| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb opens with tov {ט֤וֹב | tôv} conveying a qualitative comparison. The construct aruchat yaraq {אֲרֻחַת יָ֭רָק | ʾărûḥât yārāq} “meal of vegetables” is contrasted with shor avus {שּׁוֹר אָבוּס | šôr ʾābûs} “fatted ox,” creating paired elements. Each clause begins with a vav in ve-ahavah sham {וְאַהֲבָה־שָׁם | wə-ʾă-hă-bâ šām} “and love there” and ve-sinah bo {וְשִׂנְאָה־בֽוֹ | wə-sînʾâ bō} “and hatred in it,” enhancing parallelism. The comparative mi {מִ | mî} “than” signals the shift between contrasts. The locative sham and the pronoun suffix bo focus attention on communal atmosphere. English renders the Hebrew construct with “of” and uses “than” to preserve the comparative force and relational emphasis. |