Numeri 31:9 (Numbers 31:9)

Posted on May 28, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 31:9 Ceperuntque mulieres eorum, et parvulos, omniaque pecora, et cunctam supellectilem: quidquid habere potuerant depopulati sunt:

And they took their women and little children, and all the livestock, and all the possessions; whatever they had been able to possess, they plundered;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ceperuntque and they took 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND+CONJ
2 mulieres the women ACC.PL.F
3 eorum of them GEN.PL.3P.PRON
4 et and CONJ
5 parvulos little children ACC.PL.M
6 omniaque and all ACC.PL.N+CONJ
7 pecora livestock ACC.PL.N
8 et and CONJ
9 cunctam all ACC.SG.F
10 supellectilem property ACC.SG.F
11 quidquid whatever ACC.SG.N.REL.PRON
12 habere to have PRES.ACT.INF
13 potuerant had been able 3PL.PLUP.ACT.IND
14 depopulati having plundered PERF.DEP.PTCP.NOM.PL.M
15 sunt they were 3PL.PRES.IND

Syntax

1. Main Narrative Clause
The sentence opens with the principal verb Ceperuntque, a third-person plural perfect active indicative. The enclitic -que joins this action directly to the preceding account of the battle. The understood subject is the Israelite warriors, who now gather the spoils of war.

2. Series of Coordinated Direct Objects
The verb Ceperuntque governs a sequence of coordinated accusative objects: mulieres eorum, parvulos, omnia pecora, and cunctam supellectilem. The repeated conjunctions and the enclitic -que emphasize the comprehensiveness of what was taken.

3. Possessive Genitive
eorum modifies mulieres and means “their,” referring to the Midianites. Although expressed only once, the possessive idea naturally extends to the following coordinated nouns, indicating that all these persons and possessions belonged to the defeated nation.

4. Enclitic -que on omnia
In omniaque, the enclitic -que joins the phrase omnia pecora to the previous objects. The adjective omnia agrees with pecora in neuter plural accusative, emphasizing that no livestock was excluded.

5. Universal Expressions
Both omnia and cunctam express totality. While omnia pecora refers to every animal, cunctam supellectilem extends the plundering to all movable property and household goods. Together they underscore the completeness of the capture.

6. Relative Clause with quidquid
The clause quidquid habere potuerant functions as the direct object of the following verb depopulati sunt. The compound relative pronoun quidquid means “whatever” or “everything that,” introducing an indefinite relative clause that summarizes all remaining possessions.

7. Complementary Infinitive
The infinitive habere depends upon the verb potuerant. After verbs expressing ability, Latin regularly uses a complementary infinitive. Thus habere potuerant means “had been able to possess” or “had possessed.”

8. Pluperfect Indicative
potuerant is a pluperfect active indicative. It describes a state that existed before the plundering took place. The possessions referred to are those which the Midianites had previously owned before Israel seized them.

9. Deponent Perfect Construction
depopulati sunt is the perfect tense of the deponent verb depopulor. Although composed of a perfect participle and the auxiliary sunt, it has active meaning: “they plundered.” This is the normal perfect formation of deponent verbs.

10. Overall Sentence Structure
The verse consists of two coordinated principal clauses. The first narrates the seizure of people, livestock, and property. The second summarizes the action more comprehensively by stating that everything the Midianites had possessed was plundered. The movement from a detailed list to an all-inclusive summary reinforces the completeness of the conquest.

Morphology

  1. Ceperuntque — Lemma: capio; Part of Speech: Verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: third-person plural perfect active indicative, third conjugation (-io), with attached -que; Function: Main verb of the first clause; Translation: “and they took”; Notes: The perfect tense narrates the completed seizure of the spoils, while -que connects the action to the preceding verse.
  2. mulieres — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural feminine, third declension; Function: Direct object of Ceperuntque; Translation: “the women”; Notes: Refers to the Midianite women taken captive.
  3. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun used possessively; Form: genitive plural; Function: Possessive genitive modifying mulieres; Translation: “of them”; Notes: Refers to the Midianites and extends naturally to the following coordinated objects.
  4. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates direct objects; Translation: “and”; Notes: Links the successive items in the list.
  5. parvulos — Lemma: parvulus; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantivally; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object of Ceperuntque; Translation: “little children”; Notes: Used as a noun to denote young children.
  6. omniaque — Lemma: omnis + -que; Part of Speech: Adjective with enclitic conjunction; Form: accusative plural neuter; Function: Modifies pecora; Translation: “and all”; Notes: The enclitic -que joins this phrase to the preceding objects.
  7. pecora — Lemma: pecus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative plural neuter, third declension; Function: Direct object of Ceperuntque; Translation: “livestock”; Notes: Refers collectively to domestic animals.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Coordinates the final object; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces the last item in the series.
  9. cunctam — Lemma: cunctus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: Modifies supellectilem; Translation: “all”; Notes: Emphasizes the completeness of the property taken.
  10. supellectilem — Lemma: supellex; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: accusative singular feminine, third declension; Function: Direct object of Ceperuntque; Translation: “property”; Notes: Denotes movable possessions, furnishings, equipment, and household goods.
  11. quidquid — Lemma: quisquis; Part of Speech: Compound relative pronoun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: Introduces the relative clause and serves as the direct object of depopulati sunt; Translation: “whatever”; Notes: Summarizes everything previously owned by the Midianites.
  12. habere — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: present active infinitive, second conjugation; Function: Complementary infinitive dependent upon potuerant; Translation: “to have”; Notes: Completes the meaning of the verb expressing ability.
  13. potuerant — Lemma: possum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person plural pluperfect active indicative; Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had been able”; Notes: Refers to what the Midianites had possessed before their defeat.
  14. depopulati — Lemma: depopulor; Part of Speech: Deponent verb (perfect participle); Form: nominative plural masculine perfect participle; Function: Forms the perfect tense with sunt; Translation: “having plundered”; Notes: Although passive in form, it has active meaning because the verb is deponent.
  15. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: third-person plural present indicative; Function: Auxiliary verb forming the perfect tense of the deponent verb depopulor; Translation: “they were”; Notes: Together with depopulati, it means “they plundered.”

 

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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