| 15. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb opens with the noun atsel {עָצֵל | ʿā-ṣēl} ‘sluggard’ as subject, foregrounding habitual idleness. It is followed by the verb taman {טָמַן | ṭā-man} ‘he buries’, a Qal perfect that depicts a completed action reflecting continued laziness. The object yado {יָדוֹ | yā-dō} ‘his hand’ precedes the locative batsallachat {בַּצַּלָּחַת | ba-ṣal-la-ḥaṯ} ‘in the dish’, an inverted order that emphasizes the absurdity of the action. The second clause begins with the Niphal perfect nilah {נִלְאָה | nil-ʾāh} ‘becomes weary’, indicating passive loss of energy. Finally, the Hiphil infinitive lahashivah {לַהֲשִׁיבָהּ | la-ha-šî-wāh} ‘to return it’ combines with the prepositional phrase el-piv {אֶל־פִּיו | ʾel-pîw} ‘to his mouth’ to state the intended purpose unfulfilled by fatigue. |