Biblical Parallels Index – Devarim 32

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Overview

This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.

Songs in Tanakh

Shirat Ha'azinu is one of several songs in Tanakh. Others include: the Song of the Sea and the songs of Devorah, Channah and David. Is there a common denominator between the events which led to the singing and composing of each of these songs?

Tools

Articles

  • Haazinu: The Five Songs in Tanach, by R. Menachem Leibtag, differentiates between three songs (the song of the sea, of Devorah, and of David) that describe ideal situations of redemption and triumph, and two (Ha'azinu and the song of Yehoshua)1 that conclude periods that fall short of expectations.  Focusing on the songs found in Torah, R. Leibtag notes that the "Song of the Sea" marked the completion of the Exodus and independence from Egypt. It should have ushered in the conquest, leading into an idyllic song praising entry into the Promised Land. However, the generation of the Wilderness did not live up to its ideal and so the next song that is sung, Ha'azinu, is much more pessimistic in tone.
  • See Beshalach: The Song at the Sea, by R. Michael Hattin, for comparison and contrast of Biblical songs, with a focus on the similarities and differences between "שירת הים" (the Song of the Sea) and "שירת דבורה" (the Song of Deborah).  R. Hattin identifies the unique theme of "שירת הים" as being Hashem’s “saving might,” both in the present and eschatologically.
  • See אך חבל כל אדם: עיונים בשירה המקראית, by Dr. Victor Kellner, for analysis of the unique religious goals of Biblical poetry and how these relate to its aesthetic features, with a focus on Tehillim.
  • See מלחמה ושירה, by R. Yehuda Shaviv, for analysis and contrast of the elements of Shirat HaYam, Shirat Devorah, and Shirat David, and discussion of why there was no similar song after the defeat of Amalek. He proposes that perhaps songs are only composed after a total defeat or after the undoing of a prolonged subjugation, neither of which occurred with regards to Amalek.
×