Numeri 34:19 (Numbers 34:19)

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 34:19 quorum ista sunt vocabula: De tribu Iuda, Caleb filius Iephone.

whose names are these: From the tribe of Juda, Caleb son of Jephone.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 quorum whose GEN.PL.M.REL
2 ista these NOM.PL.N.DEM
3 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
4 vocabula names NOM.PL.N 2ND DECL.PRED
5 De from PREP+ABL
6 tribu the tribe ABL.SG.F 4TH DECL
7 Iuda of Judah INDECL
8 Caleb Caleb NOM.SG.M INDECL
9 filius son NOM.SG.M 2ND DECL.APPOS
10 Iephone of Jephunneh INDECL

Syntax

Relative Clause: quorum ista sunt vocabula means “whose names are these.” The relative pronoun quorum refers back to the individual principes mentioned in the preceding verse and is genitive plural, expressing possession: the names belong to those princes.

Copular Construction: In ista sunt vocabula, ista is a nominative plural neuter demonstrative functioning as the subject, sunt is the copular verb, and vocabula is the predicate nominative: “these are the names.”

Tribal Identification: De tribu Iuda means “from the tribe of Juda.” De governs the ablative tribu. The indeclinable proper name Iuda specifies the tribe in a genitival sense.

Naming Construction: Caleb filius Iephone identifies the prince selected from the tribe of Juda. Caleb is nominative and stands as the named representative; filius is nominative in apposition to Caleb.

Genealogical Construction: filius Iephone means “son of Iephone.” The indeclinable proper name Iephone depends on filius in a genitival sense, identifying Caleb by his father.

Morphology

  1. quorum — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Genitive plural masculine; Function: Possessive genitive referring back to the principes of the preceding verse; Translation: “whose”; Notes: The pronoun connects the list of names that follows with the tribal princes previously introduced.
  2. ista — Lemma: iste; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Nominative plural neuter; Function: Subject of sunt, corresponding to the predicate vocabula; Translation: “these”; Notes: The neuter plural agrees conceptually with vocabula and points forward to the names about to be enumerated.
  3. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third person plural, present active indicative, irregular verb; Function: Copular verb linking ista with vocabula; Translation: “are”; Notes: The verb introduces the identification of the individual tribal representatives by name.
  4. vocabula — Lemma: vocabulum; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural neuter, second declension; Function: Predicate nominative with sunt; Translation: “names”; Notes: Although vocabulum can mean a designation or word, here the plural clearly denotes the personal names of the princes.
  5. De — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces tribu Iuda as the tribal source of the named prince; Translation: “from”; Notes: The phrase identifies the tribe from which Caleb is appointed as representative.
  6. tribu — Lemma: tribus; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative singular feminine, fourth declension; Function: Object of the preposition De; Translation: “the tribe”; Notes: The following proper name Iuda specifies which tribe is meant.
  7. Iuda — Lemma: Iuda; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Dependent modifier of tribu, equivalent in sense to “of Juda”; Translation: “of Juda”; Notes: The name identifies the tribal unit represented by Caleb without changing its orthographic form.
  8. Caleb — Lemma: Caleb; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Names the prince representing the tribe of Juda; Translation: “Caleb”; Notes: The following filius Iephone supplies Caleb’s genealogical identification.
  9. filius — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative singular masculine, second declension; Function: Apposition to Caleb; Translation: “son”; Notes: It introduces the standard genealogical construction identifying Caleb through his father.
  10. Iephone — Lemma: Iephone; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name; Function: Dependent modifier of filius, equivalent in sense to “of Iephone”; Translation: “of Iephone”; Notes: The genitival relationship is conveyed syntactically because the proper name remains formally unchanged.

 

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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