Numeri 4:17 (Numbers 4:17)

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 4:17 Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, et Aaron, dicens:

And the LORD spoke to Moyses, and to Aaron, saying:

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Locutusque and having spoken / and spoke NOM.SG.M.PTCP+CONJ
2 est was / did 3.SG.PRES.ACT.IND
3 Dominus LORD NOM.SG.M
4 ad to PREP+ACC
5 Moysen Moyses ACC.SG.M
6 et and CONJ
7 Aaron Aaron ACC.SG.M
8 dicens saying NOM.SG.M.PRES.ACT.PTCP

Syntax

Main Clause: Locutusque est Dominus forms the main verbal statement. Dominus is the subject, while locutus est is the finite periphrastic perfect expression, “spoke.”

Prepositional Phrase: ad Moysen, et Aaron functions as the complement of direction, marking the persons addressed. The conjunction et coordinates Moysen and Aaron.

Participial Modifier: dicens is a circumstantial participle modifying Dominus. It introduces the content of the forthcoming divine speech.

Clause Function: The sentence serves as a narrative introduction to direct speech, identifying the divine speaker and the human recipients before the message itself begins.

Morphology

  1. Locutusque — Lemma: loquor; Part of Speech: verb; Form: perfect participle nominative singular masculine, with enclitic -que; Function: verbal component of the main clause with est; Translation: “and having spoken” / “and spoke”; Notes: As a deponent verb, loquor has passive form but active meaning; with est it yields the standard narrative sense “spoke.”
  2. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, third person singular; Function: auxiliary completing the perfect expression locutus est; Translation: “was” / “did”; Notes: Combined with the perfect participle, it forms a completed past action in narrative style.
  3. Dominus — Lemma: dominus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of the main clause; Translation: “LORD”; Notes: Here it refers to YHWH, so the translation is rightly given as “LORD.”
  4. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: preposition governing the accusative; Function: introduces the indirect object phrase of address; Translation: “to”; Notes: It marks the persons toward whom the speech is directed.
  5. Moysen — Lemma: Moyses; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of ad; Translation: “Moyses”; Notes: The accusative follows naturally after ad in indicating the addressee.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links the two recipients of the speech; Translation: “and”; Notes: It coordinates Moysen and Aaron within the same prepositional construction.
  7. Aaron — Lemma: Aaron; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: accusative singular masculine, indeclinable form; Function: second object coordinated under ad; Translation: “Aaron”; Notes: Though formally indeclinable in spelling, its syntactic role here is accusative as the second addressee.
  8. dicens — Lemma: dico; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active participle nominative singular masculine; Function: circumstantial participle modifying Dominus; Translation: “saying”; Notes: This participle introduces the direct discourse that follows and is a very common biblical narrative device.

 

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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