Numeri 33:5 (Numbers 33:5)

Posted on May 30, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 33:5 castrametati sunt in Soccoth.

they encamped at Soccoth.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 castrametati encamped NOM.PL.M.PERF.DEP.PTCP
2 sunt they encamped 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
3 in at PREP+ABL
4 Soccoth Succoth INDECL

Syntax

Main Clause: castrametati sunt in Soccoth begins the itinerary proper by stating the first encampment after the departure from Ramesse. The subject, the sons of Israel, is understood from the preceding context. castrametati sunt is a perfect deponent verbal construction meaning “they encamped.”

Verb: castrametati sunt consists of the perfect participle castrametati and the auxiliary sunt. Because castrametor is deponent, the construction is passive in morphological form but active in meaning.

Prepositional Phrase: in Soccoth expresses the place where the Israelites encamped. in has a locative sense and governs Soccoth, an indeclinable place-name functioning as its ablative complement.

Morphology

  1. 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 verb castrametati sunt and agrees with the understood subject, the sons of Israel; Translation: “encamped”; Notes: The verb castrametor means to pitch or establish a camp; as a deponent verb, its passive forms carry active meaning.
  2. 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: Combined with castrametati, it forms a perfect tense describing the completed act of making camp at Soccoth.
  3. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Invariable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces the place where the encampment occurred; Translation: “at”; Notes: Its locative use answers the question where rather than indicating movement toward the location.
  4. Soccoth — Lemma: Soccoth; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable place-name, functioning as ablative after in; Function: Complement of in, identifying the location of the encampment; Translation: “Soccoth”; Notes: Soccoth is the first encampment named in this itinerary after the Israelites’ departure from Ramesse.

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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