Numeri 31:6 (Numbers 31:6)

Posted on May 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 31:6 quos misit Moyses cum Phinees filio Eleazari sacerdotis, vasa quoque sancta, et tubas ad clangendum tradidit ei.

Whom Moyses sent with Phinees, the son of Eleazar the priest; he also delivered to him the holy vessels and the trumpets for sounding.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 quos whom ACC.PL.M.REL.PRON
2 misit sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Moyses Moses NOM.SG.M
4 cum with PREP+ABL
5 Phinees Phinehas ABL.SG.M.INDECL
6 filio the son ABL.SG.M
7 Eleazari of Eleazar GEN.SG.M
8 sacerdotis the priest GEN.SG.M
9 vasa the vessels ACC.PL.N
10 quoque also ADV
11 sancta holy ACC.PL.N
12 et and CONJ
13 tubas the trumpets ACC.PL.F
14 ad for PREP+ACC
15 clangendum sounding GER.ACC.SG.N
16 tradidit delivered 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
17 ei to him DAT.SG.M.DEM.PRON

Syntax

1. Relative Clause Continuing the Previous Sentence
The verse begins with quos, a relative pronoun referring back to the twelve thousand equipped men mentioned in the preceding verse. Because quos functions as the direct object of misit, it appears in the accusative plural masculine. The clause therefore means “whom Moses sent.” Although the verse begins with a relative pronoun, it continues the grammatical thought of the preceding sentence rather than forming an entirely independent statement.

2. Main Verb and Subject of the Relative Clause
misit Moyses forms the verbal core of the relative clause. The perfect active indicative misit presents the sending as a completed historical action. Moyses is the nominative singular subject. The placement of the verb before the subject is natural in Latin narrative and gives prominence to the act of commissioning the warriors.

3. Accompaniment Expressed by cum
The phrase cum Phinees indicates accompaniment. The preposition cum governs the ablative, and the indeclinable proper name Phinees is understood as ablative from its syntactical position. Moses sent the warriors together with Phinees, who accompanied them in a priestly and religious capacity.

4. Apposition Identifying Phinees
filio stands in apposition to Phinees. It agrees with the proper name in masculine gender, singular number, and ablative case because both depend upon cum. The phrase identifies Phinees as “the son” and prepares for the following genitive expression naming his father.

5. Genitive Relationship
Eleazari is a genitive singular proper noun dependent upon filio: “the son of Eleazar.” The genitive specifies the parental relationship and distinguishes Phinees through his priestly lineage.

6. Appositional Genitive
sacerdotis is also genitive singular and stands in apposition to Eleazari. It identifies Eleazar as “the priest.” The construction is therefore understood as “Phinees, the son of Eleazar the priest,” not as though sacerdotis directly described Phinees.

7. Second Principal Action
The second main verb is tradidit, a third-person singular perfect active indicative. Its subject remains Moyses, carried over from the earlier clause. The verb means that Moses entrusted or delivered certain sacred and military objects to Phinees.

8. Direct Objects of tradidit
The nouns vasa and tubas are coordinated direct objects of tradidit. Both are accusative plural, although vasa is neuter and tubas is feminine. The conjunction et joins the two categories of objects entrusted to Phinees.

9. Postpositive quoque
The adverb quoque is postpositive, normally appearing after the word or phrase it emphasizes. Here it adds the sense “also” or “as well,” indicating that Moses not only sent Phinees with the warriors but also entrusted sacred objects and trumpets to him.

10. Adjectival Agreement
sancta modifies vasa and agrees with it in neuter gender, plural number, and accusative case. The adjective distinguishes these vessels as sacred objects associated with divine worship or priestly service.

11. Purpose Construction with the Gerund
The phrase ad clangendum expresses purpose. The preposition ad governs the accusative gerund clangendum. Literally, the phrase means “for sounding” or “for making a trumpet blast.” It explains the intended use of the trumpets.

12. Relationship of ad clangendum to tubas
The purpose phrase most naturally modifies tubas: they are “trumpets for sounding.” It describes their function rather than the general purpose of Moses’ act of entrusting them. The expression emphasizes that the trumpets were intended to give signals during the military expedition.

13. Indirect Object
ei is the dative singular indirect object of tradidit. It refers back to Phinees and identifies him as the recipient of the holy vessels and trumpets. The combination of a direct object with a dative recipient is regular with trado: someone delivers something to someone.

14. Overall Sentence Structure
The sentence contains two completed actions performed by Moses. First, he sent the warriors with Phinees; second, he entrusted the sacred vessels and signaling trumpets to Phinees. The syntax presents the military expedition as accompanied and supported by priestly authority, sacred objects, and ritual signals.

Morphology

  1. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object of misit; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Refers back to the twelve thousand equipped men mentioned in the preceding verse.
  2. misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person singular perfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Main verb of the relative clause; Translation: “sent”; Notes: Presents Moses’ commissioning of the warriors as a completed historical action.
  3. Moyses — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of misit and the understood subject of tradidit; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: The nominative form identifies Moyses as the agent of both principal actions.
  4. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative case; Function: Introduces the person accompanying the warriors; Translation: “with”; Notes: Expresses accompaniment rather than instrumentality.
  5. Phinees — Lemma: Phinees; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable proper noun used with ablative force; Function: Object of cum; Translation: “Phinees”; Notes: His case is determined by the governing preposition although his written form remains unchanged.
  6. filio — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Appositive to Phinees; Translation: “the son”; Notes: Agrees with Phinees in its syntactical ablative case.
  7. Eleazari — Lemma: Eleazar; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: Possessive or relational genitive dependent upon filio; Translation: “of Eleazar”; Notes: Identifies Eleazar as the father of Phinees.
  8. sacerdotis — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: genitive singular masculine, third declension; Function: Appositive to Eleazari; Translation: “the priest”; Notes: Identifies Eleazar’s priestly office and agrees with his name in case.
  9. vasa — Lemma: vas; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, second declension in the plural; Function: Direct object of tradidit; Translation: “the vessels”; Notes: In the plural, vas follows the second-declension neuter pattern vasa, vasorum.
  10. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable and postpositive; Function: Adds the second action or object to what precedes; Translation: “also”; Notes: Normally follows the word or phrase with which it is especially associated.
  11. sancta — Lemma: sanctus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: Modifies vasa; Translation: “holy”; Notes: Agrees with vasa in gender, number, and case and identifies the vessels as sacred.
  12. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates vasa and tubas; Translation: “and”; Notes: Joins the two direct objects entrusted to Phinees.
  13. tubas — Lemma: tuba; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, first declension; Function: Coordinated direct object of tradidit; Translation: “the trumpets”; Notes: Refers to the instruments used for signaling during the expedition.
  14. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative case; Function: Introduces a purpose phrase modifying tubas; Translation: “for”; Notes: Expresses the intended function of the trumpets.
  15. clangendum — Lemma: clango; Part of Speech: Gerund; Form: accusative singular neuter of the present active gerund; Function: Object of ad in a purpose construction; Translation: “sounding”; Notes: The phrase ad clangendum means “for sounding” and describes the use of the trumpets.
  16. tradidit — Lemma: trado; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person singular perfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Main verb of the second clause; Translation: “delivered”; Notes: Governs the direct objects vasa and tubas together with the dative recipient ei.
  17. ei — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun used personally; Form: dative singular masculine; Function: Indirect object of tradidit; Translation: “to him”; Notes: Refers to Phinees as the recipient of the holy vessels and trumpets.

 

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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