Numeri 33:37 (Numbers 33:37)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:37 Egressique de Cades, castrametati sunt in monte Hor, in extremis finibus Terræ Edom.

And setting out from Cades, they encamped on mount Hor, at the farthest borders of the Land of Edom.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Egressique and setting out NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 Cades Kadesh INDECL
4 castrametati encamped NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
5 sunt they encamped 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
6 in on PREP+ABL
7 monte mount ABL.SG.M
8 Hor Hor INDECL
9 in at PREP+ABL
10 extremis farthest ABL.PL.M.SUPERL
11 finibus borders ABL.PL.M
12 Terræ of the Land GEN.SG.F
13 Edom of Edom INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: Egressique de Cades, castrametati sunt in monte Hor continues the itinerary of the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel are the understood subject. Egressique describes their departure from Cades, while castrametati sunt is the finite perfect deponent construction describing their encampment on Mount Hor.

Participial Phrase: Egressique de Cades means “and setting out from Cades.” Egressique is a perfect deponent participle agreeing with the understood masculine plural subject. The enclitic -que connects this departure with the preceding stage of the itinerary.

Place of Departure: de Cades identifies Cades as the point of departure. de governs the ablative in function, while the indeclinable proper name Cades remains morphologically unchanged.

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

Place of Encampment: in monte Hor means “on Mount Hor.” Since in expresses location rather than motion toward the mountain, it governs the ablative monte. The indeclinable proper name Hor stands in apposition to monte and identifies the mountain.

Boundary Phrase: in extremis finibus Terræ Edom further locates Mount Hor “at the farthest borders of the Land of Edom.” The preposition in governs the ablative plural finibus, which is modified by the agreeing adjective extremis. Terræ is a dependent genitive specifying the territory whose borders are meant, while Edom identifies that land.

Morphology

  1. Egressique — Lemma: egredior; 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: Because egredior is deponent, Egressi 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 Cades as the location from which the sons of Israel departed.
  3. Cades — Lemma: Cades; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as ablative after de; Function: Complement of de and point of departure; Translation: “Cades”; Notes: The place-name remains morphologically unchanged despite its ablative function.
  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; Translation: “encamped”; Notes: The deponent verb castrametor 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 presents the encampment as a completed event.
  6. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the location of the encampment; Translation: “on”; Notes: It expresses place where and governs monte.
  7. monte — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Object of the locative preposition in; Translation: “mount”; Notes: It denotes the mountain on which the sons of Israel encamped and is specified by Hor.
  8. Hor — Lemma: Hor; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning in apposition to the ablative monte; Function: Specifies and names monte; Translation: “Hor”; Notes: Together with monte, it forms the designation “Mount Hor.”
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the phrase locating Mount Hor at the borders of Edom; Translation: “at”; Notes: It expresses location and governs finibus.
  10. extremis — Lemma: extremus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Ablative plural masculine, superlative adjective of exter; Function: Modifies and agrees with finibus; Translation: “farthest”; Notes: It characterizes the borders as the outermost or extreme boundaries of the territory.
  11. finibus — Lemma: finis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Object of the locative preposition in; Translation: “borders”; Notes: In the plural, fines commonly denotes territorial boundaries or borders.
  12. Terræ — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine, first declension; Function: Dependent genitive modifying finibus; Translation: “of the Land”; Notes: It specifies the territory whose borders are being described.
  13. Edom — Lemma: Edom; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable geographical name, functioning with the genitive phrase Terræ; Function: Identifies the land named by Terræ; Translation: “of Edom”; Notes: The proper name remains unchanged and identifies the territory as Edom.

 

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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