| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb opens with ir {עִיר | ʿîr} ‘city’ in construct with gibborim {גִּבֹּרִים | gib-bō-rîm} ‘mighty men’, creating an image of a fortified stronghold. The perfect verb alah {עָלָה | ʿā-lāh} ‘he went up’ denotes a completed tactical move, while the placement of chakam {חָכָם | ḥā-kām} ‘wise person’ after the verb emphasizes the agent’s initiative. The vav-consecutive vayored {וַיֹּרֶד | vay-yō-reḏ} ‘and he brought down’ links the ascent to the result, focusing on oz {עֹז | ʿōz} ‘strength’. The construct noun mivtachah {מִבְטָחָה | mib-tā-ḥāh} ‘its trust’ identifies confidence as the source of power that the wise undermine. English introduces explicit conjunctions and subjects to convey the proverb’s sharp causality. |