| 16. Linguistic Exegesis The verse opens with the comparative adjective tov {טוֹב | ṭôḇ} ‘good’. The noun me‘at {מְעַט | mə-‘a-ṭ} ‘little’ functions as the standard of comparison and is immediately followed by the construct phrase be-yir’at Yahweh {בְּיִרְאַת יְהוָה | bə-yir’-āṯ yə-hō-wāh} ‘with the fear of the LORD.’ The particle me {מֵ | mē} ‘than’ introduces the contrasted phrase otzar rav {אוֹצָר רָב | ’ō-tsār rāḇ} ‘treasure great.’ The conjunction u {וּ | wə} ‘and’ links the noun mehumah {מְהוּמָה | mə-hû-māh} ‘tumult,’ while the pronominal suffix in vo {בוֹ | bō} ‘in it’ specifies location. This antithetical parallelism underscores the stability found in reverent restraint over the instability of riches. |