Exodus 1:17

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:17 Timuerunt autem obstetrices Deum, et non fecerunt iuxta præceptum regis Ægypti, sed conservabant mares.

But the midwives feared God, and they did not act according to the command of the king of Egypt, but preserved the males.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Timuerunt they feared 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
2 autem but ADV
3 obstetrices midwives NOM.PL.F
4 Deum God ACC.SG.M
5 et and CONJ
6 non not ADV
7 fecerunt they did 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
8 iuxta according to PREP+ACC
9 præceptum command ACC.SG.N
10 regis of the king GEN.SG.M
11 Ægypti of Egypt GEN.SG.M
12 sed but CONJ
13 conservabant they preserved 3PL.IMPERF.ACT.IND
14 mares males ACC.PL.M

Syntax

Main Clause 1: Timuerunt autem obstetrices Deum — “But the midwives feared God.”
Main Clause 2: et non fecerunt iuxta præceptum regis Ægypti — “and they did not act according to the command of the king of Egypt.”
Adversative Clause: sed conservabant mares — “but preserved the males,” contrasting disobedience with righteous action.
Function: Shows the midwives’ reverence for God overriding Pharaoh’s order.

Morphology

  1. Timuerunt — Lemma: timeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “they feared”; Notes: Fear of God motivates civil disobedience.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: adversative conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces contrast; Translation: “but”; Notes: Postpositive.
  3. obstetrices — Lemma: obstetrix; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject; Translation: “midwives”; Notes: Refers to Sephora and Phua and possibly others.
  4. Deum — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “timuerunt”; Translation: “God”; Notes: Object of reverence.
  5. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: adds second main clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Neutral connective.
  6. non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: negates “fecerunt”; Translation: “not”; Notes: Standard negation.
  7. fecerunt — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb of the second clause; Translation: “they did”; Notes: Perfect expresses completed refusal.
  8. iuxta — Lemma: iuxta; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses conformity; Translation: “according to”; Notes: Often moral/legal.
  9. præceptum — Lemma: præceptum; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular neuter; Function: object of “iuxta”; Translation: “command”; Notes: Pharaoh’s decree.
  10. regis — Lemma: rex; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive modifier; Translation: “of the king”; Notes: Possessive genitive.
  11. Ægypti — Lemma: Ægyptus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: specifies domain; Translation: “of Egypt”; Notes: Place-name genitive.
  12. sed — Lemma: sed; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: strong adversative; Translation: “but”; Notes: Marks contrast with Pharaoh’s order.
  13. conservabant — Lemma: conservo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural imperfect active indicative; Function: main verb of adversative clause; Translation: “they preserved”; Notes: Imperfect stresses ongoing protection.
  14. mares — Lemma: mas; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative plural masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “males”; Notes: Newborn Hebrew boys.

 

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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