Numeri 4:22 (Numbers 4:22)

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 4:22 Tolle summam etiam filiorum Gerson per domos ac familias et cognationes suas,

“Take also the total of the sons of Gerson by their houses and families and their clans,

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Tolle take 2.SG.PRES.ACT.IMP.MOOD
2 summam total ACC.SG.F
3 etiam also ADV
4 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
5 Gerson Gershon INDECL
6 per through PREP+ACC
7 domos houses ACC.PL.F
8 ac and CONJ
9 familias families ACC.PL.F
10 et and CONJ
11 cognationes clans ACC.PL.F
12 suas their own ACC.PL.F

Syntax

Main Clause: Tolle summam — Tolle is the imperative verb, and summam is the direct object, meaning “the total” or “the sum.”

Genitive Phrase: filiorum Gerson — expresses possession or specification, indicating whose total is to be taken.

Adverbial Modifier: etiam — adds emphasis, meaning “also,” linking this command with previous enumerations.

Prepositional Phrase: per domos ac familias et cognationes suas — expresses distribution or classification, indicating that the counting is to be carried out according to household, family, and clan divisions.

Clause Function: The sentence is an imperative instruction, initiating a census organized according to social and genealogical structures.

Morphology

  1. Tolle — Lemma: tollo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative, second person singular; Function: main verb; Translation: “take”; Notes: Common command in census contexts, meaning to “take up” or “calculate.”
  2. summam — Lemma: summa; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of Tolle; Translation: “total” or “sum”; Notes: Refers to a counted total or enumeration.
  3. etiam — Lemma: etiam; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: adverbial modifier; Translation: “also”; Notes: Indicates continuation of a sequence of commands.
  4. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: dependent genitive modifying summam; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: Specifies the group being counted.
  5. Gerson — Lemma: Gerson; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable; Function: genitive relation with filiorum; Translation: “Gerson”; Notes: Identifies the Gershonite clan.
  6. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses distribution; Translation: “through” / “according to”; Notes: Indicates categorization in counting.
  7. domos — Lemma: domus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of per; Translation: “houses”; Notes: Refers to household units.
  8. ac — Lemma: ac; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: links nouns; Translation: “and”; Notes: Strong connective within list.
  9. familias — Lemma: familia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: coordinated object of per; Translation: “families”; Notes: Broader social grouping than household.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating; Function: continues list; Translation: “and”; Notes: Adds final category.
  11. cognationes — Lemma: cognatio; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: coordinated object; Translation: “clans”; Notes: Refers to kinship groups or lineages.
  12. suas — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: modifies cognationes; Translation: “their own”; Notes: Emphasizes belonging to the same group.

 

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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