| 26. Linguistic Exegesis The opening conjunction gam {גַּם | gam} ‘also’ introduces an additional statement, linking this proverb to preceding wisdom sayings. The infinitive construct anosh {עֲנוֹשׁ | ʿănôš} ‘to punish’ governs the object la-tsaddiq {לַצַּדִּיק | la-ṣaddîq} ‘the just’, framing the action under moral scrutiny. The phrase lo-tov {לֹא־טוֹב | lōʾ ṭôḇ} ‘not good’ forms a balanced negation common in Hebrew wisdom evaluation. The parallel infinitive le-hakot {לְהַכּוֹת | lə-hakkôt} ‘to strike’ extends the condemnation to nedivim {נְדִיבִים | nə-dî-vîm} ‘nobles’, while the prepositional phrase al-yosher {עַל־יֹשֶׁר | ʿal-yōšer} ‘for uprightness’ specifies the honored motive. The structure of two negated infinitive clauses creates a chiastic parallelism that reinforces the ethical prohibition. |