To All:BDB, for what it's worth, defines Y"$ as a noun "being, substance, existence", quoting this verse only for the nominal sense but considering the common sense "there is" as a secondary sense of the noun, presumably with an implied verb "to be". But no evidence from other languages is quoted for the noun sense.
Here is a question as to the definition of a word.
Proverbs 8:21 Y$ appears to be a noun. As far as I can tell, this is the only
use of this lexeme in Tanakh where it appears to be a noun.
The dictionary I have here gives no clue as to its possible meaning, is there
any definition in other dictionaries? Cognate languages?
I know the usual definition is “there is” and it is rather common in Tanakh
with this meaning, but in this verse the context seems to call for a
different definition.
Any thoughts?
Karl W. Randolph.
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