Numeri 33:28 (Numbers 33:28)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:28 Unde egressi, fixere tentoria in Methca.

Setting out from there, they pitched their tents at Methca.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Unde from there ADV.INVAR
2 egressi setting out NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
3 fixere they pitched 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
4 tentoria tents ACC.PL.N
5 in at PREP+ABL
6 Methca Mithkah ABL.SG.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Unde egressi, fixere tentoria in Methca continues the itinerary of the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel are the understood subject. egressi describes their departure from the preceding station, while fixere is the finite main verb and tentoria its direct object.

Departure: Unde egressi means “setting out from there.” Unde is an adverb expressing motion from a place and refers back to Thare, the preceding encampment. egressi is a perfect deponent participle agreeing with the understood masculine plural subject.

Verb and Direct Object: fixere tentoria means “they pitched their tents.” fixere is a third-person plural perfect active indicative form of figo, equivalent in function to fixerunt. tentoria is its accusative plural direct object.

Place of Encampment: in Methca expresses place where and means “at Methca.” Because in denotes location rather than motion toward a destination, it governs the ablative Methca.

Morphology

  1. Unde — Lemma: unde; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable adverb of place expressing source; Function: Modifies egressi and indicates the point of departure; Translation: “from there”; Notes: In the continuing itinerary, it refers back to Thare, the station occupied immediately before this departure.
  2. 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: Because egredior is deponent, egressi has active meaning despite its passive morphology and describes the departure preceding the pitching of the tents.
  3. fixere — Lemma: figo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, perfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Main verb with tentoria as its direct object; Translation: “they pitched”; Notes: fixere is an alternative perfect form equivalent to fixerunt. In the expression fixere tentoria, it describes pitching or setting up tents.
  4. tentoria — Lemma: tentorium; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural neuter, second declension; Function: Direct object of fixere; Translation: “tents”; Notes: Together with fixere, the noun forms the expression describing the establishment of the Israelites’ encampment.
  5. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place where the tents were pitched; Translation: “at”; Notes: Here in expresses location and therefore governs the ablative.
  6. Methca — Lemma: Methca; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Object of the locative preposition in and location of fixere tentoria; Translation: “Methca”; Notes: The place-name identifies the next encampment reached after the sons of Israel departed from Thare.

 

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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