Literary Devices – Bereshit 37/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 37

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Binary Sturcture

In his commentary on Bereshit,¹ Robert Alter points out that Yosef’s story is structured as a series of doublets (as was Yaakov’s story; see Chapter 32). Yosef and Paroh both have double dreams, the baker and butler present their dreams together, Yosef is thrown into a pit and then into prison, the brothers make two trips to Egypt, and their descent to Egypt parallels Yosef’s descent.

Key Words

Family Relations

• Tanakh Lab points out that the three words that appear most frequently in Bereshit 27 are אח, אב and בן, underscoring the tragic enmity and deception between close relatives that characterizes the story of the sale of Yosef.  These words appear most poignantly in Yosef’s declaration “I seek my brothers” and Yehuda’s chilling statement: “Come, let us sell him to the Yishmaelites, and let our hands not be upon him, for he is our brother, our flesh.”
• See Tamar and Yosef by Professor Yonatan Grossman for analysis of the repetition of the word "אח", and specifically how Yehuda’s use of the word conveys that his actions may be even more immoral than those of his brothers. 

Character Titles

¹ R. Alter, Genesis: Translation and Commentary, (New York, 1996): 210.