| 29. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb uses antithetical parallelism through two adjectival constructs: erekh appayim {אֶ֣רֶךְ אַ֭פַּיִם | ʾĕ-rêḵ ʼap-pă-yim} ‘slow to anger’ versus u-ketsar-ruach {וּקְצַר־ר֝֗וּחַ | wə-qə-ṣar-rû-ăḥ} ‘short of spirit’. These protasis clauses introduce contrasting temperaments. The construct rav-tevunah {רַב־תְּבוּנָה | rav-tĕ-bû-nā} ‘much understanding’ functions as the positive result in the first clause. The adversative vav triggers the apodosis, where the Piel participle merim {מֵרִים | mê-rîm} ‘lifts up’ takes ivvelet {אִוֶּלֶת | ʾî-ve-leṯ} ‘folly’ as its object. In English, the conjunction “but” reflects this adversative relation, underscoring the causal contrast between patience and impulsiveness. |