Literary Devices – Bereshit 1/0

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Literary Devices – Bereshit 1

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Structure

Repetition

In his article, Epiphora, Professor Yonatan Grossman has pointed out the numerous literary devices that Tanakh uses to convey the harmonious, orderly nature of creation:1 

Epiphora

Epiphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses: 

  • The creation story is built around the repetition of the phrase “and it was evening and it was morning, ____ day.”  
  • “‘Let there be a sky in the midst of the water/ And it will be a separator between water and water’" (1:6)
  • "And God made the sky/ And He separated between the water which was below the sky/ And the water above the sky" (1:7)
  • "The land produced vegetation – plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds” (1:12). 
  • “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.” (1:25)

Alliteration:

The Torah begins with the alliteration of the words “bereshit bara.”

Assonance

Assonace is repetition of the same vowelization with different consonants: 

  • “tohu vavohu” (1:2);
  • “peru urevu” (1:22, 1:28)
  • “betzalmenu kedemutenu” (1:26).

Concatenation

(linking together of phrases):

  • the heavens and the land. And the land was ...” (1:1-2).

Parallels and Contrasts

Key Words

Character Titles