Numeri 35:8 (Numbers 35:8)

^{Nm 35:8} Ipsæque urbes, quæ dabuntur de possessionibus filiorum Israel, ab his, qui plus habent, plures auferentur: et qui minus, pauciores. singuli iuxta mensuram hereditatis suæ dabunt oppida Levitis.

And the towns themselves, which shall be given from the possessions of the children of Israel, shall be taken in greater number from those who have more, and fewer from those who have less. Each shall give towns to the Levites according to the measure of his own inheritance.”

Syntax

Main Clause: Ipsæque urbes, quæ dabuntur de possessionibus filiorum Israel, ab his, qui plus habent, plures auferentur establishes that the towns allotted to the Levites are to be taken from the Israelite inheritances in proportion to their size. The nominative plural urbes is the grammatical subject of auferentur, while plures specifies that a greater number of towns shall be taken from those possessing more.

Emphatic Subject: Ipsæque urbes means “and the towns themselves.” The intensive pronoun Ipsæ, contained within Ipsæque, agrees with urbes in the nominative plural feminine. The attached conjunction -que connects the instruction with the preceding enumeration of the forty-eight Levitical towns.

Relative Clause: quæ dabuntur de possessionibus filiorum Israel means “which shall be given from the possessions of the children of Israel.” The relative pronoun quæ is nominative plural feminine and functions as the subject of dabuntur. It refers back to urbes.

Future Passive Verb: dabuntur is the third-person plural future passive indicative of do. It describes the towns as property that shall be given from the Israelites’ territorial inheritances. The passive construction emphasizes the towns being transferred rather than explicitly naming the givers.

Source Phrase: de possessionibus filiorum Israel identifies the property from which the Levitical towns are to be supplied. The preposition de governs the ablative plural possessionibus, expressing the source from which the towns are drawn.

Genitive Construction: filiorum Israel means “of the children of Israel.” The genitive plural filiorum depends on possessionibus, identifying the owners of the inheritances. The indeclinable name Israel modifies filiorum in a genitival sense, identifying the people descended from Israel.

Source of the Greater Contribution: ab his, qui plus habent means “from those who have more.” The preposition ab governs the ablative plural demonstrative pronoun his. The phrase identifies those from whose possessions a larger number of towns shall be taken. It expresses the source of the contribution, not the agent performing the action.

Relative Clause of Possession: qui plus habent means “who have more.” The nominative plural masculine qui refers to his and functions as the subject of habent. The comparative plus expresses a greater amount of property and functions substantivally as the object of habent.

Comparative Quantity: plures is a nominative plural feminine comparative adjective agreeing with urbes. It means “more numerous” or, in context, “a greater number.” Its comparative force establishes that those possessing larger inheritances must contribute more towns.

Main Passive Predicate: auferentur is the third-person plural future passive indicative of aufero. It means “shall be taken away” or “shall be taken.” The passive construction describes the removal of towns from the original tribal possessions for allocation to the Levites.

Contrasting Clause: et qui minus, pauciores means “and from those who have less, fewer.” This is an elliptical construction contrasting the smaller contributions with the larger ones. The conjunction et introduces the corresponding rule for those possessing less land.

Ellipsis in the Contrasting Clause: In qui minus, pauciores, the verb habent is understood after minus, while auferentur and the prepositional relationship expressed by ab his are supplied from the preceding clause. The complete sense is “and from those who have less, fewer towns shall be taken.”

Second Relative Pronoun: qui is nominative plural masculine and refers to those with smaller inheritances. It functions as the subject of the understood verb habent. Its reference is general, applying to the groups possessing less land.

Comparative of Smaller Quantity: minus means “less” and contrasts directly with plus. It expresses a smaller amount of inherited property. The omission of habent does not alter the meaning of the comparison.

Comparative Adjective: pauciores is nominative plural feminine and refers to a smaller number of towns. The understood noun is urbes. The adjective contrasts with plures, establishing a proportional rather than an identical numerical contribution from every group.

Concluding Main Clause: singuli iuxta mensuram hereditatis suæ dabunt oppida Levitis states the general principle governing the contributions. Each contributing group must provide towns to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance allotted to it.

Distributive Subject: singuli is nominative plural masculine and functions substantivally as the subject of dabunt. It has a distributive sense, meaning “each one” or “each respectively.” In context, it refers to the individual contributing groups among the Israelites.

Proportional Measurement Phrase: iuxta mensuram hereditatis suæ means “according to the measure of his own inheritance.” The preposition iuxta governs the accusative singular mensuram. Here it expresses conformity to a standard or proportion rather than physical proximity.

Genitive of Specification: hereditatis is genitive singular feminine and depends on mensuram. It identifies the inheritance whose extent determines the required contribution. The phrase establishes the size of the inherited territory as the standard for calculating how many towns must be provided.

Reflexive Possessive Construction: suæ is genitive singular feminine and agrees with hereditatis. It refers back distributively to singuli, emphasizing that each contributor’s obligation is measured according to his own inheritance rather than according to another’s.

