| 1. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb opens with the construct phrase maʿaneh-rakh {מַֽעֲנֶה־רַּ֭ךְ | maʿă-nêh-raḵ} ‘gentle answer’ functioning as the subject, followed by the Hiphil imperfect verb yashiv {יָשִׁ֣יב | yā-šîḇ} ‘turns away’ and direct object khemah {חֵמָ֑ה | ḥê-mâh} ‘wrath.’ The conjunction u {וּ | ū} signals an antithetical parallel clause introduced by the construct dvar-etzev {דְבַר־עֶ֝֗צֶב | də-ḇar-ʿê-ṣeb} ‘harsh word,’ followed by the verb yaʿaleh {יַעֲלֶה | yă-ʿă-lêh} ‘stirs up’ and object af {אָף | ’āph} ‘anger.’ The balanced construct chains and verb forms create a chiastic antithesis that highlights the contrasting effects of speech. |