Literary Devices – Bereshit 6-9/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 6–9

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Chiastic Structure

Chiastic structure (a-b-c-b-a) serves to delineate a narrative unit and to highlight the turning-point within the narrative. Often too, it serves to highlight reversals in a plot. In this case it traces the destruction of the world through flood, and then the waning of the flood and decision never to destroy the world again.  In the middle, God's providence is highlighted:

The Flood

A) Decision to bring the flood / covenant with Noach: קֵץ כָּל בָּשָׂר בָּא לְפָנַי... וַאֲנִי הִנְנִי מֵבִיא אֶת הַמַּבּוּל מַיִם עַל הָאָרֶץ לְשַׁחֵת... וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת בְּרִיתִי אִתָּךְ

B) Entering the Ark (Noach, family, animals): בֹּא אַתָּה וְכָל בֵּיתְךָ אֶל הַתֵּבָה... מִכֹּל הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה תִּקַּח... וַיָּבֹא נֹחַ וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּנְשֵׁי בָנָיו אִתּוֹ... מִןהַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה... גַּם מֵעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם... וּמִן הָעוֹף וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר רֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאֲדָמָה

C) Flood Strengthens (70-40-150): יְהִי לְשִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים... בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ... נִבְקְעוּ כָּל מַעְיְנֹת תְּהוֹם רַבָּה וַאֲרֻבֹּת הַשָּׁמַיִם נִפְתָּחוּ... וַיְהִי הַמַּבּוּל אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם עַל הָאָרֶץ וַיִּרְבּוּ הַמַּיִם... וַיְכֻסּוּ כָּל הֶהָרִים... וַיִּגְבְּרוּ הַמַּיִם עַל הָאָרֶץ חֲמִשִּׁים וּמְאַת יוֹם

D) Turning Point: God's Providence: וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱ-לֹהִים אֶת נֹחַ וְאֵת כָּל הַחַיָּה וְאֶת כָּל הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ בַּתֵּבָה 

C') Flood Abates (150-40-7): וַיִּסָּכְרוּ מַעְיְנֹת תְּהוֹם וַאֲרֻבֹּת הַשָּׁמָיִם... וַיַּחְסְרוּ הַמַּיִם מִקְצֵה חֲמִשִּׁים וּמְאַת יוֹם... וְהַמַּיִם הָיוּ הָלוֹךְ וְחָסוֹר... נִרְאוּ רָאשֵׁי הֶהָרִים. וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם... וַיָּחֶל עוֹד שִׁבְעַת יָמִים... וּבַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בְּשִׁבְעָה וְעֶשְׂרִים יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ יָבְשָׁה הָאָרֶץ

B') Leaving the Ark (Noach, family, animals): צֵא מִן הַתֵּבָה אַתָּה וְאִשְׁתְּךָ וּבָנֶיךָ וּנְשֵׁי בָנֶיךָ אִתָּךְ. כָּל הַחַיָּה... בָּעוֹף וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ... וַיֵּצֵא נֹחַ וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּנְשֵׁי בָנָיו אִתּוֹ. כָּל הַחַיָּה כָּל הָרֶמֶשׂ וְכָל הָעוֹף כֹּל רוֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ... וַיִּקַּח מִכֹּל הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהֹרָה וּמִכֹּל הָעוֹף הַטָּהוֹר

A') Covenant with Noach / Decision not to bring another flood: וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת בְּרִיתִי אִתְּכֶם וְלֹא יִכָּרֵת כָּל בָּשָׂר עוֹד מִמֵּי הַמַּבּוּל וְלֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד מַבּוּל לְשַׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ

Articles

• See R. Elchanan Samet's סיפור המבול - מבנהו המשוכלל for discussion of the unit's structure.  Though R. Samet also notes a chiasm in the unit, its details differ from the one drawn above.

Wordplay (לשון נופל על לשון)

Sin and Punishment

In Parashat Noach, the language with which Hashem promises destruction plays on and parallels the language with which humanity’s sins are described.  In this case, the purpose of the wordplay is to underscore man’s unwitting responsibility for his own fate: 

• Sin – וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ חָמָס. (בראשית ו':י"א)
• Punishment –  קֵץ כׇּל בָּשָׂר בָּא לְפָנַי כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ חָמָס מִפְּנֵיהֶם וְהִנְנִי מַשְׁחִיתָם אֶת הָאָרֶץ. (בראשית ו':י"ג)

Spilling Blood

Another example of wordplay is found in Bereshit 9:6 which employs a string of similar sounds and punning, playing with  the similar words for “man” (אָדָם) and “blood” (דַּם) and arranging all in a short chiasm:

• שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ

Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the three most frequent words in Bereshit 9:1-7 (the blessings of Noach) are אָדָם, דַּם, and יָד, further illustrating the emphasis on similar sounds in this section.