Active Predicate: dabunt is the third-person plural future active indicative of do. Unlike the earlier passive verbs dabuntur and auferentur, this verb explicitly presents the contributing groups as those responsible for giving the towns.

Direct Object: oppida is accusative plural neuter and functions as the direct object of dabunt. It identifies the towns to be transferred from the Israelite inheritances to the Levites.

Indirect Object: Levitis is dative plural masculine and identifies the recipients of the towns. The dative construction completes the transfer expressed by dabunt, distinguishing the contributors from the beneficiaries.

Overall Clause Function: The verse establishes a principle of proportional contribution for the forty-eight Levitical towns described in the preceding verses. Groups possessing larger inheritances must provide more towns, while groups possessing smaller inheritances provide fewer. The concluding sentence summarizes the governing principle: each contributes according to the measure of his own inheritance.

Morphology

1. Ipsæque — Lemma: ipse, ipsa, ipsum, with the enclitic conjunction -que; Part of Speech: Intensive pronoun used adjectivally, with attached coordinating conjunction; Form: Nominative plural feminine of ipse, followed by the enclitic -que; Function: Modifies urbes and connects the sentence with the preceding instructions; Translation: “and the very”; Notes: The intensive pronoun emphasizes that the towns now being discussed are those already designated for the Levites. The attached conjunction links this further instruction to the preceding enumeration.
2. urbes — Lemma: urbs, urbis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Nominative plural feminine, third declension; Function: Subject of auferentur, identifying the towns taken from the Israelite inheritances; Translation: “towns”; Notes: The noun refers to the settlements allocated to the Levites. These towns are to be supplied from the territorial holdings of the other Israelites rather than from a separate territorial inheritance for the Levites.
3. quæ — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative plural feminine; Function: Subject of dabuntur, referring back to urbes; Translation: “which”; Notes: The relative pronoun agrees with urbes in gender and number and introduces a clause identifying the towns by their intended transfer from the possessions of Israel.
4. dabuntur — Lemma: do, dare, dedi, datum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person plural, future tense, passive voice, indicative mood, first conjugation; Function: Predicate of the relative clause describing the towns to be given; Translation: “shall be given”; Notes: The passive form focuses on the towns as the objects of the required transfer. The future tense expresses the obligation that will govern the distribution of the Levitical settlements.
5. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces possessionibus as the source from which the towns are to be given; Translation: “from”; Notes: The preposition expresses a source or partitive relationship, indicating that the Levitical towns are to be taken out of the existing territorial possessions of Israel.
6. possessionibus — Lemma: possessio, possessionis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Ablative plural feminine, third declension; Function: Object of the preposition de, identifying the property from which the towns are supplied; Translation: “the possessions”; Notes: The noun denotes holdings or property. In the context of the distribution of Canaan, it refers particularly to the territorial inheritances assigned to the Israelites.
7. filiorum — Lemma: filius, filii; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive plural masculine, second declension; Function: Genitive modifier of possessionibus, identifying those to whom the possessions belong; Translation: “of the children”; Notes: The expression filiorum Israel designates the Israelites collectively. The genitive indicates that the territorial holdings belong to the people from whom the Levitical towns are to be supplied.
8. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: Proper noun; Form: Indeclinable biblical proper name, functioning in a genitival relationship; Function: Dependent modifier of filiorum, identifying the people whose possessions are mentioned; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: The name identifies the descendants of Israel as the holders of the allotted territories. Its grammatical relationship with filiorum is conveyed by syntax without a change in form.
9. ab — Lemma: a, ab; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the ablative; Function: Introduces his as those from whose possessions a greater number of towns will be taken; Translation: “from”; Notes: Although ab can introduce a personal agent with a passive verb, here it expresses the source of the towns being taken, rather than identifying those who perform the taking.
10. his — Lemma: hic, hæc, hoc; Part of Speech: Demonstrative pronoun; Form: Ablative plural masculine; Function: Object of ab, referring to those possessing larger territorial inheritances; Translation: “those”; Notes: The pronoun functions substantivally and is further defined by qui plus habent. It identifies the contributors required to supply a larger number of towns.
11. qui — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject of habent, referring back to his; Translation: “who”; Notes: The relative pronoun introduces a clause describing those who possess more property. Its nominative case reflects its role within the relative clause, although its antecedent his is ablative.
12. plus — Lemma: multus, multa, multum, comparative plus; Part of Speech: Comparative adjective used substantivally; Form: Accusative singular neuter comparative, formally identical to the nominative singular neuter; Function: Direct object of habent, expressing a greater amount of possessed property; Translation: “more”; Notes: The neuter comparative is used without an expressed noun and refers to a greater quantity of property or inherited land. It establishes the basis for requiring a larger contribution of towns.
13. habent — Lemma: habeo, habere, habui, habitum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person plural, present tense, active voice, indicative mood, second conjugation; Function: Predicate of the relative clause qui plus habent; Translation: “have”; Notes: The verb expresses possession. With plus, it identifies those whose inherited holdings are comparatively larger and who must therefore contribute more towns.
