| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The opening construct phrase ish tahpukhot {אִישׁ תַּהְפֻּכוֹת | ʾîš tăhp-û-kōṯ} ‘man of distortions’ establishes the character’s corrupt nature. The Piel imperfect yeshallakh {יְשַׁלַּח | yəšallāḥ} ‘sends out’ links directly to madon {מָדוֹן | māḏōn} ‘strife,’ emphasizing deliberate action. The conjunction vav in venirgan {וְנִרְגָּן | vənîrɡān} ‘and whisperer’ introduces the second clause, which mirrors the first with the Hiphil participle mafrid {מַפְרִיד | māp̄-rîd} ‘causing division’ and its object alluf {אַלּוּף | ’allûp̄} ‘close friend.’ This synonymous parallelism pairs two agents whose actions result in discord. In translation, the Piel and Hiphil stems are rendered with causative verbs (‘sends out,’ ‘drives apart’) to preserve the Hebrew’s emphatic force and the verse’s balanced structure. |