| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the conditional particle im {אִם | ʾim} ‘if’, introducing an extreme hypothetical. The verb tikhtosh {תִּכְתּוֹשׁ | tiḵtôš} in the Qal imperfect second person, followed by the direct object marker et {אֶת | ʾet} and ha’evil {הָאֱוִיל | hāʾ ʾê-wîl} ‘the fool’, sets the scene. A chain of prepositional phrases—ba-makhtesh {בַּמַּכְתֵּשׁ | ba-maḵ-tēš} ‘in a mortar’, be-tokh ha-rifot {בְּתוֹךְ הָרִיפוֹת | bə-tôḵ hā-ri-pôṯ} ‘among grain’, and ba-eli {בַּעֱלִי | ba-ʿê-lî} ‘with a pestle’—constructs a vivid agricultural image. The result clause, marked by lo {לֹא | lô} and the imperfect tasur {תָּסוּר | tāsûr} ‘will depart’, combined with me-alav {מֵעָלָיו | mê-ʿā-lāw} ‘from upon him’ and ivalto {אִוַּלְתּוֹ | ʾî-wāl-tô} ‘his folly’, underscores the intractable nature of folly. The parallel of violent action and immutable character defect conveys the proverb’s teaching. |