Exodus 2:5

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

Ex 2:5 Ecce autem descendebat filia Pharaonis ut lavaretur in flumine: et puellæ eius gradiebantur per crepidinem alvei. Quæ cum vidisset fiscellam in papyrione, misit unam e famulabus suis: et allatam

And behold, the daughter of Pharao was coming down to wash herself in the river, and her young women were walking along the edge of the channel. And when she had seen the little basket in the papyrus thicket, she sent one of her maidservants, and when it had been brought

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 Ecce behold INTERJ
2 autem however CONJ
3 descendebat was coming down 3SG.IMPERF.ACT.IND
4 filia daughter NOM.SG.F
5 Pharaonis of Pharaoh GEN.SG.M
6 ut to CONJ
7 lavaretur to wash herself 3SG.IMPERF.SUBJ.PASS
8 in in PREP+ABL
9 flumine the river ABL.SG.N
10 et and CONJ
11 puellæ the young women NOM.PL.F
12 eius her GEN.SG
13 gradiebantur were walking 3PL.IMPERF.DEP.IND
14 per along PREP+ACC
15 crepidinem the edge ACC.SG.F
16 alvei of the channel GEN.SG.M
17 Quæ who NOM.SG.F REL
18 cum when CONJ
19 vidisset had seen 3SG.PLUPERF.ACT.SUBJ
20 fiscellam the little basket ACC.SG.F
21 in in PREP+ABL
22 papyrione papyrus thicket ABL.SG.M
23 misit she sent 3SG.PERF.ACT.IND
24 unam one ACC.SG.F
25 e of PREP+ABL
26 famulabus the maidservants ABL.PL.F
27 suis her ABL.PL.F
28 et and CONJ
29 allatam brought ACC.SG.F PERF.PASS.PART

Syntax

Main Narrative Setup:
Ecce autem descendebat filia Pharaonis — “And behold, the daughter of Pharaoh was coming down.”
• Imperfect indicates ongoing action.
• autem supplies narrative transition.

Final Clause:
ut lavaretur in flumine — “to wash herself in the river.”
• Purpose clause using subjunctive.

Parallel Action:
puellæ eius gradiebantur per crepidinem alvei — her attendants accompany her.

Relative Clause of Time:
Quæ cum vidisset fiscellam in papyrione
• Pluperfect subjunctive = “when she had seen the basket.”

Main Clauses:
misit unam e famulabus suis — She sent one maidservant.
et allatam — “and (when it was) brought”.

Function: Introduces the pivotal moment of discovery of Moses.

Morphology

  1. Ecce — Lemma: ecce; Part of Speech: interjection; Form: indeclinable; Function: draws attention; Translation: “behold”; Notes: Narrative marker.
  2. autem — Lemma: autem; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: narrative contrast; Translation: “however”; Notes: Soft transitional connector.
  3. descendebat — Lemma: descendo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular imperfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “was coming down”; Notes: Describes ongoing motion.
  4. filia — Lemma: filia; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: subject of “descendebat”; Translation: “daughter”; Notes: Pharaoh’s daughter.
  5. Pharaonis — Lemma: Pharao; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: possessive genitive; Translation: “of Pharaoh”; Notes: Egyptian king.
  6. ut — Lemma: ut; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces purpose clause; Translation: “to”; Notes: + subjunctive.
  7. lavaretur — Lemma: lavo; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular imperfect subjunctive passive; Function: verb of purpose clause; Translation: “she might wash herself”; Notes: Middle sense.
  8. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: local phrase; Translation: “in”; Notes: Location.
  9. flumine — Lemma: flumen; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular neuter; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “river”; Notes: The Nile.
  10. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: coordinates clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: —
  11. puellæ — Lemma: puella; Part of Speech: noun; Form: nominative plural feminine; Function: subject of “gradiebantur”; Translation: “young women”; Notes: attendants.
  12. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: possessive modifying “puellæ”; Translation: “her”; Notes: —
  13. gradiebantur — Lemma: gradior; Part of Speech: deponent verb; Form: 3rd plural imperfect indicative; Function: verb of clause; Translation: “were walking”; Notes: Deponent with active meaning.
  14. per — Lemma: per; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs accusative; Function: expresses motion along; Translation: “along”; Notes: —
  15. crepidinem — Lemma: crepido; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “per”; Translation: “edge”; Notes: Bank-edge of river.
  16. alvei — Lemma: alveus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: genitive singular masculine; Function: genitive of specification; Translation: “of the channel”; Notes: Refers to Nile channel.
  17. Quæ — Lemma: qui; Part of Speech: relative pronoun; Form: nominative singular feminine; Function: introduces relative clause; Translation: “who”; Notes: Refers to Pharaoh’s daughter.
  18. cum — Lemma: cum; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: introduces circumstantial clause; Translation: “when”; Notes: + subjunctive.
  19. vidisset — Lemma: video; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular pluperfect active subjunctive; Function: action of temporal clause; Translation: “had seen”; Notes: Completed action before main clause.
  20. fiscellam — Lemma: fiscella; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “vidisset”; Translation: “little basket”; Notes: Basket containing Moses.
  21. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: locative; Translation: “in”; Notes: —
  22. papyrione — Lemma: papyrion; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative singular masculine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “papyrus thicket”; Notes: Reeds of the Nile.
  23. misit — Lemma: mitto; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular perfect active indicative; Function: main verb; Translation: “sent”; Notes: Directs a maidservant to retrieve the basket.
  24. unam — Lemma: unus; Part of Speech: numeral adjective; Form: accusative singular feminine; Function: object of “misit”; Translation: “one”; Notes: Single maidservant selected.
  25. e — Lemma: e; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: partitive; Translation: “of”; Notes: —
  26. famulabus — Lemma: famulaba; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: object of “e”; Translation: “maidservants”; Notes: Household attendants.
  27. suis — Lemma: suus; Part of Speech: possessive adjective; Form: ablative plural feminine; Function: modifies “famulabus”; Translation: “her”; Notes: Reflexive.
  28. et — Lemma: et; Part of Speech: conjunction; Form: indeclinable; Function: links clause; Translation: “and”; Notes: Introduces final participle.
  29. allatam — Lemma: affero; Part of Speech: participle; Form: accusative singular feminine perfect passive participle; Function: object-complement / ellipsis (“and when it had been brought”); Translation: “brought”; Notes: Implies completed retrieval.

 

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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