Numeri 31:49 (Numbers 31:49)

Posted on May 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 31:49 Nos servi tui recensuimus numerum pugnatorum, quos habuimus sub manu nostra: et ne unus quidem defuit.

We, your servants, have counted the number of the fighting men whom we had under our command, and not even one was missing.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Nos we NOM.PL.PERS
2 servi servants NOM.PL.M
3 tui your NOM.PL.M.POSS
4 recensuimus we have counted 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
5 numerum number ACC.SG.M.OBJ
6 pugnatorum of the fighting men GEN.PL.M
7 quos whom ACC.PL.M.REL.OBJ
8 habuimus we had 1PL.PERF.ACT.IND
9 sub under PREP+ABL
10 manu hand ABL.SG.F
11 nostra our ABL.SG.F.POSS
12 et and CONJ.INVAR
13 ne not ADV.INVAR
14 unus one NOM.SG.M
15 quidem even ADV.INVAR
16 defuit was missing 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: Nos servi tui is the subject of recensuimus. The personal pronoun Nos is the grammatical subject, while servi stands in apposition to it and tui modifies servi.

Verb: recensuimus is the main verb and describes a completed counting or inspection.

Direct Object: numerum is the accusative direct object of recensuimus.

Genitive Phrase: pugnatorum depends on numerum and identifies the group whose number was counted.

Relative Clause: quos habuimus sub manu nostra modifies pugnatorum. The relative pronoun quos is the direct object of habuimus and refers back to the fighting men.

Prepositional Phrase: sub manu nostra modifies habuimus. Literally meaning “under our hand,” it expresses being under the speakers’ authority or command.

Coordinated Clause: et ne unus quidem defuit is joined to the first clause by et. The subject is unus, the verb is defuit, and ne … quidem forms the emphatic expression “not even.”

Morphology

  1. Nos — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: Nominative plural, first person; Function: Subject of recensuimus; Translation: “we”; Notes: The pronoun is explicitly stated for emphasis and is further identified by servi.
  2. servi — Lemma: servus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural masculine, second declension; Function: Apposition to Nos; Translation: “servants”; Notes: It identifies the speakers as subordinate officers addressing Moyses.
  3. tui — Lemma: tuus; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Nominative plural masculine, positive degree; Function: Modifier of servi; Translation: “your”; Notes: It agrees with servi and marks the relationship of the servants to the person addressed.
  4. recensuimus — Lemma: recenseo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: First person plural, perfect active indicative, second conjugation; Function: Main verb of the first clause; Translation: “we have counted”; Notes: The perfect tense presents the inspection as completed and its result as established.
  5. numerum — Lemma: numerus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Direct object of recensuimus; Translation: “number”; Notes: It denotes the total obtained by counting the fighting men.
  6. pugnatorum — Lemma: pugnator; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine, third declension; Function: Genitive dependent on numerum; Translation: “of the fighting men”; Notes: It specifies whose number was counted.
  7. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object of habuimus; Translation: “whom”; Notes: It agrees with its antecedent pugnatorum in gender and number while taking its case from its role in the relative clause.
  8. habuimus — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: First person plural, perfect active indicative, second conjugation; Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “we had”; Notes: With sub manu nostra, it means that the men were under the speakers’ command.
  9. sub — Lemma: sub; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Governing the ablative; Function: Introduces sub manu nostra; Translation: “under”; Notes: With the ablative, it indicates a fixed relationship of position or authority.
  10. manu — Lemma: manus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, fourth declension; Function: Object of sub; Translation: “hand”; Notes: The noun is used idiomatically for control, authority, or command.
  11. nostra — Lemma: noster; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Ablative singular feminine, positive degree; Function: Modifier of manu; Translation: “our”; Notes: It agrees with manu and identifies the authority exercised by the speakers.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects the second clause to the first; Translation: “and”; Notes: It introduces the result discovered by the counting.
  13. ne — Lemma: ne; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable negative particle; Function: Forms the expression ne … quidem; Translation: “not”; Notes: Together with quidem, it produces the emphatic meaning “not even.”
  14. unus — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantivally; Form: Nominative singular masculine, positive degree; Function: Subject of defuit; Translation: “one”; Notes: Used without an expressed noun, it means “one man” or “a single one.”
  15. quidem — Lemma: quidem; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable emphatic particle; Function: Completes the expression ne … quidem; Translation: “even”; Notes: It emphasizes that not a single fighting man was absent.
  16. defuit — Lemma: desum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, perfect active indicative, irregular compound of sum; Function: Main verb of the coordinated clause; Translation: “was missing”; Notes: It denotes absence and states that every fighting man was accounted for.

 

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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