| 12. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the infinitive construct pagosh {פָּג֬וֹשׁ | pāgôš} ‘to meet,’ fronted for heightened vividness. It is followed by dov {דֹּ֣ב | dōḇ} ‘bear’ with the participle shakul {שַׁכּ֣וּל | šākûl} ‘bereaved,’ painting a stark image of animal ferocity. The prepositional phrase be-ʾîš {בְּאִ֑ישׁ | be-ʾîš} ‘in a man’ specifies the object. The adversative conjunction wə-ʾal {וְאַל־ | wə-ʾal} ‘but not’ introduces antithetical parallelism, juxtaposing kəsîl {כְּ֝סִ֗יל | kəsîl} ‘fool’ with the phrase be-ʾivvaltô {בְּאִוַּלְתּֽוֹ | be-ʾivvaltô} ‘in his folly.’ This structure underscores that moral folly can be more perilous than physical danger. |