--- title: Exodus 4:18 (JPS 1917) — And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said un… · tree and pragmatics description: And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said unto him: 'Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren that are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive.' And Jethro said to Moses: 'Go in peace.' Who acts: Moses, me, I, brethren. 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And Jethro said to Moses: 'Go in peace.' **Who acts:** Moses, me, I, brethren, Jethro · **What happens:** go, return, say, let, pray, be · **To what, where:** Jethro, me, thee, Egypt, Moses, peace · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is Exodus 4:18 · JPS 1917 in the English of the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation, from Mova's open Bible corpus. The page gives the sentence's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, parsed by Mova and checked by a teacher model — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Moses, me, I, brethren), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it. The original of the verse links back to its own tree and to the Targum. ## The tree {#tree} ```conllu # sent_id = jps:EXO:98 # text = And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said unto him: 'Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren that are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive.' And Jethro said to Moses: 'Go in peace.' 1 And and CCONJ CC _ 3 cc _ _ 2 Moses Moses PROPN NNP Number=Sing 3 nsubj _ _ 3 went go VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 and and CCONJ CC _ 5 cc _ _ 5 returned return VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 6 to to ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 7 Jethro Jethro PROPN NNP Number=Sing 5 obl _ _ 8 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 9 nmod:poss _ _ 9 father father NOUN NN Number=Sing 7 appos _ _ 10 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 13 punct _ _ 11 in in ADP IN _ 13 case _ _ 12 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 13 punct _ _ 13 law law NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 compound _ _ 14 , , PUNCT , _ 16 punct _ _ 15 and and CCONJ CC _ 16 cc _ _ 16 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 17 unto unto ADP IN _ 18 case _ _ 18 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 16 obl _ _ 19 : : PUNCT : _ 21 punct _ _ 20 ' ' PUNCT `` _ 21 punct _ _ 21 Let let VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 16 ccomp _ _ 22 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 21 obj _ _ 23 go go VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 21 xcomp _ _ 24 , , PUNCT , _ 26 punct _ _ 25 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 26 nsubj _ _ 26 pray pray VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 21 parataxis _ _ 27 thee thou PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Style=Arch 26 obj _ _ 28 , , PUNCT , _ 30 punct _ _ 29 and and CCONJ CC _ 30 cc _ _ 30 return return VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 21 conj _ _ 31 unto unto ADP IN _ 33 case _ _ 32 my my PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 33 nmod:poss _ _ 33 brethren brethren NOUN NNS Number=Plur 30 obl _ _ 34 that that PRON WDT PronType=Rel 37 nsubj _ _ 35 are be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 37 cop _ _ 36 in in ADP IN _ 37 case _ _ 37 Egypt Egypt PROPN NNP Number=Sing 33 acl:relcl _ _ 38 , , PUNCT , _ 40 punct _ _ 39 and and CCONJ CC _ 40 cc _ _ 40 see see VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 30 conj _ _ 41 whether whether SCONJ IN _ 45 mark _ _ 42 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 45 nsubj _ _ 43 be be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 45 cop _ _ 44 yet yet ADV RB _ 45 advmod _ _ 45 alive alive ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 40 ccomp _ _ 46 . . PUNCT . _ 16 punct _ _ 47 ' ' PUNCT '' _ 16 punct _ _ 48 And and CCONJ CC _ 50 cc _ _ 49 Jethro Jethro PROPN NNP Number=Sing 50 nsubj _ _ 50 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 51 to to ADP IN _ 52 case _ _ 52 Moses Moses PROPN NNP Number=Sing 50 obl _ _ 53 : : PUNCT : _ 55 punct _ _ 54 ' ' PUNCT `` _ 55 punct _ _ 55 Go go VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 50 ccomp _ _ 56 in in ADP IN _ 57 case _ _ 57 peace peace NOUN NN Number=Sing 55 obl _ _ 58 . . PUNCT . _ 55 punct _ _ 59 ' ' PUNCT '' _ 55 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} - form: command - act: request - voice: character - polarity: none - teacher: kept the draft | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **go** | past | Moses | | | | | | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 2 | **return** | past | Moses *not said here* | | Jethro | | | | vn convert-26.6.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Patient to jethro=Result | | 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Moses *not said here* | | | | | unto Moses | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 4 | **let** | infinitive | | me | | | | | tree rules | | 5 | **go** | infinitive | me *not said here* | | | | | | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 6 | **pray** | present | I | thee | | | | | tree rules | | 7 | **return** | infinitive | | | | | | unto my brethren | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 8 | **is** | present | my brethren | | | Egypt | | | tree rules | | 9 | **see** | infinitive | | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | | 10 | **is** | present | brethren | | | | yet | alive *property* | tree rules | | 11 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Jethro | | Moses | | | | vn indicate-78-1 «NP V PP.recipient that S»: agent=Pivot to moses=Experiencer clause=Topic | | 12 | **go** | infinitive | | | | peace | | | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in peace=Location | One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree. ## The Hebrew of this verse {#hebrew} וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ מֹשֶׁ֜ה וַיָּ֣שָׁב ׀ אֶל־יֶ֣תֶר חֹֽתְנ֗וֹ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ אֵ֣לֲכָה נָּ֗א וְאָשׁ֙וּבָה֙ אֶל־אַחַ֣י אֲשֶׁר־בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם וְאֶרְאֶ֖ה הַעוֹדָ֣ם חַיִּ֑ים וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יִתְר֛וֹ לְמֹשֶׁ֖ה לֵ֥ךְ לְשָׁלֽוֹם׃ [Exodus 4:18: the Hebrew tree, its pragmatics and Targum Onkelos →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.4.18/) **Source.** The Holy Scriptures according to the Masoretic Text, Jewish Publication Society, 1917, from eBible.org: public domain. Sentence `jps:EXO:98` of Mova's parse database. **The tree and the speech act** come from Mova's cycle: the small model's draft, read by a large model as teacher, passed by Mova's gates (Elamur Cosmic License). **The frames** are read from the tree by Mova's frames reader (`prag`) when this page is built, the chapter read in order, so a pronoun may be resolved from an earlier sentence of the chapter. - ← previous: [Exodus 4:17 (JPS)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.97/) - next →: [Exodus 4:19 (JPS)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/EXO.99/) - ↑ back to [Exodus 4:18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/EXO.4.18/)