Literary Devices – Bemidbar 25/0

Literary Devices – Bemidbar 25

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Wordplay

הַקֻּבָּה vs. קֳבָתָהּ

• The words “הַקֻּבָּה” and “קֳבָתָהּ” (verse 8) are both unique and appear no where else in Tanakh.  Many commentators (see Rashi, Rashbam, and Ibn Ezra) translate the first as “tent” and the second as “her stomach.”  These words are perhaps chosen as plays on words both with each other and with the root “קבב" (curse), which appears 8 times in Torah, all in the immediately preceding story of Balak and Bilam.¹ The association highlights the cursed nature of the act of Zimri and Kozbi.

¹ Listen to The Unusual and Reprehensible Worship of Baal Peor, by R. Yitzchak Etshalom, which makes this point.