14. plures — Lemma: multus, multa, multum, comparative plures; Part of Speech: Comparative adjective; Form: Nominative plural feminine, comparative degree; Function: Modifies urbes and specifies that a greater number shall be taken from larger inheritances; Translation: “more numerous”; Notes: The comparative adjective indicates a larger number of towns. Its feminine plural form agrees with urbes and contrasts with pauciores in the following elliptical clause.
15. auferentur — Lemma: aufero, auferre, abstuli, ablatum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person plural, future tense, passive voice, indicative mood, irregular conjugation; Function: Main predicate expressing the taking of towns from the larger inheritances; Translation: “shall be taken”; Notes: The verb denotes removal or taking away. In this context, it describes towns being drawn from existing tribal possessions for the Levitical allocation, with the passive voice emphasizing the towns transferred.
16. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: Coordinating conjunction; Form: Indeclinable conjunction; Function: Connects the statement about larger contributions with the contrasting statement about smaller contributions; Translation: “and”; Notes: The conjunction introduces the corresponding rule for those possessing less property, establishing a parallel contrast between larger and smaller inheritances.
17. qui — Lemma: qui, quæ, quod; Part of Speech: Relative pronoun used substantivally; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject of the understood verb habent, identifying those possessing less property; Translation: “those who”; Notes: The pronoun refers generally to the contributors with smaller inheritances. It parallels the earlier qui and introduces the opposite side of the proportional arrangement.
18. minus — Lemma: parvus, parva, parvum, comparative minor, minus; Part of Speech: Comparative adjective used substantivally; Form: Accusative singular neuter comparative, formally identical to the nominative singular neuter; Function: Object of the understood verb habent, expressing a smaller amount of possessed property; Translation: “less”; Notes: The comparative contrasts with plus. It refers to a smaller extent of inherited land and supplies the basis for requiring a correspondingly smaller contribution of towns.
19. pauciores — Lemma: paucus, pauca, paucum, comparative paucior, paucius; Part of Speech: Comparative adjective; Form: Nominative plural feminine, comparative degree; Function: Refers to fewer urbes in the elliptical clause, with auferentur understood; Translation: “fewer”; Notes: The adjective expresses a smaller number of towns and contrasts directly with plures. It establishes that smaller inheritances are responsible for fewer Levitical towns.
20. singuli — Lemma: singuli, singulæ, singula; Part of Speech: Distributive numeral adjective used substantivally; Form: Nominative plural masculine; Function: Subject of dabunt, identifying each contributing group individually; Translation: “each one”; Notes: The distributive numeral emphasizes individual responsibility within the collective obligation. Each contributing group is to provide towns in proportion to the inheritance allotted to it.
21. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: Preposition; Form: Indeclinable preposition governing the accusative; Function: Introduces mensuram hereditatis suæ as the standard determining the required contribution; Translation: “according to”; Notes: Although the preposition can express physical nearness, here it has the extended sense of conformity to a standard. The required number of towns is determined proportionally by the extent of each inheritance.
22. mensuram — Lemma: mensura, mensuræ; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative singular feminine, first declension; Function: Object of the preposition iuxta, identifying the measure used to determine the contribution; Translation: “the measure”; Notes: The noun denotes measurement, extent, or quantity. In this context, it specifies the size of an inherited territory as the basis for calculating the number of towns to be given.
23. hereditatis — Lemma: hereditas, hereditatis; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Genitive singular feminine, third declension; Function: Genitive modifier of mensuram, identifying what is being measured; Translation: “of inheritance”; Notes: The noun refers to an inherited possession or allotted property. In the surrounding narrative, it specifically concerns the territorial inheritance assigned to each Israelite group.
24. suæ — Lemma: suus, sua, suum; Part of Speech: Reflexive possessive adjective; Form: Genitive singular feminine, first- and second-declension adjective; Function: Modifies hereditatis and refers distributively to the subject singuli; Translation: “of his own”; Notes: The reflexive possessive emphasizes that each contributor’s obligation is determined by his own inheritance. Its feminine singular form agrees grammatically with hereditatis.
25. dabunt — Lemma: do, dare, dedi, datum; Part of Speech: Verb; Form: Third-person plural, future tense, active voice, indicative mood, first conjugation; Function: Main predicate of the concluding clause, expressing the obligation to give towns to the Levites; Translation: “shall give”; Notes: The future active verb identifies the contributing groups as responsible for supplying the towns. It summarizes the proportional requirement expressed by the preceding contrasting clauses.
26. oppida — Lemma: oppidum, oppidi; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Accusative plural neuter, second declension; Function: Direct object of dabunt, identifying what each contributing group must provide; Translation: “towns”; Notes: The noun refers to the settlements assigned to the Levites. The required number varies according to the territorial inheritance of each contributing group.
27. Levitis — Lemma: Levita, Levitæ; Part of Speech: Noun; Form: Dative plural masculine, first declension; Function: Indirect object of dabunt, identifying the recipients of the contributed towns; Translation: “to the Levites”; Notes: Although Levita belongs to the first declension, it denotes a masculine person. The dative plural identifies the Levitical community as the beneficiary of the towns provided from the Israelite inheritances.