Numeri 33:41 (Numbers 33:41)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:41 Et profecti de monte Hor, castrametati sunt in Salmona.

And setting out from mount Hor, they encamped at Salmona.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ.INVAR
2 profecti setting out NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
3 de from PREP+ABL
4 monte mount ABL.SG.M
5 Hor Hor INDECL
6 castrametati encamped NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
7 sunt they encamped 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
8 in at PREP+ABL
9 Salmona Zalmonah ABL.SG.F

Syntax

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

Coordination: Et means “and” and connects this stage of the journey with the preceding narrative.

Participial Phrase: profecti de monte Hor means “setting out from Mount Hor.” profecti is a perfect deponent participle agreeing with the understood masculine plural subject. de monte Hor specifies the place from which they departed.

Place of Departure: de monte Hor means “from Mount Hor.” The preposition de governs the ablative monte. The indeclinable proper name Hor stands in apposition to monte and identifies the mountain.

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

Place of Encampment: in Salmona means “at Salmona.” Here in expresses place where rather than motion toward a destination and therefore governs the ablative Salmona.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Invariable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects this itinerary statement with the preceding narrative; Translation: “and”; Notes: It maintains the continuous sequence of departures and encampments.
  2. profecti — Lemma: proficiscor; 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 proficiscor is deponent, the participle has active meaning despite its passive morphological form.
  3. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place of departure; Translation: “from”; Notes: It marks Mount Hor as the point from which the sons of Israel departed.
  4. monte — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition de; Translation: “mount”; Notes: It denotes the mountain from which the departure occurred and is specified by Hor.
  5. 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 monte Hor designates Mount Hor.
  6. 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 means to pitch or establish a camp and carries active meaning despite its passive morphology.
  7. 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 forms the perfect tense and presents the encampment as a completed event.
  8. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place where the sons of Israel encamped; Translation: “at”; Notes: It expresses location rather than motion toward a destination.
  9. Salmona — Lemma: Salmona; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Object of the locative preposition in and location of castrametati sunt; Translation: “Salmona”; Notes: The place-name identifies the next encampment reached after the departure from Mount Hor.

 

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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