Literary Devices – Bereshit 25/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 25

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Key Words

בכורה (birthright)

Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the word "בכורה" (birthright) is a guiding word of the opening narrative of Yaakov and Esav (Bereshit 25:19-34), appearing four time in verses 31-34. The repetition emphasizes the significance of the birthright to their story.

לאום (nation)

Relative to the rest of Tanakh, the word "לְאֹם" (nation) also appears an unusual number of times. This indicates that the struggle over the birthright is not simply a familial matter in the story of Yaakov and Esav, but represents a struggle between nations.¹

Relational Epithets

This chapter, which tells of Avraham’s death, reflects on the nature of Avraham’s family relationships through the use of relational epithets.

Yitzchak and Yishmael

Both Yitzchak and Yishmael are referred to both by name and as Avraham’s sons (see verses 6, 9, 11 and 12), perhaps emphasizing the attachment that Avraham felt to both of them.  Interestingly, the two are grouped together as “his sons” in verse 9, which describes their burial of Avraham, perhaps indicating that at this final moment they acted together in honor of their father.  

Avraham's Other Children

The children that Avraham had with his concubines are called “the sons of Avraham's concubines” in verse 6, minimizing their connection to Avraham and making it clear that they do not inherit his legacy.

Sarah

Sarah is referred to as “Sarah his wife” in verse 10, emphasizing her role as Avraham’s only true wife.

Hagar

Hagar is referred to as “הָגָר הַמִּצְרִית שִׁפְחַת שָׂרָה” (verse 12), emphasizing that while Yishmael retained a father-son relationship with Avraham, Hagar was not Avraham’s true wife. 

Wordplay

There are a number of plays on words associated with Esav’s and Yaakov’s names.

• Esav is described as emerging from the womb “אַדְמוֹנִי” (ruddy) in verse 25 and later refers to the stew as “הָאָדֹם הָאָדֹם הַזֶּה” (verse 30); he and his land are subsequently referred to as אֱדוֹם (verse 30).
• Yaakov is described as grasping Esav’s heel (עֲקֵב) in verse 26 and is thus called יַעֲקֹב.

The redness associated with Esav serves as a symbol of impetuous, violent passion, while Yaakov’s grasp of Esav’s heel hints to his long struggle to acquire the birthright and the legacy it represents.

Literary Envelope

Yishmael’s narrative ends with a reference to the blessing with which it began, closing the cycle of his life with the implication that his destiny was fulfilled:

• In Bereshit 16:10-12, the angel promises Hagar that Yishmael will have many descendants and “וְעַל פְּנֵי כׇל אֶחָיו יִשְׁכֹּן.” Bereshit 25 lists Yishmael’s twelve sons and concludes his narrative with the statement “עַל פְּנֵי כׇל אֶחָיו נָפָל” (Bereshit 25:18).

Type Scenes

Robert Alter has identified a convention of Biblical literary style in in which a similar narrative appears multiple times, with differences that reflect the uniqueness of each story and set of characters.

Divine Promise of Child

There are several instances in Tanakh in which Hashem promises a child to a childless parent: the stories of the births of Yitzchak, Yaakov and Esav, Shimshon, Shemuel, and the child of the Shunamite woman.

Articles

For an analytical comparison and contrasting of these narratives, see How Convention Helps Us Read: The Case of the Bible’s Annunciation Type-Scene by Robert Alter.

Characterization

Tanakh rarely describes a personality outright; instead, it paints character through subtle hints.

Esav

Commentators have pointed out the characterization of Esav as impulsive and boorish through his rushed, incoherent speech in 25:30 ("Please, give me to gulp from this red, this red stuff, as I am famished”). See RashiBereshit 25:30About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, RashbamBereshit 25:30About R. Shemuel b. Meir, and R"Y Bekhor ShorBereshit 25:30About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, who interpret this verse as representing Esav’s impetuous demand that, in Rashi’s words, Yaakov pour the food directly into his mouth.

Articles

See Robert Alter’s article Character in the Bible, as well as his chapter on characterization in The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York, 1981): 114-130, for exploration of methods of characterization in Tanakh.

Consecutive Verbs

When Tanakh uses several verbs in succession, it might intend to highlight speed and energy of action. This convention appears in 25:34 (“He ate, drank, rose, and went, and Esav scorned the birthright”), to describe the haste with which Esav consummates the exchange of the lentil stew for the birthright.

Parallelism

Hashem’s speech to Rivka in Bereshit 25:32 is a classic example of Biblical parallelism, in which adjacent phrases parallel each other:² 

• שְׁנֵי [גוֹיִם] (גיים) בְּבִטְנֵךְ / וּשְׁנֵי לְאֻמִּים מִמֵּעַיִךְ יִפָּרֵדוּ
•  וּלְאֹם מִלְאֹם יֶאֱמָץ / וְרַב יַעֲבֹד צָעִיר.

¹ Thus, the competition in this story goes beyond previous stories of tensions between brothers.

² For more information about the nature of Biblical parallelism, see Prof. Mayer I. Gruber’s article The Meaning of Biblical Parallelism: A Biblical Perspective and Prof. Adele Berlin’s Grammatical Aspects of Biblical Parallelism. Other resources include: Prof. Robert Alter’s The Art of Biblical Poetry pp. 3-61, Prof. Adele Berlin’s The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism, and Prof. James Kugel’s The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History.