Exodus 2:2

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 2:2 quæ concepit, et peperit filium: et videns eum elegantem, abscondit tribus mensibus.

She conceived and bore a son; and seeing him handsome, she hid him for three months.

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 quæ who NOM.SG.F REL
2 concepit conceived 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
3 et and CONJ
4 peperit bore 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
5 filium a son ACC.SG.M
6 et and CONJ
7 videns seeing PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.F
8 eum him ACC.SG.M
9 elegantem handsome ACC.SG.M
10 abscondit she hid 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
11 tribus three ABL.PL
12 mensibus months ABL.PL.M

Syntax

Relative Clause:
quæ concepit, et peperit filium — “who conceived and bore a son.”
• quæ = subject (the Levite woman)
• Two perfect verbs narrate sequential actions.

Participial Clause:
videns eum elegantem — “seeing him handsome.”
• videns = circumstantial participle expressing cause.

Main Clause:
abscondit tribus mensibus — “she hid him for three months.”
• tribus mensibus = ablative of time duration.

Function: Describes the birth of Moses and his mother’s protective action, motivated by the child’s exceptional appearance.

Morphology

  1. quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of “concepit” and “peperit”; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to the Levite woman (Jochebed).
  2. concepit — Lemma: concipio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: first verb of the relative clause; Translation: “conceived”; Notes: Marks the beginning of Moses’ birth narrative.
  3. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links coordinated verbs; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connective.
  4. peperit — Lemma: pario; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: second verb of the relative clause; Translation: “bore”; Notes: Follows naturally from “concepit.”
  5. filium — Lemma: filius; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: direct object of “peperit”; Translation: “a son”; Notes: Refers to baby Moses.
  6. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: joins clauses; Translation: “and”; Notes: Simple connector.
  7. videns — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular feminine present active participle; Function: circumstantial participle; Translation: “seeing”; Notes: Expresses the motivation for hiding the child.
  8. eum — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “videns”; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to the newborn child.
  9. elegantem — Lemma: elegans; Part of Speech: adjective; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: predicate complement of “eum”; Translation: “handsome”; Notes: Indicates beauty or special quality.
  10. abscondit — Lemma: abscondo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd person singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “she hid”; Notes: Action taken to protect the child from Pharaoh’s decree.
  11. tribus — Lemma: tres; Part of Speech: numeral; Form: ablative plural; Function: ablative of duration of time; Translation: “three”; Notes: Duration of concealment.
  12. mensibus — Lemma: mensis; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: complements “tribus” (duration); Translation: “months”; Notes: Time span before exposure.

 

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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