| 2. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb uses chiastic parallelism in two causal clauses. The first clause, befesha erets {בְּפֶשַׁע אֶרֶץ | bə-pĕ-šáʿ ʾe-rets} ‘transgression + land’, yields the result rabim sareha ‘many rulers’ to depict disorder. The second clause begins with uveadam {וּבְאָדָם | u-və-ʾā-dām} ‘and by a man’ introducing a stabilizing agent, followed by the parallel participles mevin {מֵבִין | mē-vîn} ‘understanding’ and yodea {יֹדֵעַ | yō-dē-ʻa} ‘knowing’ to emphasize comprehensive wisdom. The adverb ken {כֵּן | kên} ‘thus’ links to the hiphil verb yaarikh {יַאֲרִיךְ | ya-ʾă-rî-ḵ} ‘he will prolong’, indicating sustained stability through insightful leadership. |