| 5. Linguistic Exegesis The verse employs a comparative construction with the adjective tovah {ט֭וֹבָה | tô·vâ} ‘good’ introducing two coordinated noun phrases. The first noun, tokhachat {תּוֹכַ֣חַת | tô·ḵa·ḥat} ‘rebuke’, is qualified by the Niphal participle megullah {מְגֻלָּ֑ה | me·gul·lâ} ‘revealed’, forming “open rebuke.” The coordinated prepositional phrase meahavah {מֵֽאַהֲבָ֥ה | mē·ʼă·ḥă·ḇâ} ‘than love’ and the participial phrase mesuteret {מְסֻתָּֽרֶת | me·sū·ṭe·ret} ‘hidden’ yield “hidden love.” This asyndetic pairing highlights the superiority of public correction over private affection, and English rendering places participles after nouns to reflect natural modifier order. |