| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb employs two parallel clauses joined by the conjunction wə- {וְ}, forming a balanced biclausal structure. The first clause opens with the noun matan {מַתָּן | maṯṯān} ‘gift’ followed by the locative ba-seter {בַּסֵּתֶר | bas-śēṯer} ‘in secret’. The Qal imperfect verb yikhpeh {יִכְפֶּה | yiḵp̄eh} ‘covers’ takes af {אָף | ʾāph} ‘anger’ as its object. The second clause mirrors this with wə-šōḥāḏ {וְשֹׁחַד | wə-šōḥāḏ} ‘bribe’, ba-cheq {בַּחֵק | baḥēq} ‘in the bosom’, ḥēmāh {חֵמָה | ḥēmāh} ‘wrath’, and the attributive adjective ʿazzāh {עַזָּה | ʿazzāh} ‘fierce’. This chiastic parallelism highlights how hidden gifts and close bribes function to soothe both anger and intense wrath, reinforcing the proverb’s moral instruction. |