Difference between revisions of "Literary Devices – Bereshit 27/0"
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<p>Tanakh Lab indicates that the most frequent words in Bereshit 27 are בֵּן ,אָב, ברך and אָח, reflecting the narrative’s focus on complex family dynamics surrounding the bestowal of blessing.  </p> | <p>Tanakh Lab indicates that the most frequent words in Bereshit 27 are בֵּן ,אָב, ברך and אָח, reflecting the narrative’s focus on complex family dynamics surrounding the bestowal of blessing.  </p> | ||
<subcategory>Blessing | <subcategory>Blessing | ||
| − | <p>Not surprisingly, given the focus of the chapter, the root "ברך" and noun "ברכה" together are among the most prevalent words in the chapter.<fn>The verb appears 17 times and the noun six times.</fn></p> | + | <p>Not surprisingly, given the focus of the chapter, the root <span style="color: #ff00ff;"><b>"ברך"</b></span> and noun <b><span style="color: #ff00ff;">"ברכה"</span></b> together are among the most prevalent words in the chapter.<fn>The verb appears 17 times and the noun six times.</fn></p> |
</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
<subcategory>Family Relationships | <subcategory>Family Relationships | ||
| − | <p>The word "בֵּן" (son) appears 25 times, "‎אָב‎" (father)  24 times and "אָח‎" (brother) 23 times, highlighting the family relationships around which the story revolves. Interestingly, despite Rivka's masterminding the drama, the noun "אֵם" (mother) appears only five times in the narrative.  Perhaps this reflects her subtle, hidden involvement which takes place only behind the scenes.</p> | + | <p>The word <b><span style="color: #0000ff;">"בֵּן"</span></b> (son) appears 25 times, <span style="color: #0000ff;"><b>"‎אָב‎"</b></span> (father)  24 times and <b><span style="color: #0000ff;">"אָח‎"</span> </b>(brother) 23 times, highlighting the family relationships around which the story revolves. Interestingly, despite Rivka's masterminding the drama, the noun "אֵם" (mother) appears only five times in the narrative.  Perhaps this reflects her subtle, hidden involvement which takes place only behind the scenes.</p> |
</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
<subcategory>Food | <subcategory>Food | ||
| − | <p>When looking at the relative usage of words here versus in the rest of Tanakh, two other words emerge as being significant:  "מַטְעַמִּים" and "צַיִד".‎<fn>The word "מטעמים" appears six times in the unit and only two more times in the rest of Tanakh making it 359 times more prevalent here than elsewhere.  The word "ציד" appears seven times, and only ten more times in the rest of Tanakh.</fn> The role that food plays the giving of blessing is somewhat surprising and invites questioning. Compare how R"Y Bekhor Shor, R. Avraham b. HaRambam and R. D"Z Hoffman each understand why Yitzchak made the blessing contingent on bringing him a meal.</p> | + | <p>When looking at the relative usage of words here versus in the rest of Tanakh, two other words emerge as being significant:  <b><span style="color: #ff0000;">"מַטְעַמִּים" </span></b><span style="color: #000000;">and</span><b><span style="color: #ff0000;"> "צַיִד"</span></b>.‎<fn>The word "מטעמים" appears six times in the unit and only two more times in the rest of Tanakh making it 359 times more prevalent here than elsewhere.  The word "ציד" appears seven times, and only ten more times in the rest of Tanakh.</fn> The role that food plays the giving of blessing is somewhat surprising and invites questioning. Compare how R"Y Bekhor Shor, R. Avraham b. HaRambam and R. D"Z Hoffman each understand why Yitzchak made the blessing contingent on bringing him a meal.</p> |
</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
Version as of 10:21, 4 July 2023
Literary Devices – Bereshit 27
Structure
Parallels and Contrasts
Key Words
Tanakh Lab indicates that the most frequent words in Bereshit 27 are בֵּן ,אָב, ברך and אָח, reflecting the narrative’s focus on complex family dynamics surrounding the bestowal of blessing.
Blessing
Not surprisingly, given the focus of the chapter, the root "ברך" and noun "ברכה" together are among the most prevalent words in the chapter.1
Family Relationships
The word "בֵּן" (son) appears 25 times, "אָב" (father) 24 times and "אָח" (brother) 23 times, highlighting the family relationships around which the story revolves. Interestingly, despite Rivka's masterminding the drama, the noun "אֵם" (mother) appears only five times in the narrative. Perhaps this reflects her subtle, hidden involvement which takes place only behind the scenes.
Food
When looking at the relative usage of words here versus in the rest of Tanakh, two other words emerge as being significant: "מַטְעַמִּים" and "צַיִד".2 The role that food plays the giving of blessing is somewhat surprising and invites questioning. Compare how R"Y Bekhor Shor, R. Avraham b. HaRambam and R. D"Z Hoffman each understand why Yitzchak made the blessing contingent on bringing him a meal.
