Numeri 33:11 (Numbers 33:11)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:11 castrametati sunt in deserto Sin.

they encamped in the wilderness of Sin.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 castrametati encamped NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
2 sunt they encamped 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
3 in in PREP+ABL
4 deserto wilderness ABL.SG.N
5 Sin of Sin INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: castrametati sunt in deserto Sin completes the participial phrase Profectique de Mari rubro from the preceding text. The sons of Israel are the understood subject. castrametati sunt is the finite perfect deponent construction, while in deserto Sin identifies the place where they encamped.

Verb Phrase: castrametati sunt is the perfect tense of the deponent verb castrametor. The participle castrametati agrees in the nominative masculine plural with the understood subject, while sunt supplies the auxiliary required for the perfect deponent construction.

Locative Phrase: in deserto Sin expresses place where. Because in denotes location rather than motion toward a destination, it governs the ablative deserto.

Place-Name Specification: Sin specifies which wilderness is meant in deserto Sin. The indeclinable proper name functions as a dependent geographical designation, yielding the sense “the wilderness of Sin.”

Morphology

  1. castrametati — Lemma: castrametor; Part of Speech: Perfect participle of a deponent verb; Form: Nominative plural masculine, perfect deponent participle, first conjugation; Function: Forms the perfect deponent construction castrametati sunt and agrees with the understood subject, the sons of Israel; Translation: “encamped”; Notes: The deponent verb castrametor means to pitch or establish a camp and has active meaning despite its passive morphological form.
  2. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, present active indicative, irregular; Function: Auxiliary completing the perfect deponent construction castrametati sunt; Translation: “they encamped”; Notes: Together with castrametati, it forms a perfect deponent verb describing the completed act of establishing camp.
  3. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place where the Israelites encamped; Translation: “in”; Notes: It governs the ablative because the phrase expresses location within the wilderness rather than motion into it.
  4. deserto — Lemma: desertum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular neuter, second declension; Function: Object of the preposition in; Translation: “wilderness”; Notes: The substantivized neuter denotes a desert or wilderness region and is further identified by the following place-name Sin.
  5. Sin — Lemma: Sin; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as a dependent geographical specification; Function: Specifies deserto; Translation: “of Sin”; Notes: The indeclinable name identifies the particular wilderness in which the Israelites established their next encampment.

 

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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