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

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<h1>Literary Devices – Bemidbar 24</h1>
 
<h1>Literary Devices – Bemidbar 24</h1>
 
<div><b><center><span class="highlighted-notice">This topic has not yet undergone editorial review</span></center></b></div>
 
<div><b><center><span class="highlighted-notice">This topic has not yet undergone editorial review</span></center></b></div>
 
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<category>Parallelism
<category>Structure
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<p>Balak's blessings are phrased poetically and, like much Biblical poetry, are marked by parallelism.</p>
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<subcategory>Examples
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<li>מַה טֹּבוּ <span style="color: #3366ff;">אֹהָלֶיךָ</span> <span style="color: #ff6600;">יַעֲקֹב</span> / <span style="color: #3366ff;">מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ</span> <span style="color: #ff6600;">יִשְׂרָאֵל</span></li>
<category>Parallels and Contrasts
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<li><span style="color: #ff9900;">כָּרַע שָׁכַב</span> <span style="color: #99cc00;">כַּאֲרִי / וּכְלָבִיא</span> <span style="color: #ff9900;">מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ</span></li>
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<li><span style="color: #ff00ff;">אֶרְאֶנּוּ</span> <span style="color: #00ccff;">וְלֹא עַתָּה</span>&#160; / <span style="color: #ff00ff;">אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ</span> <span style="color: #00ccff;">וְלֹא קָרוֹב </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>Key Words
 
<category>Key Words
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<subcategory>Sight
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<p>The verbal root “ראה” appears five 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 here, 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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Latest revision as of 21:44, 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 parallelism.

Examples

  • מַה טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב / מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל
  • כָּרַע שָׁכַב כַּאֲרִי / וּכְלָבִיא מִי יְקִימֶנּוּ
  • אֶרְאֶנּוּ וְלֹא עַתָּה  / אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ וְלֹא קָרוֹב

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 five 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 here, 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.