Numeri 33:48 (Numbers 33:48)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:48 Profectique de montibus Abarim, transierunt ad campestria Moab, supra Iordanem contra Iericho.

And setting out from the mountains of Abarim, they crossed over to the plains of Moab, above the Jordan, opposite Jericho.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Profectique and setting out NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
2 de from PREP+ABL
3 montibus the mountains ABL.PL.M
4 Abarim of Abarim INDECL
5 transierunt they crossed over 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
6 ad to PREP+ACC
7 campestria the plains ACC.PL.N.ADJ
8 Moab of Moab INDECL
9 supra above PREP+ACC
10 Iordanem the Jordan ACC.SG.M
11 contra opposite PREP+ACC
12 Iericho Jericho INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: Profectique de montibus Abarim, transierunt ad campestria Moab, supra Iordanem contra Iericho continues the itinerary of the sons of Israel. The sons of Israel are the understood subject. Profectique de montibus Abarim describes their departure, while transierunt is the finite main verb expressing their movement to the plains of Moab.

Participial Phrase: Profectique de montibus Abarim means “and setting out from the mountains of Abarim.” Profectique is a perfect deponent participle agreeing with the understood masculine plural subject. The enclitic -que connects this departure with the preceding stage of the journey. The participle describes an action preceding the movement expressed by transierunt.

Place of Departure: de montibus Abarim means “from the mountains of Abarim.” The preposition de governs the ablative plural montibus. The indeclinable geographical name Abarim identifies the mountains and functions as a dependent geographical designation.

Main Verb: transierunt means “they crossed over” or “they passed across.” It is the third person plural perfect active indicative of transeo, a compound of trans and eo. The perfect tense presents the movement as a completed stage in the itinerary.

Destination: ad campestria Moab means “to the plains of Moab.” The preposition ad governs the accusative plural campestria. Here campestria is a substantivized neuter plural adjective meaning “level places” or “plains.” The indeclinable name Moab identifies the territory to which these plains belong.

Geographical Position: supra Iordanem means “above the Jordan.” The preposition supra governs the accusative singular Iordanem. In this context, the expression locates the plains in relation to the Jordan River. It is a geographical description and does not necessarily imply that the Israelites crossed the river.

Relative Location: contra Iericho means “opposite Jericho.” The preposition contra governs the accusative in function. The indeclinable geographical name Iericho identifies the city opposite which the plains are situated. Here contra expresses spatial position rather than hostility.

Sequence and Geographical Relationship: The perfect participle Profectique describes the departure from the mountains of Abarim, and the perfect indicative transierunt describes the subsequent movement toward the plains of Moab. The expressions supra Iordanem and contra Iericho further identify the geographical position of the destination.

Morphology

  1. Profectique — Lemma: proficiscor; 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: The deponent verb proficiscor has active meaning despite its passive morphology. The attached -que means “and” and 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 the mountains of Abarim as the location from which the sons of Israel departed.
  3. montibus — Lemma: mons; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural masculine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition de; Translation: “the mountains”; Notes: The plural denotes the mountainous region of Abarim, which serves as the point of departure.
  4. Abarim — Lemma: Abarim; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable geographical name, functioning as a dependent designation of montibus; Function: Identifies the mountains from which the Israelites departed; Translation: “of Abarim”; Notes: Together montibus Abarim means “the mountains of Abarim.” The name remains morphologically unchanged.
  5. transierunt — Lemma: transeo; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, perfect active indicative, irregular compound of eo; Function: Main finite verb with the sons of Israel as the understood subject; Translation: “they crossed over”; Notes: The compound verb transeo means “to cross,” “to pass across,” or “to pass over.” Here it describes movement from the mountains of Abarim toward the plains of Moab.
  6. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces the destination of transierunt; Translation: “to”; Notes: It expresses movement toward the plains of Moab without necessarily specifying movement into every part of that region.
  7. campestria — Lemma: campestris, campestre; Part of Speech: Substantivized adjective; Form: Accusative plural neuter, third declension, positive degree; Function: Object of the directional preposition ad; Translation: “the plains”; Notes: The adjective campestris means “level” or “belonging to the open country.” Used substantively in the neuter plural, campestria denotes level lands or plains.
  8. Moab — Lemma: Moab; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable geographical name, functioning as a dependent genitive with campestria; Function: Identifies the territory associated with the plains; Translation: “of Moab”; Notes: Together campestria Moab means “the plains of Moab.” The proper name remains unchanged despite its genitive function.
  9. supra — Lemma: supra; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces a geographical phrase locating the plains in relation to the Jordan; Translation: “above”; Notes: Here supra expresses spatial position rather than a temporal or numerical relationship.
  10. Iordanem — Lemma: Iordanes; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition supra; Translation: “the Jordan”; Notes: The name refers to the Jordan River, which serves as a geographical reference point for the plains of Moab.
  11. contra — Lemma: contra; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces a geographical phrase specifying the position of the plains in relation to Jericho; Translation: “opposite”; Notes: In this context, contra indicates a location facing another place, not opposition or hostility.
  12. Iericho — Lemma: Iericho; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable geographical name, functioning as accusative after contra; Function: Complement of contra and geographical reference point for the location of the plains of Moab; Translation: “Jericho”; Notes: The name identifies the city opposite the plains of Moab, across the Jordan region. Its form remains unchanged despite its accusative function.

 

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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