Literary Devices – Bereshit 18/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 18

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Strategic Repetition

Tanakh is often strategic about how it repeats information or dialogue.  In verses 13-14, Hashem repeats Sarah’s words to Avraham, but leaves out her reference to Avraham’s advanced age and to her having withered.  As Rashi points out, Hashem leaves out her mention of Avraham’s old age to preserve peace between them, and one might add that perhaps He leaves out her description of her being withered out of respect for her. 

Key Words

צחק (to laugh)

• Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the root “צחק” is the word that appears with the greatest frequency in this chapter relative to the rest of Tanakh. This word is associated strongly with the narrative of Yitzchak, in this chapter as well as in Chapters 17 and 21.
• For analysis of the significance of laughter in Yitzchak’s narrative and legacy, see Parshat Vayera - Laughter and Isaac by R. Alex Israel.

מהר (to hurry)

• Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the root "מהר” (to hurry) is the word that appears with third greatest frequency in this chapter relative to the rest of Tanakh. This root is accompanied by two appearances of the root "רוץ" (to run). Together they connote the enthusiasm of Avraham in greeting and serving his guests.
• Interestingly, according to the Tanakh Lab¹, the chapter most linguistically similar to this chapter is Bereshit 24, discussing Rivka’s hospitality, in which the same two roots appear.² Rivka, too, rushes and runs to provide hospitality.

צדיק (righteous)

• In the section of the chapter about Sedom (verses 16-33), Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the word “צדיק” is one of the most frequently used words relative to the rest of Bereshit and the rest of Tanakh.  The related word “צדקה” also appears (verse 19), as well as the connected word “משפט” (verses 19 and 25).  Hashem says of Avraham that he will pursue "צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט", and shortly thereafter Avraham demands of Hashem that He practice מִשְׁפָּט.
• These words emphasize the central ideas of the story about the lack of righteousness in the culture of Sedom, and how Avraham’s compassion on Sedom is a manifestation of righteousness. 

Parenthetical statement

At times, Tanakh includes parenthetical statement that provides background information important to the narrative. A good example of this device is found in Bereshit 18:11: “And Avraham and Sarah were elderly, coming on in years; Sarah had ceased to have a menstrual flow like women.

Type Scene

Robert Alter has identified Biblical type-scenes in which multiple characters have similar experiences, with these experiences being told with a similar formula.  The deviations from the expected formula often illustrate the unique personalities and experiences of each.

Divine Promise of a Child

One such type scene is the annunciation type-scene, in which a childless parent is given a divine promise of a child. Makbilot BaMikra notes that this occurs in the stories of the births of Yitzchak, Yaakov and Esav, Shimshon, Shemuel, and the child of the Shunamite woman.

Articles

For analysis of this type-scene, see How Convention Helps Us Read: The Case of the Bible’s Annunciation Type-Scene by Robert Alter.

¹ Click on the Torah icon to see a list of links to the most linguistically similar chapters to that being displayed.

² The concordance reveals that the first six occurrences of the root "רוץ" in Tanakh are in these two stories. Similarly, six of the first seven occurrences of the root "מהר" are in the two chapters.

³ The concordance reveals that besides these two instances there is only one other place in Sefer Bereshit where "God descends", when Hashem promises Yaakov that He will go down to Egypt with him (Bereshit 46:4)