Numeri 33:18 (Numbers 33:18)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:18 Et de Haseroth venerunt in Rethma.

And from Haseroth they came to Rithmah.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ.INVAR
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 Haseroth Haseroth INDECL
4 venerunt they came 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
5 in to PREP+ACC
6 Rethma Rethma ACC.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Et de Haseroth venerunt in Rethma continues the itinerary of the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel are the understood subject, while venerunt is the finite main verb describing their arrival at the next station.

Coordination: Et connects this movement directly with the preceding stage of the itinerary and is naturally translated “and.”

Place of Departure: de Haseroth identifies Haseroth as the point of departure. de governs the ablative in function, while the indeclinable place-name Haseroth does not display a distinct ablative form.

Main Verb: venerunt means “they came.” It is third person plural and has the sons of Israel as its understood subject. The perfect tense presents the movement to Rethma as a completed stage of the journey.

Destination: in Rethma expresses motion toward Rethma. Because in denotes movement to a destination, it governs the accusative Rethma.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects this itinerary statement with the preceding stage; Translation: “and”; Notes: The conjunction maintains the continuous sequence of departures and arrivals in 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 Haseroth as the location from which the sons of Israel departed.
  3. Haseroth — Lemma: Haseroth; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as ablative after de; Function: Complement of de and point of departure; Translation: “Haseroth”; Notes: The indeclinable geographical name refers to the preceding encampment and shows no morphological change despite its ablative function.
  4. 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 the arrival at Rethma as a completed event in the itinerary.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the destination of venerunt; Translation: “to”; Notes: With a verb of motion and the accusative, in expresses movement toward or into a destination.
  6. Rethma — Lemma: Rethma; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Object of the directional preposition in and destination of venerunt; Translation: “Rethma”; Notes: The place-name identifies the next station reached by the sons of Israel after their departure from Haseroth.

 

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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