| 22. Linguistic Exegesis The verse begins with the subject Yahweh {יְהוָה | Yə-hō-wāh} 'LORD', followed by the perfect verb qanani {קָנָנִי | qānānî} 'acquired me', whose first person singular suffix designates Wisdom as the direct object. The construct reishit darkô {רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ | rēʾšît darkô} 'beginning of His way' positions Wisdom in relation to divine activity. The adverb qēdēm {קֶדֶם | qēdēm} 'before' introduces the temporal sequence with the construct mip‘ālāw {מִפְעָלָיו | mip‘ālāw} 'His works' and the adverb mēʾāz {מֵאָז | mēʾāz} 'long ago'. The Hebrew perfect aspect conveys a completed action in the distant past, and the tight sequence of construct and adverbial phrases highlights Wisdom's primacy in the divine ordering. |