Literary Devices – Bereshit 49/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 49

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Wordplay

There are many examples of wordplay in Yaakov's blessings to his sons in Bereshit 49.

• Verse 1 opens, "וַיִּקְרָא יַעֲקֹב אֶל בָּנָיו ", and continues "וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא אֶתְכֶם בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים", with the verse using two words which look and sound indentical, yet have different meanings (to call and to happen).
• Verse 16 plays with the name Dan and the verb "לדון", as Yaakov blesses: "דָּן יָדִין עַמּוֹ".
• The entire blessing to Gad in verse 19 is an extended play on sounds: "גָּד גְּדוּד יְגוּדֶנּוּ וְהוּא יָגֻד עָקֵב"

Parallelism

Parallelism refers to a structure in which adjacent phrases mirror each other. This is a common feature in Biblical poetry, and thus, virtually every verse of Yaakov’s blessings is structured in such a manner:

Examples

Several, of many, examples follow:

• הִקָּבְצוּ וְשִׁמְעוּ בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב / וְשִׁמְעוּ אֶל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲבִיכֶם (verse 2)
• רְאוּבֵן בְּכֹרִי אַתָּה כֹּחִי וְרֵאשִׁית אוֹנִי / יֶתֶר שְׂאֵת וְיֶתֶר עָז (verse 3)
• כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ אִישׁ / וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ שׁוֹר (verse 6)
• אָרוּר אַפָּם כִּי עָז / וְעֶבְרָתָם כִּי קָשָׁתָה (verse 7)
• אֹסְרִי לַגֶּפֶן עִירֹה וְלַשֹּׂרֵקָה בְּנִי אֲתֹנוֹ (verse 11)
• וַיַּרְא מְנֻחָה כִּי טוֹב וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ כִּי נָעֵמָה (verse 15)
• יְהִי דָן נָחָשׁ עֲלֵי דֶרֶךְ / שְׁפִיפֹן עֲלֵי אֹרַח (verse 17)

Secondary Literature

• For more information about the nature of Biblical parallelism, see Dr. Mayer I. Gruber’s article The Meaning of Biblical Parallelism: A Biblical Perspective and Dr. Adele Berlin’s Grammatical Aspects of Biblical Parallelism.
• Other resources (not available online) include: Dr. Robert Alter’s The Art of Biblical Poetry pp. 3-61, Dr. Adele Berlin’s The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism, and Dr. James Kugel’s The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History.

Symbolism

Yaakov makes use of many symbols in his blessings:

• Rushing water as a symbol of impetuousness (49:4) 
• A lion as a symbol of regal strength (49:9) 
• A donkey as a symbol of a hard worker (49:14) 
• A snake as a symbol of one who conducts a surprise attack (49:17) 
• A doe as a symbol of speed (49:21). Commentators debate to what this speed refers: quick growth of crops (Rashi), fast and agile warriors (Rashbam), or speedy messengers in wartime (Hizkuni).  
• A fruitful bough as a symbol of blessings, beauty, and success (49:22). The meaning of this phrase, and of Yosef’s whole blessing, is subject to much interpretation; see Yaakov's Blessing of Yosef for approaches to understanding the blessing. 
• A wolf as a symbol of stealthy strength (49:27)

Allusions Many of Yaakov's blessings contain allusions to past events:

• See Rashi that Yaakov's words to Yehuda "מִטֶּרֶף בְּנִי עָלִיתָ " (Bereshit 49:9) should be translated: “From the prey of my son, you mounted” (or “rose up”),¹ containing a veiled reference to the sale of Yosef, who is declared dead with the words “טרף טרף”.² 
• The blessing of Dan, who is compared to a snake (יְהִי דָן נָחָשׁ עֲלֵי דֶרֶךְ שְׁפִיפֹן עֲלֵי אֹרַח הַנֹּשֵׁךְ עִקְּבֵי סוּס וַיִּפֹּל רֹכְבוֹ אָחוֹר.), contains allusions to the curse of the snake in Parashat Bereshit (הוּא יְשׁוּפְךָ רֹאשׁ וְאַתָּה תְּשׁוּפֶנּוּ עָקֵב).  This might hint to the ongoing, seemingly eternal enmity with foreign enemies, especially the Philistines, with which Dan’s fighters will have to contend: 
• clicking on the word “vayistemuhu” (“they hated him”) in the blessing of Yosef (49:23), one can see that this word appears two other times in Chumash, always in the context of animosity between brothers.  Once it refers to the relationship of Esav and Yaakov, and once to the relationship between Yosef and his brothers.  The word thus may contain an allusion to the hatred of Yosef’s brothers, whose consequence he overcame. Ibn Ezra likewise interprets this word as referring to the sale of Yosef.   Note that there are many interpretive approaches to the question of the events alluded to in this verse; see Yaakov’s Blessing of Yosef for approaches to understanding the blessing.

¹ Cf. Ibn Ezra who understands the phrase to mean, "From prey, my son, you have gone up" or Radak: "due to [your abundant] prey, you will be elevated".

² Interpreted this way, this phrase includes an allusion to Yehuda’s disgraced beginnings as well as the leadership he subsequently assumed so effectively.