מֵאִ֥ישׁ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 מֵאִ֥ישׁ

   me-ISH

   than a man
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 מֵאִ֥ישׁ כָּזָֽב׃

   me-ISH ka-ZAV

   than a man a lie or deception
3. clause🔊 וְטֽוֹב־רָ֝שׁ מֵאִ֥ישׁ כָּזָֽב׃

   ve-TOV-RASH me-ISH ka-ZAV

   and better is a poor person than a man a lie or deception
4. sentence🔊 תַּאֲוַ֣ת אָדָ֣ם חַסְדּ֑וֹ וְטֽוֹב־רָ֝שׁ מֵאִ֥ישׁ כָּזָֽב׃

   ta-a-VAT a-DAM kha-se-DO ve-TOV-RASH me-ISH ka-ZAV

   desire of a man or human his loyal-love or kindness and better is a poor person than a man a lie or deception

Exegesis

The second clause employs the comparative construction tov–rash {טוֹב־רָשׁ | ṯōv-rāš} ‘better is the poor’, where the maqaf binds tov {טוֹב | ṯōv} ‘good’ and rash {רָשׁ | rāš} ‘poor’, followed by the preposition min in its contract form mē-ʾīš {מֵאִישׁ | mē-ʾîš} ‘than a man’ and the substantive kazav {כָּזָב | kā-zāḇ} ‘liar’. The chiastic parallel between preferring kindness over desire and poverty over falsehood guides the translation strategy to retain the Hebrew’s nominal focus and comparative emphasis in English.