Numeri 5:2 (Numbers 5:2)

Posted on May 2, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

2 Præcipe filiis Israel, ut eiiciant de castris omnem leprosum, et qui semine fluit, pollutusque est super mortuo:

“Command the sons of Israel, that they send out from the camps every leprous person, and whoever flows with discharge, and whoever is defiled over a dead body;

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Præcipe command 2SG.PRES.ACT.IMP
2 filiis to the sons DAT.PL.M
3 Israel Israel GEN/INDECL
4 ut that CONJ
5 eiiciant they may cast out 3PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
6 de from PREP+ABL
7 castris the camps ABL.PL.N
8 omnem every ACC.SG.M
9 leprosum leprous ACC.SG.M
10 et and CONJ
11 qui who NOM.SG.M.REL
12 semine with discharge ABL.SG.N
13 fluit flows 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
14 pollutusque and defiled NOM.SG.M.PERF.PASS.PTCP + -QUE
15 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
16 super upon PREP+ABL
17 mortuo a dead one ABL.SG.M

Syntax

Main command:
• Præcipe filiis Israel
• Verb: Præcipe (imperative)
• Indirect object: filiis Israel

Subordinate command clause:
• ut eiiciant — purpose/content clause
• Verb: eiiciant (subjunctive)

Prepositional phrase:
• de castris — “from the camps”

Direct object:
• omnem leprosum

Relative clause 1:
• qui semine fluit
• Subject: qui
• Verb: fluit
• Ablative: semine

Relative clause 2:
• pollutusque est super mortuo
• Verb phrase: pollutus est
• Prepositional phrase: super mortuo

Morphology

  1. Præcipe — Lemma: præcipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active imperative 2nd singular; Function: main command; Translation: “command”; Notes: direct instruction from the LORD to Moses.
  2. filiis — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural masculine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the sons”; Notes: recipients of the command.
  3. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: indeclinable (genitive sense); Function: modifies filiis; Translation: “Israel”; Notes: identifies the covenant people.
  4. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: subordinating; Function: introduces command clause; Translation: “that”; Notes: governs subjunctive.
  5. eiiciant — Lemma: eiicio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active subjunctive 3rd plural; Function: verb of ut-clause; Translation: “they may cast out”; Notes: expresses commanded action.
  6. de — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: with ablative; Function: introduces separation; Translation: “from”; Notes: indicates removal.
  7. castris — Lemma: castra; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural neuter; Function: object of de; Translation: “camps”; Notes: pluralia tantum noun.
  8. omnem — Lemma: omnis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies leprosum; Translation: “every”; Notes: total inclusion.
  9. leprosum — Lemma: leprosus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “leprous person”; Notes: refers to ritually unclean individual.
  10. et — conjunction; coordinating; links clauses; “and”.
  11. qui — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of fluit; Translation: “who”; Notes: introduces relative clause.
  12. semine — Lemma: semen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: ablative of cause/source; Translation: “with discharge”; Notes: ritual impurity context.
  13. fluit — Lemma: fluo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: verb of relative clause; Translation: “flows”; Notes: describes ongoing condition.
  14. pollutusque — Lemma: polluo; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle + -que; Function: predicate with est; Translation: “and defiled”; Notes: completed impurity.
  15. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: present active indicative 3rd singular; Function: auxiliary/copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: forms passive sense.
  16. super — Lemma: super; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: with ablative; Function: introduces cause; Translation: “upon”; Notes: denotes contact with source of impurity.
  17. mortuo — Lemma: mortuus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of super; Translation: “dead one”; Notes: corpse contamination.

 

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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