Literary Devices – Bereshit 1/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 1

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Structure

• Bereshit 1:1-2:3 can be seen as one major unit, describing the creation of the world.  It is framed by an iclusio, opening "בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים" and concluding "אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת".
• It may be subdivided into an introduction in verses 1-2, and then 7 sub-sections, corresponding to the six days of creation and Shabbat. Each of these (excepting the unit dealing with Shabbat) opens with " ...וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי" and closes with "...וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם", clearly framing the individual units.
• Alternatively, the unit might be divided into an introduction (1:1-2), and then three sub-sections a) Creation of the Cosmos (1:3-13), b) Creation of its Inhabitants (1:14-31), and c) Shabbat.

Repetition

Bereshit 1 employs numerous literary devices involving repetition to convey the harmonious, orderly nature of creation.

Devices

1) 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 concluding phrase “--- וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם”. 
• “יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם /  וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל בֵּין מַיִם לָמָיִם’" ‎(1:6)
• "וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָרָקִיעַ / וַיַּבְדֵּל בֵּין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מִתַּחַת לָרָקִיעַ / וּבֵין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַ" ‎(1:7)
• "וַתּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ דֶּשֶׁא עֵשֶׂב מַזְרִיעַ זֶרַע לְמִינֵהוּ / וְעֵץ עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי אֲשֶׁר זַרְעוֹ בוֹ לְמִינֵהוּ ” ‎(1:12). 
• “ וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ לְמִינָהּ / וְאֶת הַבְּהֵמָה לְמִינָהּ / וְאֵת כׇּל רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה לְמִינֵהוּ .” ‎(1:25)
• "וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה / וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכׇּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה / וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכׇּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת." ‏‎ (2:2-3)

2) Alliteration – The Torah begins with the alliteration of the words “בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא” and "וְרוּחַ... מְרַחֶפֶת".

3) Assonance is repetition of the same vowel sounds with different consonants: 

• “תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ” ‎(1:2)
• “פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ” ‎(1:22, 1:28)
• “בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ” ‎(1:26).

4) Concatenation involves the linking together of phrases, as in Bereshit 1:1-2:

• "אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ, וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה” ‎(1:1-2).

5) Formulaic Patterns – Each section dealing with the days of creation follows a similar pattern, with only slight variations.  It opens with a speech of God that something be made (וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי), continues with the fulfillment of that command (וַיְהִי כֵן), an evaluation (וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים כִּי טוֹב), and a conclusion: (וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר). This repeating pattern further highlights the harmony of creation.

Articles

For discussion of these devices, see Epiphora by Professor Yonatan Grossman.  He notes that "the echoing words, consonants, and vowels in this story are connected to the Torah's theme – the Creation of the Universe is an ordered, planned, and organized process".

Parallels and Contrasts

Several commentators¹ have noted that the first half of creation (days 1-3) parallels the second half (days 4-6). On Day 1 light is made, while on Day 4 the luminaries are created. On Day 2, the sea and heavens are made, while on Day 5 the fish (sea creatures) and birds (inhabitants of the sky) are created. Finally on Day 3, the land is separated, while on Day 6, its inhabitants, animals and people, are created.

Key Words

Verbs of Creation

• The Tanakh Lab highlights that while the expected roots related to creation: "עשה" (make) and "ברא" (create) appear in the unit 10 and 6 times respectively, it is the root "היה" (to be) that is most prevalent in the narrative, appearing a full 27 times in Bereshit 1:1-2:3. This might highlight the unique nature of Hashem's creation; all comes into existence without effort.²
• Another, perhaps unexpected, but significant verb that plays a role in creation is "בדל" (separate), appearing five times in the narrative, making it 78 times more prevalent here than in the rest of Tanakh.

"According to its Kind"

• Tanakh Lab highlights that one of the most significant keywords in the unit is the noun "מִין".  It appears ten times in the chapter, making it 210 times more prevalent here than elsewhere in Tanakh. Trees, herbs, birds, fish and animals are each created "according to their kind".  The emphasis serves to further mark the orderliness of creation.

Septuplets Prof. Cassuto points to a number of words which appear in multiple of sevens:

• The name Elohim (God) appears 35 times in the unit, making it the most prevalent word in the unit.³ The number might be symbolic, being a multiple of seven (7*5).⁴ Not surprisingly, God pervades the Creation story (to the exclusion of other protagonists), for He alone creates.
• The word ארץ (land) appears 21 times (7*3).
• The word יום (day) appears 14 times (7*2).
• The adjective טוב (good) appears 7 times.

Character Titles

• Elohim – The only character to play a role in the unit is God, referred to throughout this chapter consistently as "אֱלֹהִים". In Chapters 2-3, Hashem is instead referred to as "י״י אֱלֹהִים", while it is first in Chapter 4 that the name "י״י" appears alone. For discussion of the different usages, see Bereshit 1–2.

Parallelism

Creation of Man

Parallelism is a literary structure in which adjacent phrases parallel each other.⁵ Sometimes the purpose is to lend poetic formality to language, highlighting the exalted nature of the subject matter, as in several of the verses about the creation of man:

• וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ / בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ / זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם (Bereshit1:27)
• וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱלֹהִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁהָ / וּרְדוּ בִּדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם... (Bereshit 1:28)
• הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כׇּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי כׇל הָאָרֶץ / וְאֶת כׇּל הָעֵץ  ‎‎  אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ פְרִי עֵץ זֹרֵעַ זָרַע לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאׇכְלָה‎ (Bereshit 1:29)

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.⁶

¹ See R. Hirsch and Prof. Cassuto.

² It should be noted, however, that since the word "היה" is always fairly common, despite the numerous occurrences of the word here, it is only 5 times more prevalent here than elsewhere.

³ This does not include minor words such as "את".

⁴ Other "sevens" in the Creation account include

⁵ undefined

⁶ Other resources (not available online) are Dr. Robert Alter’s The Art of Biblical Poetry pp. 3-61, Dr. Adele Berlin’s The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism, and Dr. James Kugel’s The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History.