntax reflects orderly historical narration.

Morphology

  1. Egressi — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: Deponent verb (perfect participle); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect participle; Function: Forms the perfect tense with sunt; Translation: “having gone out”; Notes: Though passive in form, it has active meaning because egredior is deponent.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person plural present indicative; Function: Auxiliary verb forming the perfect tense of the deponent verb; Translation: “they were”; Notes: Together with egressi, it means “they went out.”
  3. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Introduces a narrative transition; Translation: “however”; Notes: Marks the next event in the narrative.
  4. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: Part of the compound subject; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: One of the leaders who went out.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates members of the compound subject; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins Moses and Eleazar.
  6. Eleazar — Lemma: Eleazar; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: Part of the compound subject; Translation: “Eleazar”; Notes: The high priest accompanying Moses.
  7. sacerdos — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Apposition to Eleazar; Translation: “the priest”; Notes: Identifies Eleazar by his office.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates the final member of the compound subject; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces the leaders of the congregation.
  9. omnes — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: Modifies principes; Translation: “all”; Notes: Emphasizes that every leader participated.
  10. principes — Lemma: princeps; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: nominative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Part of the compound subject; Translation: “leaders”; Notes: Refers to the tribal or congregational leaders.
  11. synagogæ — Lemma: synagoga; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular feminine, first declension; Function: Possessive genitive modifying principes; Translation: “of the congregation”; Notes: Specifies the community led by these men.
  12. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative case; Function: Introduces the idiomatic expression of purpose; Translation: “into”; Notes: In the expression in occursum, it means “to meet.”
  13. occursum — Lemma: occursus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, fourth declension; Function: Object of in; Translation: “meeting”; Notes: Forms the idiom in occursum, “to meet.”
  14. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: genitive plural; Function: Objective genitive dependent upon occursum; Translation: “of them”; Notes: Refers to the returning warriors.
  15. extra — Lemma: extra; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative case; Function: Introduces the location; Translation: “outside”; Notes: Indicates position beyond the camp.
  16. castra — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: Object of extra; Translation: “the camp”; Notes: A plural-only noun meaning a military camp.

 

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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