Articles The following articles contain general discussion of wordplay in the Biblical text:

• See Wordplay in Biblical Hebrew: An Eclectic Collection, by Gary A. Rendsburg, for exploration of various forms of Biblical wordplays.
• See Wordplay in Ancient Near Eastern Texts, by Scott B. Noegel, for a book-length treatment of the range of permutations of wordplays in Tanakh and in other Ancient Near Eastern texts.
• See How Translation Obscured the Music and Wordplay of the Bible, by Robert Alter, for an interesting account of Dr. Alter’s efforts to capture the wordplays of the Bible in translation.

Keywords

Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the three words that appear with greatest frequency in the story of the flood (Bereshit 6:5-9:29) are: אֶרֶץ, תֵּבָה, and מַיִם, and when looking at relative frequency compared to the rest of Tanakh, also מבול. Given the plot of the story, this is somewhat expected.

תֵּבָה

This word appears a full 26 times in the narrative, with the only other appearances of the word in all of Tanakh being in the story of baby Moshe in the Nile.

אֶרֶץ and  מַיִם

Together, these two words appear close to 70 times in the unit. Interestingly, the pair also appear a very significant number of times in the Creation narrative of Bereshit 1-2:3 (over 30 times).¹

מַבּוּל

This word appears nine times in the unit, and only four more times in all of Tanakh, in each case referencing the Flood of our chapters. This suggests that, as Hashem promised, though rain might abound, no other storm is bad enough to merit the title "מַבּוּל".

Articles

• See the end of R. Elchanan Samet's סיפור המבול - מבנהו המשוכלל where he discusses the repetition of the words "מים" and "ארץ" and how their distribution throughout the story contributes both to its structure and to the idea that the story of the Flood is an undoing and remaking of creation.
• For an overview of the use of key words in the Biblical text, see Martin Buber’s דרכו של מקרא: עיונים בדפוסי-סגנון בתנ”ך.  For some online resources with discussion of the various functions and characteristics of key words and many examples, see The Multi-Purpose ‘Leading Word’ and the Problems of Its Usage, by Yairah Amit and Jeffrey M. Green, and Leitwort by Professor Yonatan Grossman.

Allusions

Blessing to Adam and Noach

Hashem's blessing to Noach after the Flood alludes back to and parallels Hashem's blessing to Adam. [See the Tanakh Lab to compare the two.] The many linguistic similarities highlight the places where the two blessings differ: the introduction of the verb "שרץ" (swarm) in describing man's proliferation,² the replacing of man's dominion over the animal kingdom with fear, and most significantly, the new permission to eat meat.

Articles

•  See The First World and the Second by Prof. Yonatan Grossman for an exploration of the parallels between the two blessings (and the Creation and Flood stories as a whole). Y. Grossman suggests that the differences might demonstrates the downgrading of man’s stature after the flood.
• See Permission to Eat Meat for an overview of commentators’ understandings of this apparent change to man’s mission after the flood.

Triple "ויאמר"

In many verses, one finds that the word "וַיֹּאמֶר" is mentioned twice despite there not being an an intervening response or explicit change in speaker in between. This might indicate resistance or opposition of some sort on the part of the other participants in the conversation.

Bereshit 9:8-17

• The first example of this convention is found in Bereshit 9:8-17. In verse 8 Hashem promises Noach not to send another flood. This is followed by another statement in verse 12, introduced by a second "וַיֹּאמֶר", that the rainbow will be the sign of the covenant, and then by a third "וַיֹּאמֶר" statement in verse 17 where the sign is confirmed.

Articles

• See Robert Alter³, The Hebrew Bible: A Trasnlation and Commentary, (New York, 2019) who explains the repetition: “Here, God flatly states His promise never to destroy the world again. The flood-battered Noah evidently needs further reassurance, so God goes on ... to offer the rainbow as an outward token of His covenant.”
• For general discussion of the phenomenon of a "double Vayomer", secondary literature, and many other examples, see Redundancy and notes there.

¹ See the Tanakh Lab that the chapter most linguistically similar to the Flood narrative is Bereshit 1. For discussion of the parallels see Undoing and Redoing Creation and for other articles, see Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 6-9.

² In Bereshit 1 this appeared only in the context of animal reproduction.

³ See his commentary to Sefer Bereshit.