| 28. Linguistic Exegesis The verse consists of two parallel nominal clauses. The first clause begins with ir {עִיר | ʿîr} ‘city’, modified by the participle perutsah {פְּרוּצָה | pərûṣâ} ‘broken through’, followed by the existential ein {אֵין | ’ēn} ‘there is no’ plus chomah {חוֹמָה | ḥômâ} ‘wall’, depicting vulnerability. The second clause opens with ish {אִישׁ | ’îš} ‘man’ and relative asher {אֲשֶׁר | ’ăšer} ‘who’, then repeats ein {אֵין | ’ēn} ‘there is no’ with matsar {מַעְצָר | ma‘ṣār} ‘restraint’ governing the construct phrase lə-rû-ḥô {לְרוּחוֹ | lə-rû-ḥô} ‘to his spirit’. This chiastic parallelism underscores the simile comparing external defenses to inner self-control. The repetitive use of ein emphasizes absence, and the prepositional construct marks possession. The English comparative ‘is like’ conveys the Hebrew metaphor. |