Literary Devices – Bereshit 49/0
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Literary Devices – Bereshit 49
Structure
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 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)
