Numeri 34:14 (Numbers 34:14)

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 34:14 Tribus enim filiorum Ruben per familias suas, et tribus filiorum Gad iuxta cognationum numerum, media quoque tribus Manasse,

For the tribe of the children of Ruben according to their families, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the number of their kindreds, and also half the tribe of Manasse,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tribus the tribe NOM.SG.F 4TH DECL
2 enim for CONJ INVAR
3 filiorum of the children GEN.PL.M 2ND DECL
4 Ruben of Reuben INDECL
5 per according to PREP+ACC
6 familias families ACC.PL.F 1ST DECL
7 suas their own ACC.PL.F.POSS
8 et and CONJ INVAR
9 tribus the tribe NOM.SG.F 4TH DECL
10 filiorum of the children GEN.PL.M 2ND DECL
11 Gad of Gad INDECL
12 iuxta according to PREP+ACC
13 cognationum of the kindreds GEN.PL.F 3RD DECL
14 numerum the number ACC.SG.M 2ND DECL
15 media half NOM.SG.F.ADJ.POS
16 quoque also ADV INVAR
17 tribus tribe NOM.SG.F 4TH DECL
18 Manasse of Manasseh INDECL

Syntax

Continuation from the Previous Verse: Tribus enim filiorum Ruben per familias suas, et tribus filiorum Gad iuxta cognationum numerum, media quoque tribus Manasse explains the “nine tribes and half a tribe” mentioned in the preceding verse. The present verse consists primarily of coordinated nominative noun phrases; its finite verb is supplied by the continuation that follows rather than expressed here.

Discourse Particle: enim has explanatory force, “for,” introducing the reason why the land just described is assigned to nine tribes and half a tribe.

First Coordinated Subject: Tribus filiorum Ruben means “the tribe of the children of Ruben.” Tribus is nominative singular, while filiorum is a dependent genitive plural. The indeclinable proper name Ruben further specifies filiorum in the sense “the children of Ruben.”

Subdivision Phrase: per familias suas means “according to their families.” per governs the accusative plural familias, and suas agrees with it. The possessive refers to the members of the tribe of Ruben.

Second Coordinated Subject: et tribus filiorum Gad adds “and the tribe of the children of Gad.” Its structure parallels Tribus filiorum Ruben: tribus is nominative singular, filiorum is genitive plural, and the indeclinable name Gad specifies whose descendants are meant.

Measure or Classification Phrase: iuxta cognationum numerum means “according to the number of the kindreds.” iuxta governs the accusative numerum, while cognationum is a dependent genitive plural specifying the groups being counted.

Third Coordinated Subject: media quoque tribus Manasse means “and also half the tribe of Manasse.” media agrees with the feminine nominative singular tribus and has the sense “half.” quoque adds this half-tribe to the two full tribes already named, while Manasse identifies the tribe in a genitival sense.

Morphology

  1. Tribus — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine, fourth declension; Function: First of the coordinated subject noun phrases continued into the following context; Translation: “the tribe”; Notes: The noun introduces the tribe of Ruben as one of the groups relevant to the territorial distribution explained from the preceding verse.
  2. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable postpositive conjunction; Function: Introduces an explanation of the preceding statement about nine tribes and half a tribe; Translation: “for”; Notes: Its force is explanatory rather than merely connective: the verse specifies which tribes account for the earlier distribution.
  3. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine, second declension; Function: Genitive dependent on Tribus; Translation: “of the children”; Notes: The expression Tribus filiorum Ruben identifies the tribe through descent from Ruben.
  4. Ruben — Lemma: Ruben; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Specifies filiorum in a genitival sense; Translation: “of Ruben”; Notes: The name remains formally unchanged, while the syntax gives the sense “the children of Ruben.”
  5. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces familias suas; Translation: “according to”; Notes: In this distributive context per expresses organization or division according to family groupings.
  6. familias — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural feminine, first declension; Function: Object of the preposition per; Translation: “families”; Notes: The noun refers to the family subdivisions within the tribe of Ruben.
  7. suas — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: Possessive adjective; Form: Accusative plural feminine; Function: Modifies familias; Translation: “their own”; Notes: The reflexive possessive refers to the tribal group under discussion, emphasizing its own constituent families.
  8. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable coordinating conjunction; Function: Coordinates the tribe of Gad with the preceding tribe of Ruben; Translation: “and”; Notes: It joins parallel tribal noun phrases within the explanatory enumeration.
  9. tribus — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine, fourth declension; Function: Second coordinated subject noun phrase; Translation: “the tribe”; Notes: It parallels the initial Tribus and introduces the tribe of Gad.
  10. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine, second declension; Function: Genitive dependent on tribus; Translation: “of the children”; Notes: The genitive identifies the tribe as consisting of the descendants of Gad.
  11. Gad — Lemma: Gad; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Specifies filiorum in a genitival sense; Translation: “of Gad”; Notes: Its unchanged form is understood syntactically as identifying the ancestor of the tribal descendants.
  12. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces cognationum numerum as a standard or measure; Translation: “according to”; Notes: Although iuxta can mean “beside,” here it has the figurative sense “according to” or “in accordance with.”
  13. cognationum — Lemma: cognatio; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural feminine, third declension; Function: Genitive modifying numerum; Translation: “of the kindreds”; Notes: The noun refers to kinship groups or clan divisions whose number provides the organizing measure.
  14. numerum — Lemma: numerus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Object of the preposition iuxta; Translation: “the number”; Notes: The phrase iuxta cognationum numerum describes arrangement or reckoning according to the number of kinship groups.
  15. media — Lemma: medius; Part of Speech: Adjective; Form: Nominative singular feminine, positive degree, first-and-second-declension adjective; Function: Modifies tribus; Translation: “half”; Notes: With tribus, the adjective means “half the tribe,” identifying a half-tribal unit rather than a complete tribe.
  16. quoque — Lemma: quoque; Part of Speech: Adverb; Form: Indeclinable adverb; Function: Adds media tribus Manasse to the preceding tribal groups; Translation: “also”; Notes: The particle emphasizes that half the tribe of Manasse is included alongside the tribes of Ruben and Gad.
  17. tribus — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular feminine, fourth declension; Function: Third coordinated subject noun phrase, modified by media; Translation: “tribe”; Notes: Together with media, the noun designates half of the tribe of Manasse.
  18. Manasse — Lemma: Manasse; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Specifies tribus in a genitival sense; Translation: “of Manasse”; Notes: The proper name identifies the half-tribe included with Ruben and Gad in the explanation of the territorial allotment.

 

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.
This entry was posted in Numeri. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.