Exodus 1:19

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:19 Quæ responderunt: Non sunt Hebreæ sicut Ægyptiæ mulieres: ipsæ enim obstetricandi habent scientiam, et priusquam veniamus ad eas, pariunt.

They answered: “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they have skill in midwifing, and before we come to them, they give birth.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Quæ who NOM.PL.F REL
2 responderunt answered 3PL.PERF.ACT.IND
3 Non not ADV
4 sunt are 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
5 Hebreæ Hebrew women NOM.PL.F
6 sicut like CONJ/ADV
7 Ægyptiæ Egyptian women NOM.PL.F
8 mulieres women NOM.PL.F
9 ipsæ they themselves NOM.PL.F
10 enim for ADV
11 obstetricandi of midwifing GERUND.GEN
12 habent they have 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND
13 scientiam skill ACC.SG.F
14 et and CONJ
15 priusquam before CONJ
16 veniamus we come 1PL.PRES.ACT.SUBJ
17 ad to PREP+ACC
18 eas them ACC.PL.F
19 pariunt they give birth 3PL.PRES.ACT.IND

Syntax

Relative Clause: Quæ responderunt — introduces the midwives’ reply.
Main Clause: Non sunt Hebreæ sicut Ægyptiæ mulieres — “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women.”
Casual Clause: ipsæ enim obstetricandi habent scientiam — “for they themselves have skill in midwifing.”
Temporal Clause: priusquam veniam us ad eas — “before we come to them.”
Result/Main Clause: pariunt — “they give birth.”
Function: The midwives justify their disobedience by claiming the Hebrew women give birth too quickly.

Morphology

  1. Quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of “responderunt”; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to the midwives.
  2. responderunt — Lemma: respondeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “answered”; Notes: Completed verbal response.
  3. Non — Lemma: non; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: negation; Function: negates “sunt”; Translation: “not”; Notes: Standard negation.
  4. sunt — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active indicative; Function: copulative verb; Translation: “are”; Notes: Links subject and complement.
  5. Hebreæ — Lemma: Hebraea; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of “sunt”; Translation: “Hebrew women”; Notes: Refers to Israelite women.
  6. sicut — Lemma: sicut; Part of Speech: conjunction/adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces comparison; Translation: “as / like”; Notes: Sets up contrast.
  7. Ægyptiæ — Lemma: Ægyptia; Part of Speech: adjective/noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: comparative complement; Translation: “Egyptian women”; Notes: First element of comparison.
  8. mulieres — Lemma: mulier; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: restates/completes comparison; Translation: “women”; Notes: Clarifies that both groups are women.
  9. ipsæ — Lemma: ipse; Part of Speech: intensive pronoun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: emphasizes subject; Translation: “they themselves”; Notes: Highlights autonomy of Hebrew women.
  10. enim — Lemma: enim; Part of Speech: postpositive causal particle; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces reason; Translation: “for”; Notes: Explains preceding assertion.
  11. obstetricandi — Lemma: obstetricor; Part of Speech: gerund; Form: genitive singular; Function: depends on “scientiam”; Translation: “of midwifing”; Notes: Gerund expresses skill or practice.
  12. habent — Lemma: habeo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “they have”; Notes: Indicates possession of skill.
  13. scientiam — Lemma: scientia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: direct object of “habent”; Translation: “skill”; Notes: Means expertise/knowledge.
  14. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Neutral connective.
  15. priusquam — Lemma: priusquam; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: temporal; Function: introduces subordinate clause; Translation: “before”; Notes: Requires subjunctive in classical style.
  16. veniamus — Lemma: venio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 1st person plural present active subjunctive; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “we come”; Notes: Subjunctive with priusquam.
  17. ad — Lemma: ad; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses direction; Translation: “to”; Notes: Motion toward the women.
  18. eas — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of “ad”; Translation: “them”; Notes: Refers to Hebrew mothers in labor.
  19. pariunt — Lemma: pario; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person plural present active indicative; Function: main verb of result/explanation clause; Translation: “they give birth”; Notes: Simple present for habitual action.

 

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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