| 14. Linguistic Exegesis The Hebrew expression opens with the causal particle ki {כִּי | kî} ‘for, because’, introducing a comparative clause. The adjective tov {טוֹב | tôḇ} ‘better’ qualifies the construct noun sakhrah {סַחְרָהּ | saḥrāh} ‘her profit’, personifying wisdom’s value. The comparatives mi {מִ | mi} and u-mê {וּמֵ | ū-mê} govern the construct chains sechar kaseph {סְּחַר כָּסֶף | śeḥār kāsēp} and charuts tevuatah {חָרוּץ תְּבוּאָתָהּ | ḥārûṣ tävûʾāh}, framing a parallel structure that emphasizes wisdom’s superiority through economic metaphor. The translation preserves both the contrastive syntax and the metaphorical imagery in English. |