Numeri 34:16 (Numbers 34:16)

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 34:16 Et ait Dominus ad Moysen:

And the LORD said to Moyses:

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Et and CONJ INVAR
2 ait said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 Dominus the LORD NOM.SG.M 2ND DECL
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Moysen Moses ACC.SG.M

Syntax

Main Clause: Et ait Dominus ad Moysen means “And the LORD said to Moses.” Dominus is the nominative singular subject of ait, while ad Moysen identifies the person addressed.

Discourse Connection: Et connects this new divine speech with the preceding narrative concerning the tribal allotments. It is therefore retained as “And.”

Verb: ait is the third person singular present indicative of the defective verb aio. Although morphologically present, it functions here as a conventional narrative speech formula and is naturally translated with the English past tense “said.”

Prepositional Phrase: ad Moysen means “to Moyses.” ad governs the accusative Moysen and marks Moyses as the recipient of the LORD’s speech.

Morphology

  1. Et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Conjunction; Form: Indeclinable coordinating conjunction; Function: Connects the present divine speech with the preceding narrative; Translation: “and”; Notes: The conjunction continues the narrative sequence rather than introducing a contrast.
  2. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person singular, present active indicative, defective verb; Function: Main verb with Dominus as subject; Translation: “said”; Notes: Though formally present tense, ait is frequently used in narrative to introduce direct speech and is idiomatically rendered by English past “said.”
  3. Dominus — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Subject of ait; Translation: “the LORD”; Notes: In this biblical context Dominus refers to YHWH and is therefore translated “the LORD.”
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces Moysen as the recipient of the speech; Translation: “to”; Notes: With a verb of speaking, ad plus the accusative identifies the person being addressed.
  5. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Accusative singular masculine, biblical proper name; Function: Object of the preposition ad; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: Moysen is the Latin accusative form corresponding to nominative Moyses; English uses the base form “Moses.”

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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