Literary Devices – Bemidbar 20/0

Literary Devices – Bemidbar 20

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Structure

Literary Envelope

• A literary envelope or inclusio marks the opening and closing of a literary unit through the repetition of key phrases. Bemidbar 20 opens with "וַיָּבֹאוּ... כׇּל הָעֵדָה" and the death of Miriam,  and closes with "וַיִּרְאוּ כׇּל הָעֵדָה" and the death of Aharon. The envelope structure emphasizes that the theme of the whole chapter is the end of the first generation of leaders.
• Articles – For discussion and other examples of literary envelopes, see Structural Devices.

Allusions

There are several allusions to the story of Korach in Parashat Chukkat, perhaps intimating the seriousness and rebelliousness of the people’s complaint in Bemidbar 20: 

• Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the chapter most linguistically similar to Bemidbar 20 is Bemidbar 17. 
• The concordance highlights that of the five appearances of the root “גוע”  in Sefer Bemidbar, two appear in the context of Korach’s rebellion and three in Bemidbar 20.
• As is pointed out by RashbamBemidbar 20:8About R. Shemuel b. Meir, “הַמַּטֶּה מִלִּפְנֵי י״י” mentioned in verse 9 seems to refer back to Aharon’s staff that was kept in the Tabernacle in the wake of Korach’s rebellion.¹ 
• The word “הַמֹּרִים” (verse 10) calls to mind the phrase “לְאוֹת לִבְנֵי מֶרִי” (Bemidbar 17:25),‎‎ and implies that Aharon’s staff is being used for its designated purpose as set forth in that earlier verse.

Key Words

Water

• Not surprisingly, given the content of the chapter, "מים" (water) is the most prevalent word in the chapter, appearing ten times.

Character Titles

¹ This implies a connection between the people’s complaint in the beginning of Bemidbar 20 (in which the root appears twice) and the rebellion of Korach, perhaps intimating the seriousness and rebelliousness of their complaint in Bemidbar 20.