Numeri 33:4 (Numbers 33:4)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:4 et sepelientibus primogenitos, quos percusserat Dominus (nam et in diis eorum exercuerat ultionem)

and while they were burying the firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down (for He had also executed judgment upon their gods)

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ.INVAR
2 sepelientibus while burying ABL.PL.M.PRES.ACT.PTCP.ABL.ABS
3 primogenitos the firstborn ACC.PL.M.OBJ
4 quos whom ACC.PL.M.REL.OBJ
5 percusserat had struck down 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
6 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M
7 nam for CONJ.INVAR
8 et also ADV.INVAR
9 in upon PREP+ABL
10 diis the gods ABL.PL.M
11 eorum their GEN.PL.M.PERS
12 exercuerat He had executed 3SG.PLUP.ACT.IND
13 ultionem judgment ACC.SG.F.OBJ

Syntax

Continuation of the Previous Verse: et sepelientibus primogenitos continues the circumstantial description begun with videntibus cunctis Ægyptiis in the preceding verse. The understood persons doing the burying are the Egyptians. sepelientibus describes their action, while primogenitos is its direct object.

Participial Construction: sepelientibus primogenitos expresses an action simultaneous with the departure of the sons of Israel: the Egyptians were burying their firstborn as Israel departed. The participle sepelientibus is ablative plural and continues the circumstantial construction whose referent is supplied by Ægyptiis from the preceding context.

Relative Clause: quos percusserat Dominus modifies primogenitos. quos is the direct object of percusserat, while Dominus is its subject. The pluperfect percusserat places the LORD’s striking of the firstborn before the Egyptians’ subsequent burial of them.

Parenthetical Explanatory Clause: nam et in diis eorum exercuerat ultionem explains the wider significance of the divine action. nam introduces the explanation, while et has the additive force “also.” The understood subject of exercuerat is Dominus.

Prepositional Phrase: in diis eorum identifies those upon whom the LORD’s judgment was exercised. in governs the ablative diis, and eorum refers to the Egyptians, giving the sense “upon their gods.”

Direct Object: ultionem is the direct object of exercuerat. In this context it denotes divine retribution, vengeance, or punitive judgment carried out against the gods of Egypt.

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects the present circumstantial description with the preceding account of the Egyptians watching Israel’s departure; Translation: “and”; Notes: It continues the circumstances surrounding the Exodus rather than beginning an independent narrative episode.
  2. sepelientibus — Lemma: sepelio; Part of Speech: Present active participle; Form: Ablative plural masculine, present active participle, fourth conjugation; Function: Circumstantial participle referring contextually to the Egyptians; Translation: “while they were burying”; Notes: The participle describes an action occurring simultaneously with Israel’s departure; its agents are the Egyptians identified immediately before in the continuing sentence.
  3. primogenitos — Lemma: primogenitus; Part of Speech: Adjective used substantivally; Form: Accusative plural masculine, positive degree, first and second declension adjective; Function: Direct object of sepelientibus and antecedent of quos; Translation: “the firstborn”; Notes: Used substantivally, the adjective denotes the firstborn persons of Egypt who had been struck down by the LORD.
  4. quos — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Accusative plural masculine; Function: Direct object of percusserat, referring back to primogenitos; Translation: “whom”; Notes: Its masculine plural form agrees with primogenitos, while its accusative case is determined by its role as the object of percusserat.
  5. percusserat — Lemma: percutio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, pluperfect active indicative, third conjugation; Function: Verb of the relative clause quos percusserat Dominus; Translation: “had struck down”; Notes: The pluperfect appropriately presents the LORD’s striking of the firstborn as an action completed before the Egyptians were burying them.
  6. Dominus — Lemma: Dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Subject of percusserat and understood subject of exercuerat; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: Here Dominus refers to YHWH as the one who struck the Egyptian firstborn and executed judgment upon Egypt’s gods.
  7. nam — Lemma: nam; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable explanatory conjunction; Function: Introduces the parenthetical explanation of the wider divine judgment; Translation: “for”; Notes: It explains that the judgment accompanying the death of the firstborn extended also to the gods of Egypt.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Invariable additive particle; Function: Adds the gods of Egypt to the objects affected by the LORD’s judgment; Translation: “also”; Notes: In the construction nam et, et has an additive rather than merely coordinating force.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces in diis eorum; Translation: “upon”; Notes: With exercuerat ultionem, the phrase identifies the gods of Egypt as the objects against whom divine retribution was exercised.
  10. diis — Lemma: deus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural masculine, second declension; Function: Object of the preposition in; Translation: “the gods”; Notes: The plural refers to the gods worshipped by the Egyptians and presents the Exodus judgments as extending to them.
  11. eorum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: Personal pronoun; Form: Genitive plural masculine; Function: Possessive genitive modifying diis; Translation: “their”; Notes: The pronoun refers contextually to the Egyptians and identifies the gods as those belonging to or worshipped by them.
  12. exercuerat — Lemma: exerceo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, pluperfect active indicative, second conjugation; Function: Verb of the parenthetical explanatory clause, with Dominus understood as its subject; Translation: “He had executed”; Notes: With ultionem, the verb expresses the carrying out or infliction of divine retribution.
  13. ultionem — Lemma: ultio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, third declension; Function: Direct object of exercuerat; Translation: “judgment”; Notes: The noun denotes retribution or vengeance; in this context it characterizes the LORD’s action against the gods of Egypt as punitive divine judgment.

 

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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