| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The verse consists of two construct phrases, torat chakham {תּוֹרַ֣ת חָ֭כָם | tô-rat kha-kham} ‘instruction of a wise person’ and mekor chayyim {מְק֣וֹר חַיִּ֑ים | mə-kôr ḥa-yyim} ‘fountain of life’, followed by an infinitive purpose clause lasur {לָ֝ס֗וּר | la-sur} ‘to turn away’ with a genitive phrase mimokshei mavet {מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי מָֽוֶת | mim-mô-khshê ma-vet} ‘from the snares of death’. The construct chain emphasizes the causal relationship between wisdom’s instruction and life, and the purpose infinitive conveys protection. English rendering preserves Hebrew word order to maintain parallelism and rhetorical impact. |