Literary Devices – Bereshit 29/0
Literary Devices – Bereshit 29
Structure
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.
Meeting at a Well
- Narratives of meeting one’s spouse at a well comprise one of the most significant Biblical type-scenes. The servant, Yaakov, and Moshe all find spouses at a well.
Sources and Articles
- For a full analysis of this type-scene, see Robert Alter’s Biblical Type-Scenes and the Uses of Convention.
- Michael W. Martin, ‘Betrothal Journey Narratives’, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 70, 3 (2008), 505-23, builds off Alter's thesis, identifying other typical elements in the type scene and exploring how it appears through Tanakh, apocrypha and the New Testament.
Symbolism
Stones play a significant role throughout the story of Yaakov. In fact the concordance reveals that of the 15 occurrences of the word in Sefer Bereshit, all but two relate to Yaakov – beginning with their appearance in the story of the stone upon which he slept and his establishment of a monument upon awakening, continuing with his rolling the stone off of the mouth of the well, and then appearing as a symbol of the covenant between Yaakov and Lavan at the end of the parashah. Stones symbolize the obstacles and unyielding difficulties that Yaakov encounters throughout his life as he strives to achieve his goals.
