| 4. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb employs antithetical parallelism contrasting two social conditions. The first clause foregrounds hon {הוֹן | hôn} ‘wealth’ with the Qal imperfect verb yosif {יֹסִיף | yô-sîp̄} ‘he adds’ and the noun phrase re’im rabbim {רֵעִים רַבִּים | rê-ʿîẏm rab-bîẏm} ‘friends many’. The vav-conjunction ve-dal {וְדָל | wə-dāl} ‘and a poor person’ introduces the counter-clause, marked by the prepositional phrase me-re’ehu {מֵרֵעֵהוּ | mê-rê-ʿê-hû} ‘from his friend’ and the Niphal imperfect verb yipared {יִפָּרֵד | yip-pā-rēḏ} ‘will be separated’. This structure highlights social causality: wealth attracts community while poverty results in social isolation. |