02_Burnight-co_347_370 28/10/14 10:35 Pagina 356 356 JOHN BURNIGHT dence” here on the basis of a presumed synonymous parallelism with $twqt in 4,6b, writing that this chapter of Job “is characterized by synonymous parallelism throughout”23. But while such a statement might be defensible for a passage from Psalms or Proverbs, this is hardly the case for Job. In fact, there are numerous verses in Job 4–5 in which regular synonymous parallelism is not present 24. It is there- fore imprudent to assume such parallelism in an attempt to demon- strate the meaning of an uncertain term, particularly since the unusual position of the waw — i.e. between the two terms in 4,6b, rather than between the two cola — makes such a structure less likely 25. Further, and importantly for the interpretation of Job 4,6, Held does not explain — or even mention — the only other occurrence of hlsk in the biblical corpus (Ps 85,9), where the term is clearly a pe- jorative: I will hear what God the LORD will say; For he will speak peace to his people, to his godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly 26. 23 HELD, “Studies in Comparative Semitic Lexicography”, 404, n 126. He also incorrectly asserts that the LXX and Peshiṭta “clearly read $ykrd ~t $twqtw” (i.e. transferring the waw from ~t to $twqt); neither, in fact, interprets $ykrd ~t as the predicate of $twqtw, and both translate $tlsk with a negative term (see below). 24 Cf. 4,2.8.10.13.16 (tricolon).19 (tricolon).20.21; 5,3.15.16.26.27. All of these exhibit “synthetic” or “sequential” parallelism. 25 The fact that the waw is attached to $ykrd ~t rather than $twqt has been viewed as problematic by many commentators, with a variety of pro- posals being offered. Some scholars transfer the waw to $twqt at the head of the colon (e.g., BALL, The Book of Job, 134; K. BUDDE, Das Buch Hiob über- setz und erklärt [Göttingen 21913] 18), or move $twqt to the end of the verse (e.g., BUTTENWIESER, The Book of Job, 162; DUHM, Das Buch Hiob, 25), while others have interpreted it as a waw apodosis (cf. Gesenius §143d) or as an “emphatic” waw (e.g, F. DELITZSCH, Das Buch Hiob [Leipzig 1902] 143; E. KÖNIG, Das Buch Hiob eingeleitet, übersetzt und erklärt [Gütersloh 1929] 71; A. BLOMMERDE, Northwest Semitic Grammar and Job [Rome 1969] 40; HABEL, The Book of Job, 115); cf. M. POPE, “Pleonastic Waw before Nouns in Ugaritic and Hebrew”, JAOS 73 (1953) 95-98. 26 It is translated as “folly” in BDB and most English versions (e.g., KJV, ASV, NASB, ESV, JPS). Also cf. the Vulgate’s stultitiam (“folly, stupidity”). The Targum’s rways, lit. “fermentation, leaven”, is a metaphor for an immoral con-