Commentary Par XXXII 16-21

These Hebrew women, the seven whom we have just heard referred to by name or by periphrasis, are only the beginning of a long line down the Rose (until we would come to the first Hebrew female child, we assume) that separates pre-Christian and Christian saints.  As Aversano (Aver.2000.2), p. 166, points out, neither Eve (obviously not a descendant of Abraham) nor Ruth (who was from Moab) can properly be considered Hebrews, despite Dante's insistence.

Singleton (DDP Singleton.Par.XXXII.40-42) believes that Dante intends us to believe that the dividing 'walls' of Hebrew women and Christian men reach all the way to the 'floor' of the Rose, and that thus the lower half of them are surrounded by babies.  That seems a dubious notion, although Dante does not clearly portray the situation.  If 'neatness counts,' he may have expected us to imagine a line of smiling Hebrew female babies looking across the Rose at equally happy Christian male babies, while spreading out to either side of those two lines are babies of the other gender, the first half of them of their own religion, the second group of the other.  (See the third item in C.Par.XXXII.37-39.)