Numeri 33:38 (Numbers 33:38)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:38 Ascenditque Aaron sacerdos in montem Hor iubente Domino: et ibi mortuus est anno quadragesimo egressionis filiorum Israel ex Ægypto, mense quinto, prima die mensis,

And Aaron the priest went up mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and there he died in the fortieth year of the departure of the sons of Israel from Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ascenditque and went up 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND+ENCL
2 Aaron Aaron NOM.SG.M.INDECL
3 sacerdos priest NOM.SG.M
4 in onto PREP+ACC
5 montem mount ACC.SG.M
6 Hor Hor INDECL
7 iubente commanding ABL.SG.M.PRES.ACT.PTCP
8 Domino the LORD ABL.SG.M
9 et and CONJ.INVAR
10 ibi there ADV.INVAR
11 mortuus died NOM.SG.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
12 est he died 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
13 anno in the year ABL.SG.M
14 quadragesimo fortieth ABL.SG.M.ORD
15 egressionis of the departure GEN.SG.F
16 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
17 Israel of Israel INDECL
18 ex from PREP+ABL
19 Ægypto Egypt ABL.SG.F
20 mense in the month ABL.SG.M
21 quinto fifth ABL.SG.M.ORD
22 prima on the first ABL.SG.F.ORD
23 die day ABL.SG.F
24 mensis of the month GEN.SG.M

Syntax

First Main Clause: Ascenditque Aaron sacerdos in montem Hor means “And Aaron the priest went up mount Hor.” Ascenditque is the finite verb, with the enclitic -que linking this event to the preceding narrative. Aaron is the nominative subject, and sacerdos stands in apposition to it. in montem Hor expresses motion toward and up Mount Hor.

Ablative Absolute: iubente Domino literally means “the LORD commanding.” iubente is a present active participle in the ablative singular, and Domino is its ablative subject. Together they form an ablative absolute expressing the circumstance or authority under which Aaron ascended: “at the command of the LORD.”

Second Main Clause: et ibi mortuus est means “and there he died.” ibi refers to Mount Hor. mortuus est is the perfect of the deponent verb morior, with Aaron continuing as the understood subject.

Year Specification: anno quadragesimo egressionis filiorum Israel ex Ægypto means “in the fortieth year of the departure of the sons of Israel from Egypt.” anno quadragesimo is an ablative of time when. egressionis is a genitive dependent upon anno quadragesimo, while filiorum Israel specifies those whose departure is meant. ex Ægypto expresses the point from which they departed.

Month Specification: mense quinto means “in the fifth month.” Both words are ablative singular and form another expression of time when.

Day Specification: prima die mensis means “on the first day of the month.” prima die is ablative of time when, with prima agreeing with die. mensis is genitive singular and specifies the month to which the day belongs.

Morphology

  1. Ascenditque — Lemma: ascendo; Part of Speech: Verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: Third person singular, perfect active indicative, third conjugation, with enclitic -que; Function: Main verb of the first clause; Translation: “and went up”; Notes: The perfect describes Aaron’s ascent as a completed event, while -que links it with the preceding narrative.
  2. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, indeclinable; Function: Subject of Ascenditque and subsequently the understood subject of mortuus est; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: The name remains morphologically unchanged.
  3. sacerdos — Lemma: sacerdos; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Apposition to Aaron; Translation: “priest”; Notes: It identifies Aaron by his priestly office.
  4. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the destination of Aaron’s ascent; Translation: “onto”; Notes: The accusative is used because the phrase expresses motion toward the mountain.
  5. montem — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Object of in; Translation: “mount”; Notes: It is specified by the proper name Hor.
  6. Hor — Lemma: Hor; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning in apposition to montem; Function: Names the mountain; Translation: “Hor”; Notes: Together with montem, it forms “Mount Hor.”
  7. iubente — Lemma: iubeo; Part of Speech: Present active participle; Form: Ablative singular masculine, present active participle, second conjugation; Function: Verbal element of the ablative absolute iubente Domino; Translation: “commanding”; Notes: Idiomatically the construction means “at the command of the LORD” or “as the Lord commanded.”
  8. Domino — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Subject of iubente within the ablative absolute; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: It identifies the LORD as the one issuing the command.
  9. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects Aaron’s ascent with the statement of his death; Translation: “and”; Notes: It coordinates the two principal events.
  10. ibi — Lemma: ibi; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable adverb of place; Function: Modifies mortuus est; Translation: “there”; Notes: It refers back to Mount Hor.
  11. mortuus — Lemma: morior; Part of Speech: Perfect participle of a deponent verb; Form: Nominative singular masculine, perfect deponent participle, third conjugation; Function: With est, forms the perfect deponent verb mortuus est; Translation: “died”; Notes: It agrees with Aaron, the understood subject.
  12. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, present active indicative, irregular; Function: Auxiliary completing mortuus est; Translation: “he died”; Notes: With mortuus, it forms the perfect of the deponent verb morior.
  13. anno — Lemma: annus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Ablative of time when; Translation: “in the year”; Notes: It establishes the chronological year of Aaron’s death.
  14. quadragesimo — Lemma: quadragesimus; Part of Speech: Ordinal adjective; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Modifies anno; Translation: “fortieth”; Notes: It specifies the year as the fortieth.
  15. egressionis — Lemma: egressio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine, third declension; Function: Genitive specifying the event from which the year is reckoned; Translation: “of the departure”; Notes: It refers to the departure of the sons of Israel from Egypt.
  16. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine, second declension; Function: Subjective genitive dependent on egressionis; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: It identifies those who departed.
  17. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable, functioning as genitive dependent on filiorum; Function: Specifies whose sons are meant; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Together filiorum Israel means “of the sons of Israel.”
  18. ex — Lemma: ex; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place from which the departure occurred; Translation: “from”; Notes: It governs Ægypto.
  19. Ægypto — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, second declension; Function: Object of ex; Translation: “Egypt”; Notes: It identifies Egypt as the point from which the sons of Israel departed.
  20. mense — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Ablative of time when; Translation: “in the month”; Notes: It further specifies the date of Aaron’s death.
  21. quinto — Lemma: quintus; Part of Speech: Ordinal adjective; Form: Ablative singular masculine; Function: Modifies mense; Translation: “fifth”; Notes: It identifies the month as the fifth month.
  22. prima — Lemma: primus; Part of Speech: Ordinal adjective; Form: Ablative singular feminine; Function: Modifies die; Translation: “on the first”; Notes: It specifies the first day of the month.
  23. die — Lemma: dies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, fifth declension; Function: Ablative of time when; Translation: “day”; Notes: Here dies is treated as feminine, as shown by the agreeing form prima.
  24. mensis — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular masculine, third declension; Function: Dependent genitive modifying die; Translation: “of the month”; Notes: It completes the precise chronological expression “on the first day of the month.”

 

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.