| 20. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb employs synonymous parallelism by pairing ben {בֵּן | bēn} ‘son’ + chakham {חָכָם | ḥākâm} ‘wise’ against u-kesil {וּכְסִיל | wə-kəsîl} ‘and fool’ + adam {אָדָם | ʾāḏām} ‘man.’ The Piel imperfect yesamach {יְשַׂמַּח | yəsammāḥ} conveys habitual delight offered to av {אָב | ʾāḇ}. The Qal active participle bozeh {בּוֹזֶה | bōzeh} functions predicatively, attributing continuous contempt of the fool toward imo {אִמּוֹ | ʾimmô}. The terse word order and contrasting vav-clause highlight moral evaluation, a hallmark of Hebrew wisdom poetry. |