Exodus 1:20

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:20 Bene ergo fecit Deus obstetricibus: et crevit populus, confortatusque est nimis.

Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people increased and was greatly strengthened.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Bene well ADV
2 ergo therefore ADV
3 fecit did / dealt 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
4 Deus God NOM.SG.M
5 obstetricibus to the midwives DAT.PL.F
6 et and CONJ
7 crevit increased 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
8 populus the people NOM.SG.M
9 confortatusque and was strengthened NOM.SG.M PERF.PASS.PART + -QUE
10 est was 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
11 nimis greatly ADV

Syntax

Main Clause 1:
Bene ergo fecit Deus obstetricibus — “Therefore God dealt well with the midwives.”
• Deus = subject
• obstetricibus = dative of advantage
• Bene + ergo = adverbial modifiers

Main Clause 2:
et crevit populus — “and the people increased.”

Passive Predicate with Enclitic:
confortatusque est nimis — “and was greatly strengthened.”
• confortatus = perfect passive participle
• -que connects this predicate to crevit
• nimis = adverb modifying strength/intensity

Function: Demonstrates divine reward for the midwives’ obedience and the flourishing of the Israelite people.

Morphology

  1. Bene — Lemma: bene; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: positive degree; Function: modifies “fecit”; Translation: “well”; Notes: Indicates favorable divine action.
  2. ergo — Lemma: ergo; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: inferential marker; Translation: “therefore”; Notes: Connects result to prior narrative.
  3. fecit — Lemma: facio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “did / dealt”; Notes: Perfect indicates decisive divine response.
  4. Deus — Lemma: Deus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “God”; Notes: Agent of the benevolent action.
  5. obstetricibus — Lemma: obstetrix; Part of Speech: noun; Form: dative plural feminine; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to the midwives”; Notes: Receivers of divine favor.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Neutral connective.
  7. crevit — Lemma: cresco; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “increased”; Notes: Describes population growth.
  8. populus — Lemma: populus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “crevit”; Translation: “the people”; Notes: Collective singular for Israel.
  9. confortatusque — Lemma: conforto; Part of Speech: participle + enclitic; Form: nominative singular masculine perfect passive participle + -que; Function: predicate adjective linked with crevit; Translation: “and was strengthened”; Notes: -que links the strengthening to the growth.
  10. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular present active indicative; Function: auxiliary; Translation: “was”; Notes: Forms perfect passive construction.
  11. nimis — Lemma: nimis; Part of Speech: adverb; Form: indeclinable; Function: modifies “confortatus est”; Translation: “greatly”; Notes: Expresses high degree of strengthening.

 

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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