is seen from the Arab. l-ys and the Syr. lyt” (Fl.);[1] and the derivation of ושׁה = שׁוה, to be smooth (Hitzig), passes over without any difficulty into another system of roots.[2]
In the passage under consideration (Pro 2:7), תּוּשׁיּה signifies advancement in the sense of true prosperity. The parallel passage 7a clothes itself in the form of an apposition: (He) a shield (מגן, n. instr. of גּנן, to cover) for הלכי תּם, pilgrims of innocence (Fl.), i.e., such as walk in the way (the object-accus., as Pro 6:12, for which in Pro 10:9 בּ) of innocence. תּם is whole, full submission, moral faultlessness, which chooses God with the whole heart, seeks good without exception: a similar thought is found in Psa 84:12. לנצר, 8a, is such an inf. of consequence as להקשׁיב (Pro 2:2), and here, as there, is continued in the finite. The “paths of justice” are understood with reference to those who enter them and keep in them; parallel, “the way of His saints” (חסיד, he who cherishes חסד, earnest inward love to God), for that is just ארח־צדקה (Pro 12:28): they are הלכי צדקות (Isa 33:15). Instead of the Mugrash, the conjunctive Tarcha is to be given to ודרך.
Verses 9-11
With the אז repeated, the promises encouraging to the endeavour after wisdom take a new departure: 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and justice, And uprightness; every way of good. 10 For wisdom will enter into thine heart, And knowledge will do good to thy soul; 11 Discretion will keep watch over thee, Understanding will keep thee.
- ↑ The Arab. ‛aysa (almost only in the negative la-ysa = לא ישׁ), of the same signification as ישׁ, with which the Aram. אית (איתי) is associated, presupposes an ‛âsa (= ‛âssa), to be founded, to found, and is rightly regarded by the Arabs as an old segolate noun in which the verbal force was comprehended.
- ↑ The Arab. wsy and swy are confounded in common usage (Wetstein, Deutsch. Morgenl. Zeitschr. xxii. 19), but the roots וש and שו are different; וש and אש, on the contrary, are modifications of one root.
