Numeri 31:14 (Numbers 31:14)

Posted on May 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 31:14 Iratusque Moyses principibus exercitus, tribunis, et centurionibus qui venerant de bello,

And Moyses, being angry with the leaders of the army, the tribunes, and the centurions who had come from the war,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Iratusque and being angry NOM.SG.M.PERF.PTCP+ENCL
2 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
3 principibus with the leaders DAT.PL.M
4 exercitus of the army GEN.SG.M
5 tribunis the tribunes DAT.PL.M
6 et and CONJ
7 centurionibus the centurions DAT.PL.M
8 qui who NOM.PL.M.REL.PRON
9 venerant had come 3PL.PLUP.ACT.IND
10 de from PREP+ABL
11 bello the war ABL.SG.N

Syntax

1. Participial Construction
The sentence begins with Iratusque Moyses. Iratus is a perfect participle used adjectivally with Moyses, describing Moyses’ emotional state. The enclitic -que joins this clause to the preceding narrative, giving the sense “and Moyses, being angry.”

2. Dative of Reference
principibus exercitus, tribunis, et centurionibus are all in the dative case, dependent upon iratus. Latin commonly uses the dative after adjectives expressing emotions such as anger. Moyses is angry with these officers.

3. Genitive Relationship
exercitus is a genitive singular modifying principibus, identifying them as “the leaders of the army.”

4. Coordinated Dative Objects
The datives principibus, tribunis, and centurionibus form a coordinated series. The commas and conjunction et distinguish the different ranks of military officers at whom Moyses’ anger is directed.

5. Relative Clause
qui venerant de bello modifies the entire coordinated group of officers. qui is nominative plural masculine and serves as the subject of venerant.

6. Pluperfect Verb
venerant is a third-person plural pluperfect active indicative. It indicates that the officers had already returned from the campaign before Moyses confronted them.

7. Prepositional Phrase
de bello modifies venerant. The preposition de governs the ablative and indicates the source or origin of their return: “from the war.”

8. Overall Sentence Structure
The verse is an incomplete sentence that prepares for Moyses’ forthcoming speech. It first states Moyses’ emotional reaction, identifies the military officers toward whom his anger is directed, and concludes by describing them as those who had returned from the war.

Morphology

  1. Iratusque — Lemma: irascor (participle iratus); Part of Speech: Deponent verb (perfect participle) with enclitic conjunction; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect participle + enclitic -que; Function: Predicative participle modifying Moyses; Translation: “and being angry”; Notes: Although formed from a deponent verb, the participle has active meaning. The enclitic -que means “and.”
  2. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of the participial construction; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: The leader of Israel.
  3. principibus — Lemma: princeps; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: dative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Dative dependent upon iratus; Translation: “with the leaders”; Notes: The adjective iratus regularly governs the dative.
  4. exercitus — Lemma: exercitus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular masculine, fourth declension; Function: Genitive modifying principibus; Translation: “of the army”; Notes: Specifies which leaders are meant.
  5. tribunis — Lemma: tribunus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: dative plural masculine, second declension; Function: Coordinated dative dependent upon iratus; Translation: “the tribunes”; Notes: Military officers of high rank.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates tribunis and centurionibus; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the final member of the series.
  7. centurionibus — Lemma: centurio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: dative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Coordinated dative dependent upon iratus; Translation: “the centurions”; Notes: Officers commanding hundreds of soldiers.
  8. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject of the relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers collectively to the military officers.
  9. venerant — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person plural pluperfect active indicative, fourth conjugation; Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had come”; Notes: Indicates an action completed before Moses’ response.
  10. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative case; Function: Introduces the source phrase; Translation: “from”; Notes: Indicates the point of departure.
  11. bello — Lemma: bellum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular neuter, second declension; Function: Object of de; Translation: “the war”; Notes: Refers to the completed military campaign.

 

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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