Difference between revisions of "Literary Devices – Bemidbar 24/0"

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<category>Structure
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<category>Parallelism
<p></p>
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<p>Balak's blessings are phrased poetically and, like much Biblical poetry, are marked by parallism.</p>
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<subcategory>Examples
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<ul>
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<li><span style="color: #339966;">מָה אֶקֹּב</span>&#160;<span style="color: #339966;">לֹא קַבֹּה</span> <span style="color: #ff0000;">אֵל</span> / <span style="color: #339966;">וּמָה אֶזְעֹם לֹא זָעַם </span><span style="color: #ff0000;">י״י</span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #ff00ff;">כִּי מֵרֹאשׁ צֻרִים</span> <span style="color: #ff9900;">אֶרְאֶנּוּ</span> / <span style="color: #ff00ff;">וּמִגְּבָעוֹת</span> <span style="color: #ff9900;">אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ </span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #3366ff;">לֹא הִבִּיט</span> <span style="color: #0000ff;">אָוֶן</span><span style="color: #ff0000;"> בְּיַעֲקֹב</span> / <span style="color: #3366ff;">וְלֹא רָאָה</span> <span style="color: #0000ff;">עָמָל</span> <span style="color: #ff0000;">בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל</span></li>
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<subcategory>Articles
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<p>For more information about the nature of Biblical parallelism, see Dr. Mayer I. Gruber’s article <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20689374?read-now=1&amp;seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">The Meaning of Biblical Parallelism: A Biblical Perspective </a>and Dr. Adele Berlin’s <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23503350?searchText=&amp;searchUri=&amp;ab_segments=&amp;searchKey=&amp;refreqid=fastly-default%3A597a674cac61fd731f453302a133d0b9">Grammatical Aspects of Biblical Parallelism</a>.<fn>Other resources ןמךבוגק:Dr. Robert Alter’s <i>The Art of Biblical Poetry</i> p. 3-61, Dr. Adele Berlin’s <i>The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism</i>, and Dr. James Kugel’s <i>The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History</i>.</fn></p>
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<category>Parallels and Contrasts
 
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<category>Key Words
 
<category>Key Words
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<subcategory>Sight
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<p>The verbal root “ראה” appears six times in this chapter, and is a key word of chapters 22-24. Other words relating to sight appear multiple times in the unit as well. Thus, “עין” (eye) appears four times in Chapter 22 and six times in Chapter 24, and the roots “שור” , “נבט” , and “חזה” (all meaning to look, view or gaze) each appear one or two times in the unit. These words highlight the theme of prophecy/vision, which is granted only to those whom God chooses (even a donkey) and cannot be manipulated as Balak imagines.</p>
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<subcategory>"קרה"
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<li><a href="https://mg.alhatorah.org/TanakhLab/Bemidbar/23/1/23/30">Tanakh Lab</a>&#160;demonstrates that the verb “קרה"&#160; is 115 times more prevalent in this chapter than in the rest of Tanakh. In Rashi’s view (verse 4), this verb reflects the inferior nature of Bilam’s revelation of Hashem, for it is as if Hashem only "happens" upon him.</li>
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<category>Character Titles
 
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Version as of 11:59, 9 June 2024

Literary Devices – Bemidbar 24

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Parallelism

Balak's blessings are phrased poetically and, like much Biblical poetry, are marked by parallism.

Examples

  • מָה אֶקֹּב לֹא קַבֹּה אֵל / וּמָה אֶזְעֹם לֹא זָעַם י״י
  • כִּי מֵרֹאשׁ צֻרִים אֶרְאֶנּוּ / וּמִגְּבָעוֹת אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ
  • לֹא הִבִּיט אָוֶן בְּיַעֲקֹב / וְלֹא רָאָה עָמָל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל

Articles

For more information about the nature of Biblical parallelism, see Dr. Mayer I. Gruber’s article The Meaning of Biblical Parallelism: A Biblical Perspective and Dr. Adele Berlin’s Grammatical Aspects of Biblical Parallelism.1

Key Words

Sight

The verbal root “ראה” appears six times in this chapter, and is a key word of chapters 22-24. Other words relating to sight appear multiple times in the unit as well. Thus, “עין” (eye) appears four times in Chapter 22 and six times in Chapter 24, and the roots “שור” , “נבט” , and “חזה” (all meaning to look, view or gaze) each appear one or two times in the unit. These words highlight the theme of prophecy/vision, which is granted only to those whom God chooses (even a donkey) and cannot be manipulated as Balak imagines.

"קרה"

  • Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the verb “קרה"  is 115 times more prevalent in this chapter than in the rest of Tanakh. In Rashi’s view (verse 4), this verb reflects the inferior nature of Bilam’s revelation of Hashem, for it is as if Hashem only "happens" upon him.