Literary Devices – Bereshit 20/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 20

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Key Words

Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the words that appear with greatest frequency in this chapter, relative to the rest of Tanakh, are “אָחוֹת” and “אִשָּׁה” reflecting the theme of this chapter – the ruse of pretending that Sarah is Avraham’s sister instead of his wife.

Type Scenes

Robert Alter has identified a convention of Biblical narrative in which a basic narrative sequence appears multiple times in Tanakh, each time with modifications that serve the needs of the specific unit. Paying attention to the deviations from the expected template often reveals the hidden messages of the individual story.

Wife-Sister Narratives

The story of posing one’s wife as one’s sister is an example of a type-scene which appears three times in Sefer Bereshit.¹  There are several differences between the type-scene as it appears here and in Bereshit 12. Here, there is no mention of famine, Hashem communicates with Avimelekh through speech rather than through plagues, Avimelekh gives Avraham the opportunity to explain his actions, and the motif of infertility is introduced through the punishment of Gerar (20:18).  These differences highlight the different personalities of Paroh and Avimelekh, and serve to connect the story of Bereshit 20 to the surrounding narratives about the challenges and blessing of establishing family lines.  By contrast, the type-scene in Bereshit 12 is clearly meant to foreshadow the experience of the Jews in Egypt.

Articles

For analysis of Biblical type-scenes, see Robert Alter’s Biblical Type-Scenes and the Uses of Convention.

Allusions

• Avimelekh’s plea to Hashem on behalf of his people, "הֲגוֹי גַּם צַדִּיק תַּהֲרֹג" echoes Avraham’s plea on behalf of Sedom, "הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע".  [As seen in the concordance, the noun צדיק appears seven times in Avraham's prayer, so that the reader automatically thinks of the story upon reading Avimelekh's words.] The allusion perhaps serves to highlight Avimelekh’s relatively strong moral stature.  

Character Titles

Sarah

• Sarah, the wife of Avraham – In verses 2 (when Avraham employs the ruse), 14 (when Sarah is returned), and 18 (the very end of the story) Sarah is referred to by both her proper name and in relation to Avraham.This might highlight that Sarah's status as "Avraham's wife" did not change from the beginning of the story to the end, despite her being taken.² 
• Sarah (alone) – When Sarah is taken (verse 2) she is referred to by name alone, as Avimelekh does not know her marital status. Interestingly, in the parallel verse in Chapter 12 when Paroh's takes her, she is referred to only as the "woman", without a proper name, perhaps highlighting that, in contrast to Paroh, Avimelekh, at least, does not view Sarah as merely an object. This might be reflected in verse 16 as well, where again Sarah is referred to by name when Avimelekh attempts to appease or compensate her.

God

Throughout this chapter, Hashem is referred to by the generic name Elohim rather than by His proper name, Hashem, perhaps reflecting that this is a story that takes place in a foreign context. 

• In light of this, Avraham's words "אֵין יִרְאַת אֱלֹהִים בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה" (Bereshit 20:11) seem to refer to a universal moral code. 
• The name Elohim unusually takes a plural verb form in Avraham’s speech in 20:13.  Radak suggests that this reflects that Avraham knows he is speaking to a polytheist, and adjusts his language accordingly.³ 

Implied Speech

In many verses, one finds that the word "וַיֹּאמֶר" is mentioned twice despite there not being an an intervening response or explicit change in speaker in between. This might indicate resistance or opposition of some sort on the part of the other participants in the conversation. [For further discussion of the phenomenon and many other examples, see Redundancy]

Double Accusation

In verses 9-10, Avimelekh’s accusation of Avraham that he endangered the Philistines by passing his wife off as his sister is broken into two statements, each prefaced with an introductory “ויאמר". 

Sources and Articles

• Abarbanel Bereshit 20:9About R. Yitzchak Abarbaneland ShadalBereshit 20:10About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto⁴ note that Avimelekh's first statement is more accusatory than the second. This perhaps implies that the initial accusation was initial accusation is met by either a fearful silence or Avraham's resistance to take the blame ascribed to him, leading Avimelekh to moderate his tone.
• For a comprehensive discussion of the general phenomenon of a "doubled Vayomer", see מאיר שילוח, "ויאמר... ויאמר", ספר קורנגרין (תשכ"ד): 251-267. 

¹ For analysis of the motivations for this ploy, see Endangering Sarai in Egypt.

² The epithet at the end of the chapter, which alludes to the plague that had struck Avimelekh's household "due to Sarah, wife of Avraham", might also imply that Divine protection was merited due specifically to Sarah's being the wife of Avraham.

³ Rashi, in contrast, points out that though this is unusual, it i snot unique, pointing to similar usage in Bereshit 35:7, Yehoshua 24:19 and Shemuel II 7:23. Alternatively, Daat Mikra suggests that the plural form is used to convey Hashem’s majesty, as in Bereshit 35:7.

⁴ Compare also NetzivBereshit 20:9-10About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin.