Numeri 32:9 (Numbers 32:9)

Posted on May 29, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 32:9 Cumque venissent usque ad Vallem botri, lustrata omni regione, subverterunt cor filiorum Israel, ut non intrarent fines, quos eis Dominus dedit.

And when they had come as far as the Valley of the cluster, having surveyed the whole region, they discouraged the heart of the sons of Israel, so that they would not enter the territories which the LORD had given them.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Cumque and when CONJ.INVAR
2 venissent they had come 3PL.PLUP.ACT.SUBJ
3 usque as far as ADV.INVAR
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Vallem the Valley ACC.SG.F
6 botri of the Cluster GEN.SG.M
7 lustrata having been surveyed PERF.PASS.PTCP.ABL.SG.F.ABL.ABS
8 omni whole ABL.SG.F
9 regione region ABL.SG.F.ABL.ABS
10 subverterunt they discouraged 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
11 cor the heart ACC.SG.N.OBJ
12 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
13 Israel of Israel INDECL
14 ut so that CONJ.INVAR
15 non not ADV.INVAR
16 intrarent they would enter 3PL.IMPF.ACT.SUBJ
17 fines the territories ACC.PL.M.OBJ
18 quos which ACC.PL.M.REL.OBJ
19 eis to them DAT.PL.PERS.IOBJ
20 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
21 dedit had given 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND

Syntax

Temporal Clause: Cumque venissent usque ad Vallem botri introduces the circumstances preceding the main action. The conjunction Cumque governs the pluperfect subjunctive venissent, while usque ad Vallem botri indicates the limit of their journey.

Prepositional Phrase: usque ad Vallem botri modifies venissent. The adverb usque combines with ad to mean “as far as,” and botri is a genitive modifying Vallem.

Ablative Absolute: lustrata omni regione supplies an additional circumstance meaning “after the whole region had been surveyed” or “having surveyed the whole region.” The participle lustrata agrees with regione, while omni modifies it.

Main Clause: The understood subject, referring to the former explorers, performs the action subverterunt. The direct object is cor.

Genitive Phrase: filiorum Israel depends on cor and identifies whose heart or courage was discouraged.

Result Clause: ut non intrarent fines expresses the result of their discouragement. The conjunction ut introduces the clause, non negates the imperfect subjunctive intrarent, and fines is its direct object.

Relative Clause: quos eis Dominus dedit modifies fines. The relative pronoun quos is the direct object of dedit, Dominus is the subject, and eis is the indirect object.

Morphology

  1. Cumque — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: Conjunction with enclitic conjunction; Form: Invariable subordinating conjunction with enclitic -que; Function: Introduces the temporal clause; Translation: “and when”; Notes: The enclitic connects this recollection closely with the preceding account of the former generation.
  2. venissent — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, pluperfect active subjunctive, fourth conjugation; Function: Verb of the temporal clause; Translation: “they had come”; Notes: The pluperfect subjunctive marks an action completed before the discouragement described in the main clause.
  3. usque — Lemma: usque; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable adverb; Function: Modifies the phrase ad Vallem botri; Translation: “as far as”; Notes: It marks the endpoint reached by the explorers.
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces ad Vallem botri; Translation: “to”; Notes: With usque, it expresses movement extending to a particular place.
  5. Vallem — Lemma: vallis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition ad; Translation: “the Valley”; Notes: It refers to the location associated with the cluster of grapes brought back by the explorers.
  6. botri — Lemma: botrus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular masculine, second declension; Function: Genitive modifying Vallem; Translation: “of the Cluster”; Notes: The noun refers to a cluster of grapes and forms the place-name “Valley of the Cluster.”
  7. lustrata — Lemma: lustro; Part of Speech: Perfect passive participle; Form: Ablative singular feminine, first conjugation; Function: Verbal element of the ablative absolute lustrata omni regione; Translation: “having been surveyed”; Notes: The passive Latin construction is naturally rendered actively in English because the explorers performed the survey.
  8. omni — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Ablative singular feminine, positive degree, third declension; Function: Modifier of regione; Translation: “whole”; Notes: It emphasizes that the explorers inspected the region comprehensively.
  9. regione — Lemma: regio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: Nominal element of the ablative absolute; Translation: “region”; Notes: It denotes the territory examined by the explorers.
  10. subverterunt — Lemma: subverto; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, perfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Main verb of the sentence; Translation: “they discouraged”; Notes: Literally meaning to overturn, the verb here describes undermining the people’s courage and resolve.
  11. cor — Lemma: cor; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular neuter, third declension; Function: Direct object of subverterunt; Translation: “the heart”; Notes: The singular is collective, referring to the courage or disposition of the people as a whole.
  12. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine, second declension; Function: Genitive modifying cor; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: It identifies those whose courage was undermined.
  13. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable; Function: Completes the expression filiorum Israel; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: It identifies the covenant people discouraged by the explorers’ report.
  14. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable subordinating conjunction; Function: Introduces the result clause; Translation: “so that”; Notes: It presents the Israelites’ refusal to enter as the result of their discouraged state.
  15. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable negative adverb; Function: Negates intrarent; Translation: “not”; Notes: It marks the failure of the Israelites to enter the territory.
  16. intrarent — Lemma: intro; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, imperfect active subjunctive, first conjugation; Function: Verb of the result clause; Translation: “they would enter”; Notes: The imperfect subjunctive follows the historical main verb subverterunt in secondary sequence.
  17. fines — Lemma: finis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Direct object of intrarent; Translation: “the territories”; Notes: In the plural, the noun denotes boundaries, lands, or territorial regions.
  18. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object of dedit; Translation: “which”; Notes: It agrees with its antecedent fines in gender and number while taking the accusative from its role in the relative clause.
  19. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Dative plural; Function: Indirect object of dedit; Translation: “to them”; Notes: It refers to the sons of Israel as the recipients of the land.
  20. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Subject of dedit; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: It refers to YHWH as the giver of the territory promised to Israel.
  21. dedit — Lemma: do; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, perfect active indicative, first conjugation; Function: Verb of the relative clause; Translation: “had given”; Notes: The perfect presents the divine gift as established, even though Israel had not yet entered into possession of it.

 

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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