Exodus 1:16

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 1:16 præcipiens eis: Quando obstetricabitis Hebræas, et partus tempus advenerit: si masculus fuerit, interficite eum: si femina, reservate.

commanding them: “When you midwife the Hebrew women and the time of birth has come: if it is a male, kill him; if it is a female, preserve her.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 præcipiens commanding NOM.SG.M PRES.ACT.PART
2 eis to them DAT.PL.F/M
3 Quando when ADV.CONJ
4 obstetricabitis you midwife 2PL.FUT.ACT.IND
5 Hebræas Hebrew women ACC.PL.F
6 et and CONJ
7 partus birth NOM.SG.M
8 tempus time NOM.SG.N
9 advenerit has come 3SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
10 si if CONJ
11 masculus male NOM.SG.M
12 fuerit it is 3SG.FUT.PERF.ACT.IND
13 interficite kill 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP
14 eum him ACC.SG.M
15 si if CONJ
16 femina female NOM.SG.F
17 reservate preserve 2PL.PRES.ACT.IMP

Syntax

Participial Frame: præcipiens eis — circumstantial participle “commanding them,” introducing the speech.
Temporal Clause: Quando obstetricabitis Hebræas — “when you midwife the Hebrew women.”
Second Temporal Marker: et partus tempus advenerit — “and the time of birth has come”; vivid future perfect.
Conditional Clause 1: si masculus fuerit — “if it is a male.”
Main Imperative: interficite eum — “kill him.”
Conditional Clause 2: si femina — “if it is a female.”
Imperative 2: reservate — “preserve (her).”
Function: Pharaoh commands selective infanticide based on the child’s sex.

Morphology

  1. præcipiens — Lemma: præcipio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular masculine present active participle; Function: circumstantial modifier of Pharaoh; Translation: “commanding”; Notes: Sets up direct discourse.
  2. eis — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: dative plural; Function: indirect object; Translation: “to them”; Notes: Refers to the midwives.
  3. Quando — Lemma: quando; Part of Speech: adverbial conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces temporal clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: Conditions for command.
  4. obstetricabitis — Lemma: obstetricor; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: 2nd person plural future active (deponent) indicative; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “you midwife”; Notes: Technical term for assisting childbirth.
  5. Hebræas — Lemma: Hebraea; Part of Speech: adjective/noun; Form: accusative plural feminine; Function: object of “obstetricabitis”; Translation: “Hebrew women”; Notes: Patient of midwifing.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: connects temporal conditions; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple additive.
  7. partus — Lemma: partus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “advenerit”; Translation: “birth”; Notes: Literal childbirth.
  8. tempus — Lemma: tempus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular neuter; Function: compound subject; Translation: “time”; Notes: “The time of birth.”
  9. advenerit — Lemma: advenio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of temporal clause; Translation: “has come”; Notes: Future perfect marks completed event in future time.
  10. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces condition; Translation: “if”; Notes: Protasis of a real condition.
  11. masculus — Lemma: masculus; Part of Speech: adjective/noun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject of “fuerit”; Translation: “a male”; Notes: Newborn’s sex.
  12. fuerit — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular future perfect active indicative; Function: verb of conditional clause; Translation: “it is”; Notes: Future perfect used with “si.”
  13. interficite — Lemma: interficio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: main command; Translation: “kill”; Notes: Harsh royal decree.
  14. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to the newborn male.
  15. si — Lemma: si; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces second condition; Translation: “if”; Notes: Parallel with first si.
  16. femina — Lemma: femina; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of understood “fuerit”; Translation: “a female”; Notes: Ellipsis of verb.
  17. reservate — Lemma: reservo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 2nd person plural present active imperative; Function: command; Translation: “preserve”; Notes: Opposed to infanticide order.

 

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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