| 6. Linguistic Exegesis The verse exhibits antithetic parallelism characteristic of Hebrew wisdom poetry. The first clause begins with bikesh {בִּקֶּשׁ | biqqēš} ‘he sought’ in the Piel perfect, followed by the direct object marker and noun letz {לֵץ | lēṣ} ‘scoffer’ governing chokhmah {חָכְמָה | ḥāḵ-māh} ‘wisdom’. The existential negation va-ayin {וָאָ֑יִן | wā-’ā-yin} ‘and there is none’ completes the first line. In the second parallel, ve-daat {וְדַ֖עַת | wə-ḏa-ʿat} ‘and knowledge’ functions as the subject of a nominal clause, le-navon {לְנָב֣וֹן | lə-nā-vōn} ‘to the discerning’ serves as an indirect object, and the predicate verb naqal {נָקָֽל | nā-qāl} ‘is easy’ closes the couplet. The chiastic arrangement and fronting of bikesh highlight the contrast between fruitless pursuit and effortless acquisition. |