Author Archives: Biblical Hebrew

שִׂפְתֵ֣י כְ֭סִיל יָבֹ֣אוּ בְרִ֑יב וּ֝פִ֗יו לְֽמַהֲלֻמֹ֥ות יִקְרָֽא׃ The lips of a fool come with strife, and his mouth calls for blows. This proverb from Proverbs 18:6 features: Construct chains such as שִׂפְתֵי כְסִיל (“the lips of a fool”), where two nouns are joined in a possessive/genitive relationship. A parallelism typical of Hebrew poetry, where the second clause echoes or intensifies the first. Use of an abstract plural noun מַהֲלֻמוֹת (“blows”) with a verb (יִקְרָא, “calls”) to express figurative consequence. Examples from Proverbs 18:6 Phrase Structure Explanation שִׂפְתֵי כְסִיל Construct chain (plural noun + noun) “The lips of a fool” – indicates possession; subject of the first clause יָבֹאוּ בְרִיב Yiqtol (3mp) + prepositional phrase “come with strife” – describes the fool’s speech leading to conflict פִיו לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת יִקְרָא Construct chain + verb (yiqtol) “his mouth calls for blows” – his speech provokes violent response Related Grammatical Insight Construct chains express close relationships like ownership or classification: דִּבְרֵי חָכָם – “the words of a wise man” דַּעַת יְהוָה – “the knowledge of YHWH” Parallelism in Hebrew poetry functions to reinforce meaning: Line A: “the lips of a fool bring strife” Line B: “his mouth calls for blows” Yiqtol verbs like יִקְרָא and יָבֹאוּ are used here as gnomic (timeless) statements, expressing universal truths about behavior.… Learn Hebrew