| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The construct chain leshon chakhamim {לְשׁוֹן חֲכָמִים | lə-šōn ḥă-chā-mîm} ‘tongue of the wise’ establishes a genitive relationship between subject and qualifier. The verb teitiv {תֵּיטִיב | têy-ṭîḇ} ‘uses’ is a Hiphil imperfect third person feminine singular denoting habitual causation related to da`at {דָּעַת | dā-ʿaṯ} ‘knowledge’. Adversative parallelism is signaled by the coordinating conjunction vav in ufi {וּפִי | û-pî} ‘and mouth’, linking the contrasting clause. The parallel construct kesilim {כְּסִילִים | kə-sî-lîm} ‘of fools’ mirrors the initial structure. The Hiphil imperfect yabia {יַבִּיעַ | yaḇ-îaʿ} ‘pours forth’ and the noun ivvelet {אִוֶּלֶת | ʾi-wel-eṯ} ‘folly’ evoke vivid imagery of an outpouring. This chiastic pattern between wise/fools and uses/pours forth underscores the moral contrast. |