Numeri 4:44 (Numbers 4:44)

Posted on May 1, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Nm 4:44 et inventi sunt tria millia ducenti.

and they were found to be three thousand two hundred.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 inventi found NOM.PL.M.PTCP
3 sunt they are 3.PL.PRES.ACT.IND
4 tria three NOM.PL.N
5 millia thousand NOM.PL.N
6 ducenti two hundred NOM.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause: et inventi sunt — passive periphrastic construction, with inventi as predicate participle and sunt as auxiliary verb.

Predicate Numeral: tria millia ducenti — expresses the total number identified.

Clause Function: The sentence reports the result of the census, giving the total count.

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: coordinating conjunction; Function: joins clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Continues narrative.
  2. inventi — Lemma: invenio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: perfect passive participle nominative plural masculine; Function: predicate; Translation: “found”; Notes: Indicates result of counting.
  3. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative, third person plural; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “they are”; Notes: Forms perfect passive construction.
  4. tria — Lemma: tres; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: modifies millia; Translation: “three”; Notes: Agrees with neuter plural millia.
  5. millia — Lemma: mille; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: nominative plural neuter; Function: head numeral; Translation: “thousand”; Notes: Takes plural construction for thousands.
  6. ducenti — Lemma: ducenti; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: nominative plural masculine; Function: completes numeral phrase; Translation: “two hundred”; Notes: Final element of compound number.

 

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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