Exodus 2:6

Posted on February 21, 2006 by Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus

6 aperiens, cernensque in ea parvulum vagientem, miserta eius, ait: De infantibus Hebræorum est hic.

and opening it, and seeing within it a little child crying, she pitied him and said: “This is one of the infants of the Hebrews.”

# Latin Gloss Grammar Tag
1 aperiens opening PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.F
2 cernensque and seeing PRES.ACT.PART.NOM.SG.F + -QUE
3 in in PREP+ABL
4 ea it ABL.SG.F
5 parvulum a little child ACC.SG.M
6 vagientem crying PRES.ACT.PART.ACC.SG.M
7 miserta having pitied PERF.PASS.PART.NOM.SG.F (DEPONENT SENSE)
8 eius him GEN.SG
9 ait she said 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
10 De of / from PREP+ABL
11 infantibus the infants ABL.PL.M
12 Hebræorum of the Hebrews GEN.PL.M
13 est is 3SG.PRES.ACT.IND
14 hic this NOM.SG.M DEM

Syntax

Participial Sequence:
aperiens — “opening (it),”
cernensque in ea parvulum vagientem — “and seeing within it a little child crying.”
• Both nominative feminine participles describe Pharaoh’s daughter.
• vagientem modifies parvulum.

Emotional Reaction:
miserta eius — “having pitied him.”
• Perfect participle with deponent sense = active meaning “she pitied.”

Main Clause:
ait — “she said.”

Quoted Statement:
De infantibus Hebræorum est hic — “This is of the infants of the Hebrews.”
• Prepositional phrase de infantibus with genitive Hebræorum expresses origin or class.
• hic = demonstrative subject referring to the baby.

Morphology

  1. aperiens — Lemma: aperio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: nominative singular feminine present active participle; Function: circumstantial participle describing Pharaoh’s daughter; Translation: “opening”; Notes: Refers to opening the basket.
  2. cernensque — Lemma: cerno + que; Part of Speech: participle + enclitic; Form: nominative singular feminine present active participle; Function: coordinated participle; Translation: “and seeing”; Notes: -que links it tightly with “aperiens.”
  3. in — Lemma: in; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: spatial relation; Translation: “in”; Notes: Locative sense.
  4. ea — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: ablative singular feminine; Function: object of “in”; Translation: “it”; Notes: Refers to the basket.
  5. parvulum — Lemma: parvulus; Part of Speech: noun; Form: accusative singular masculine; Function: object of “cernens”; Translation: “a little child”; Notes: Diminutive indicates tenderness.
  6. vagientem — Lemma: vagio; Part of Speech: participle; Form: accusative singular masculine present active participle; Function: modifies “parvulum”; Translation: “crying”; Notes: Typical infant sound.
  7. miserta — Lemma: misereor; Part of Speech: participle (deponent); Form: nominative singular feminine perfect passive participle with active sense; Function: expresses emotional reaction; Translation: “having pitied”; Notes: Deponent → active meaning.
  8. eius — Lemma: is; Part of Speech: pronoun; Form: genitive singular; Function: object of emotion with miserta; Translation: “him”; Notes: Refers to Moses.
  9. ait — Lemma: aio; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular present active indicative; Function: introduces direct speech; Translation: “she said”; Notes: Common narrative verb.
  10. De — Lemma: de; Part of Speech: preposition; Form: governs ablative; Function: expresses origin or category; Translation: “of / from”; Notes: —
  11. infantibus — Lemma: infans; Part of Speech: noun; Form: ablative plural masculine; Function: complement of “de”; Translation: “the infants”; Notes: Infants of a specific ethnic group.
  12. Hebræorum — Lemma: Hebraeus; Part of Speech: adjective used substantively; Form: genitive plural masculine; Function: modifies “infantibus”; Translation: “of the Hebrews”; Notes: Identifies Moses’ ethnicity.
  13. est — Lemma: sum; Part of Speech: verb; Form: 3rd singular present active indicative; Function: copula; Translation: “is”; Notes: —
  14. hic — Lemma: hic; Part of Speech: demonstrative pronoun; Form: nominative singular masculine; Function: subject; Translation: “this”; Notes: Refers directly to the discovered infant.

 

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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