Numeri 33:40 (Numbers 33:40)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:40 Audivitque Chananæus rex Arad, qui habitabat ad meridiem, in Terram Chanaan venisse filios Israel.

And the Chanaanite king of Arad, who dwelt toward the south, heard that the sons of Israel had come into the Land of Chanaan.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Audivitque and heard 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND+ENCL
2 Chananæus Canaanite NOM.SG.M.ADJ
3 rex king NOM.SG.M
4 Arad of Arad INDECL
5 qui who NOM.SG.M.REL
6 habitabat dwelt 3SG.IMPF.ACT.IND
7 ad toward PREP+ACC
8 meridiem the south ACC.SG.M
9 in into PREP+ACC
10 Terram the Land ACC.SG.F
11 Chanaan of Canaan INDECL
12 venisse to have come PERF.ACT.INF
13 filios the sons ACC.PL.M
14 Israel of Israel INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: Audivitque Chananæus rex Arad means “And the Chanaanite king of Arad heard.” Audivitque is the finite verb, with the enclitic -que connecting this statement with the preceding narrative. rex is the nominative subject, while Chananæus modifies rex and identifies him as Chanaanite. Arad specifies the king’s association with Arad.

Relative Clause: qui habitabat ad meridiem means “who dwelt toward the south.” The relative pronoun qui refers back to rex and serves as the subject of habitabat. The imperfect habitabat describes his continuing place of residence, while ad meridiem specifies its southern location.

Indirect Statement: in Terram Chanaan venisse filios Israel supplies the content of what the king heard. After Audivitque, Latin uses the accusative-and-infinitive construction: filios Israel is the accusative subject of the infinitive venisse. The construction literally gives “the sons of Israel to have come,” naturally rendered “that the sons of Israel had come.”

Destination: in Terram Chanaan expresses motion into the Land of Chanaan. in therefore governs the accusative Terram. The proper name Chanaan identifies the land and remains indeclinable.

Relative Time: venisse is a perfect active infinitive. Within indirect statement, the perfect infinitive normally expresses action anterior to the main verb. Thus the sons’ coming into the Land of Chanaan is represented as having occurred before the king’s hearing of it.

Morphology

  1. Audivitque — Lemma: audio; Part of Speech: Verb with enclitic conjunction; Form: Third person singular, perfect active indicative, fourth conjugation, with enclitic -que; Function: Main verb governing the following indirect statement; Translation: “and heard”; Notes: The perfect presents the hearing as a completed event, while -que connects it with the preceding narrative.
  2. Chananæus — Lemma: Chananæus; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular masculine, first/second-declension adjective; Function: Modifies rex; Translation: “Chanaanite”; Notes: It identifies the king by his people or geographical affiliation.
  3. rex — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Subject of Audivitque; Translation: “king”; Notes: It is modified by Chananæus and further identified by Arad.
  4. Arad — Lemma: Arad; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as a dependent geographical designation; Function: Specifies the locality associated with rex; Translation: “of Arad”; Notes: The proper name remains morphologically unchanged.
  5. qui — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative singular masculine; Function: Subject of habitabat and refers back to rex; Translation: “who”; Notes: Its masculine singular form agrees with its antecedent in gender and number.
  6. habitabat — Lemma: habito; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, imperfect active indicative, first conjugation; Function: Finite verb of the relative clause; Translation: “dwelt”; Notes: The imperfect portrays the king’s dwelling as an ongoing circumstance in the past.
  7. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the geographical expression ad meridiem; Translation: “toward”; Notes: Here it indicates location or orientation toward the south.
  8. meridiem — Lemma: meridies; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, fifth declension; Function: Object of ad; Translation: “the south”; Notes: Although meridies can mean “midday,” in this geographical expression it denotes the south.
  9. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the destination associated with venisse; Translation: “into”; Notes: It governs the accusative because the phrase expresses motion into a place.
  10. Terram — Lemma: terra; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Object of the directional preposition in; Translation: “the Land”; Notes: It identifies the destination and is specified by Chanaan.
  11. Chanaan — Lemma: Chanaan; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable geographical name; Function: Specifies Terram; Translation: “of Chanaan”; Notes: Together Terram Chanaan denotes the Land of Chanaan.
  12. venisse — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Perfect active infinitive, fourth conjugation; Function: Infinitive of the indirect statement governed by Audivitque; Translation: “to have come”; Notes: Its perfect tense indicates action anterior to the king’s hearing and is naturally rendered in English as “had come.”
  13. filios — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural masculine, second declension; Function: Accusative subject of venisse in the indirect statement; Translation: “the sons”; Notes: Its accusative case results from the accusative-and-infinitive construction rather than from functioning as a direct object of venisse.
  14. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable, functioning as a dependent genitive with filios; Function: Specifies whose sons are meant; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Together filios Israel means “the sons of Israel.”

 

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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