| 17. Linguistic Exegesis The proverb centers on ayin {עַ֤יִן | ʿăyîn} ‘eye’ as the subject governing parallel Qal imperfect verbs tilʿāg {תִּֽלְעַ֣ג | tilʿāg} ‘mocks’ and wəṯāḇûz {וְתָב֢וּז | wəṯāḇûz} ‘despises’, each taking prepositional objects ləʾāḇ {לְאָב֮ | ləʾāḇ} ‘at a father’ and liqqāḥatʾēm {לִֽיקֲּהַ֫ת־אֵ֥ם | liqqāḥatʾēm} ‘to a mother’s reproof’, forming a chiastic parallelism. The result clauses use yiqqəruhā {יִקְּר֥וּהָ | yiqqəruhā} ‘will pluck it out’ and wə-yōʾəḵlūhā {וְֽיֹאכְל֥וּהָ | wə-yōʾəḵlūhā} ‘and will eat it’, with agents ʿōrvē-naḥal {עֹרְבֵי־נַ֑חַל | ʿōrvē-naḥal} ‘ravens of the valley’ and bənē-nāšēr {בְנֵי־נָֽשֶׁר | bənē-nāšēr} ‘young eagles’. The vav-consecutive sequence imparts a sense of inevitability, while the construct chains convey possession and identity. This structure highlights the cause-effect relationship characteristic of Hebrew wisdom poetry. |