Numeri 33:15 (Numbers 33:15)

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:15 Profectique de Raphidim, castrametati sunt in deserto Sinai.

And setting out from Raphidim, they encamped in the wilderness of Sinai.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Profectique and setting out NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 Raphidim Rephidim INDECL
4 castrametati encamped NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
5 sunt they encamped 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
6 in in PREP+ABL
7 deserto wilderness ABL.SG.N
8 Sinai of Sinai INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: Profectique de Raphidim, castrametati sunt in deserto Sinai continues the itinerary of the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel are the understood subject. Profectique is a perfect deponent participle describing their departure, while castrametati sunt is the finite perfect deponent construction describing their next encampment.

Participial Phrase: Profectique de Raphidim means “and setting out from Raphidim.” Profectique agrees with the understood masculine plural subject and contains the enclitic -que, which coordinates this stage with the preceding itinerary.

Place of Departure: de Raphidim identifies Raphidim as the point of departure. de governs the ablative in function, while the indeclinable place-name Raphidim shows no distinct ablative form.

Verb Phrase: castrametati sunt is the perfect tense of the deponent verb castrametor. castrametati agrees with the understood masculine plural subject, while sunt functions as the auxiliary.

Place of Encampment: in deserto Sinai expresses place where. in therefore governs the ablative deserto. The indeclinable proper name Sinai specifies which wilderness is meant, producing the sense “in the wilderness of Sinai.”

Morphology

  1. Profectique — Lemma: proficiscor; Part of Speech: Perfect participle of a deponent verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: Nominative plural masculine, perfect deponent participle, third conjugation, with enclitic -que; Function: Circumstantial participle agreeing with the understood subject, the sons of Israel; Translation: “and setting out”; Notes: proficiscor is deponent and therefore has active meaning despite its passive morphology; the attached -que connects this departure with the preceding stage of the itinerary.
  2. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place of departure; Translation: “from”; Notes: It marks Raphidim as the location from which the Israelites departed.
  3. Raphidim — Lemma: Raphidim; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as ablative after de; Function: Complement of de; Translation: “Raphidim”; Notes: It identifies the preceding encampment, where the people had lacked water, as the starting point for this stage of the journey.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 the perfect tense and presents the encampment in the wilderness of Sinai as a completed event.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place where the Israelites encamped; Translation: “in”; Notes: Here in expresses location rather than movement toward a destination and therefore governs the ablative.
  7. 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 specified by the following place-name Sinai.
  8. Sinai — Lemma: Sinai; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as a dependent geographical specification; Function: Specifies deserto; Translation: “of Sinai”; Notes: The indeclinable name identifies the particular wilderness in which the sons of Israel 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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