Literary Devices – Bereshit 42

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Key Words

אח (brother)

Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the word “אח” is the word that appears with the greatest frequency in this chapter, appearing 20 times.  This highlights the main idea of the chapter, which sets the stage for the ultimate reunion of the brothers

Character Titles and Relational Epithets

Tanakh is often artful in identifying people by their relationships to others in the story and by the unique titles it uses to refer to them:

The Brothers

In the opening verses of the chapter the brothers are referred to in three different ways:

  • The Sons of Yaakov – The chapter opens with Yaakov talking to his sons, who are logically referred to in reference to him.
  • Yosef's Brothers  – When they leave to Egypt for food (42:3) and later when they stand before Yosef, the siblings are instead referred to as "Yosef's brothers" (v. 6) or simply "his brothers" (verses 7-8). This perhaps hints that they are being primed for reconciliation (see Bereshit Rabbah 91:6).1
  • The Sons of Israel – As the family enters Egypt and stands among the other buyers in 42:5, they are referred to as “בני ישראל,” the first time the siblings are so-called. Later, this is the appellation used for the nation of Israel.  As such, its usage here perhaps hints to the national significance of the brothers' descent to Egypt. Alternatively, highlights how the family is ethnically distinct from the masses that surround them.

Articles - See N. Leibowitz, עיונים בספר בראשית (Jerusalem, 1992): 329-330 for analysis of the above.

Yosef

Yosef is referred to by both his proper name and two titles:

  • Yosef – Throughout most of the chapter Yosef is referred to by name.
  •  הַשַּׁלִּיט and הַמַּשְׁבִּיר – In verse 6, Yosef is referred to by two titles, "הַשַּׁלִּיט" (ruler) and הַמַּשְׁבִּיר (a provider of food). These roles match Yosef's two dreams, one of which focused on wheat and the other on the ruling constellations (and thus, Yosef's role as ruler. The titles, thus, might reflect that atthis  juncture, when the brothers come to buy food, Yosef's dream are to materialize.

Articles – For discussion of these titles, see Prof. Yonatan Grossman, יוסף: סיפורם של חלומות (Rishon LeZion, 2021) 266-267.

Allusions

  • "הכרה" – Forms of the verb “נכר” (to recognize) appear four times in verses 7-8, recalling earlier usages of this root throughout the narratives of deception that run through Yaakov’s story.2 The use of this verb thus underscores the connection of this story to the earlier tales of deception, revelation, and reconciliation in Yaakov’s life. 
  • כסף – The silver that Yosef orders returned to the brothers (42:25, 27, 35) calls to mind the silver for which Yosef was sold into slavery (37:28). Their repeated concern over it might reflect their continued feelings of guilt for the sale (as expressed in verse 22).3

Flashback

A Biblical flashback is a technique in which a piece of information is withheld until a later point in the story where it will have more impact.

  • In Bereshit 42:21, the brothers recall that Yosef cried out to them when they threw him in the pit, but they didn’t pay attention to him. This detail was not shared in Bereshit 37, the story of the sale.  In this case, the purpose is to give the reader insight into how the memory of their crime continues to plague the brothers’ consciences.
  • Articles – See וייס, מאיר. "מלאכת הסיפור במקרא" , מולד, תשכ"ג who discusses the technique, bringing many examples, including this one.4  See also The Presentation of Facts in the Narrative (2), by Prof. Yonatan Grossman, which introduces various ways that Biblical narratives present facts out of chronological order for literary reasons. One of the examples given is the flashback phenomenon, including the one in this chapter.
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