| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb opens with tsaddiq {צַדִּיק | ṣaddîq} ‘just’ and harishon {הָרִאשׁוֹן | hārišôn} ‘the first’, forming an adjectival subject. The prepositional phrase berivo {בְּרִיבוֹ | bərîbô} ‘in his dispute’ establishes the legal context. The sequence yavo {יָבֹא | yābô} ‘he comes’ (Qal imperfect with prefixed vav) followed by uva {וּבָא | ūwā} ‘and comes’ (Qal perfect with vav conjunction) introduces re’ehu {רֵעֵהוּ | rēʿēhû} ‘his neighbor’. The Piel imperfect in vahaqaro {וַחֲקָרוֹ | vaḥăqārô} ‘and examines him’ emphasizes an intensive inquiry. This adversative parallelism contrasts initial appearance with thorough investigation, rendered in English with “first…but then…” to reflect the Hebrew vav-consecutive and adversative structure. |