Exodus 1:9

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:9 et ait ad populum suum: Ecce, populus filiorum Israel multus, et fortior nobis est.

and he said to his people: “Behold, the people of the sons of Israel is many and stronger than we are.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 et and CONJ
2 ait said 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 ad to PREP+ACC
4 populum people ACC.SG.M
5 suum his ACC.SG.M POSS
6 Ecce behold INTERJ
7 populus people NOM.SG.M
8 filiorum of the sons GEN.PL.M
9 Israel Israel GEN.SG.INVAR
10 multus many NOM.SG.M
11 et and CONJ
12 fortior stronger NOM.SG.M COMP
13 nobis than us ABL.PL.1P
14 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Main Clause: et ait ad populum suum — introductory speech formula (“and he said to his people”).
Direct Speech: Ecce, populus filiorum Israel multus et fortior nobis est — declaration by the king.
Subject: populus filiorum Israel — “the people of the sons of Israel.”
Predicate Adjectives: multus and fortior — describe size and comparative strength.
Comparison: fortior nobis — ablative of comparison (“stronger than us”).

Morphology

  1. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links narrative units; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connective.
  2. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb introducing speech; Translation: “said”; Notes: Common classical and biblical speech verb.
  3. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: directional/recipient marker; Translation: “to”; Notes: Introduces indirect object.
  4. populum — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “ad”; Translation: “people”; Notes: Refers to Egyptians addressed by the king.
  5. suum — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: modifies “populum”; Translation: “his”; Notes: Reflexive to the king.
  6. Ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: indeclinable; Function: draws attention; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Marks emphatic announcement.
  7. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “people”; Notes: Refers to Israelites.
  8. filiorum — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: genitive of possession; Translation: “of the sons”; Notes: Hebraic genealogical construction.
  9. Israel — Lemma: Israel; Part of Speech: proper noun; Form: genitive singular (indeclinable); Function: modifies “filiorum”; Translation: “of Israel”; Notes: Proper name treated as indeclinable.
  10. multus — Lemma: multus; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “many”; Notes: Quantifies the subject.
  11. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins adjectives; Translation: “and”; Notes: Connects two predicates.
  12. fortior — Lemma: fortis; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: nominative singular masculine comparative; Function: predicate adjective; Translation: “stronger”; Notes: Comparative degree.
  13. nobis — Lemma: nos; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative plural first person; Function: ablative of comparison; Translation: “than us”; Notes: Uses ablative instead of “quam.”
  14. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present active indicative; Function: copular verb; Translation: “is”; Notes: Links subject to predicate adjectives.

 

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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