Numeri 33:16 (Numbers 33:16)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:16 Sed et de solitudine Sinai egressi, venerunt ad sepulchra concupiscentiæ.

But setting out also from the wilderness of Sinai, they came to the graves of craving.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Sed but CONJ.INVAR
2 et also ADV.INVAR
3 de from PREP+ABL
4 solitudine wilderness ABL.SG.F
5 Sinai of Sinai INDECL
6 egressi setting out NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
7 venerunt they came 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
8 ad to PREP+ACC
9 sepulchra graves ACC.PL.N
10 concupiscentiæ of craving GEN.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Sed et de solitudine Sinai egressi, venerunt ad sepulchra concupiscentiæ continues the itinerary of the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel are the understood subject. egressi describes their departure from the wilderness of Sinai, while venerunt is the finite main verb describing their arrival at the next station.

Connective Expression: Sed et links this stage with the preceding itinerary. Sed functions as the connective “but,” while et has an additive force, “also.” Together they introduce another departure in the sequence.

Place of Departure: de solitudine Sinai means “from the wilderness of Sinai.” de governs the ablative solitudine, while the indeclinable geographical name Sinai specifies the wilderness.

Participial Construction: egressi is a perfect deponent participle agreeing with the understood masculine plural subject, the sons of Israel. It supplies the circumstantial action preceding the main verb: having departed, or more naturally, “setting out.”

Main Verb and Destination: venerunt ad sepulchra concupiscentiæ means “they came to the Graves of Craving.” ad governs the accusative plural sepulchra and expresses movement toward the destination.

Genitive Specification: concupiscentiæ is a genitive singular dependent on sepulchra, literally “graves of craving.” The complete expression sepulchra concupiscentiæ functions here as the name or description of the destination.

Morphology

  1. Sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Introduces and connects this stage of the itinerary with the preceding statement; Translation: “but”; Notes: In the narrative sequence, Sed works together with the following et as a connective transition rather than introducing a strong logical opposition.
  2. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable additive particle in this context; Function: Adds emphasis to the transition introduced by Sed; Translation: “also”; Notes: In the expression Sed et, et is naturally understood with additive force, marking another stage in the continuing itinerary.
  3. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place of departure; Translation: “from”; Notes: It governs solitudine and marks the wilderness of Sinai as the place from which the Israelites departed.
  4. solitudine — Lemma: solitudo; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition de; Translation: “wilderness”; Notes: The noun denotes the wilderness region and is geographically specified by the following proper name Sinai.
  5. Sinai — Lemma: Sinai; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as a dependent geographical specification; Function: Specifies solitudine; Translation: “of Sinai”; Notes: The indeclinable name identifies the particular wilderness from which the sons of Israel depart in this stage of the itinerary.
  6. egressi — Lemma: egredior; Part of Speech: Perfect participle of a deponent verb; Form: Nominative plural masculine, perfect deponent participle, third conjugation; Function: Circumstantial participle agreeing with the understood subject, the sons of Israel; Translation: “setting out”; Notes: Since egredior is deponent, egressi has active meaning despite its passive morphological form and describes the departure preceding venerunt.
  7. venerunt — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, perfect active indicative, fourth conjugation; Function: Main verb with the sons of Israel understood as subject; Translation: “they came”; Notes: The perfect tense presents their arrival at the next station as a completed stage of the journey.
  8. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the destination of venerunt; Translation: “to”; Notes: With the verb of motion venerunt, it marks movement toward sepulchra concupiscentiæ.
  9. sepulchra — Lemma: sepulchrum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural neuter, second declension; Function: Object of the preposition ad and head noun of the destination expression; Translation: “graves”; Notes: It is modified by the genitive concupiscentiæ, forming the expression “Graves of Craving.”
  10. concupiscentiæ — Lemma: concupiscentia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine, first declension; Function: Genitive dependent on sepulchra; Translation: “of craving”; Notes: It specifies the character or association of the sepulchra; together, sepulchra concupiscentiæ literally means “graves of craving” and serves as the destination in this itinerary notice.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Numeri. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.