Literary Devices – Bereshit 16/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 16

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Key Words

Seeing and Hearing In Bereshit 16, there is an interplay between words relating to sight (“ראה” and "עין") and hearing (“שמע” and "ישמעאל") which serve as contrasting key words.  This contrast between the faculties of sight and hearing indicates an incongruity between God’s message and Hagar’s understanding of it.  Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explores the contrast between hearing and seeing as reflecting the conflicting emotional landscapes of guilt and shame in The Art of Listening. 

• The angel refer to the faculty of hearing (as in the name Yishmael), while Hagar focuses on the faculty of sight (as in 16:13: “She called the name of Hashem who spoke to her, ‘You are El Ro'i’, because she said, ‘Have I not, even here, seen the One who looks out for me?’”)  Avram, in contrast to Hagar, is described as “listening” to Sarai’s voice (verse 2).  Significantly, although Hagar is commanded to name her son Yishmael, it is Avraham who actually gives him that name; Avraham, in contrast to Hagar, chooses to associate himself with the sense of hearing in this chapter.