Literary Devices – Shemot 1/0

Literary Devices – Shemot 1

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Structure of Chapter 1

Chapter 1 may be divided into an introduction describing the development of the Israelite nation (1:1–7) and a main scene, "Evil Decrees" (1:8–22). For more on the structural units of the chapter and their relationship, see Structure.

Chiastic Structure – 1:1–7

The introduction (verses 1–7) can be subdivided into verses 1–5 which repeat events already told in Sefer Bereshit and verses 6–7 which move the reader to the upcoming story of Sefer Shemot. The two subunits taken together form a chiastic structure, highlighting the closing of a circle and the transition from one generation to the next.

Lead Words

Three Septuplets

U. CassutoShemot 1:7Shemot 1:14Shemot 1:21About U. Cassuto notes that the introduction and the two subsections of the main body of the chapter¹ each contain a group of words which appear seven times. These lead words highlight the main themes of each section.²

• Israel's growth rate – In verse 7, seven terms³ are used to denote Israel's fertility: "פָּרוּ‎", "וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ‎", "וַיִּרְבּוּ‎", "וַיַּעַצְמוּ‎", "בִּמְאֹד‎", "מְאֹד", and "וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם‎".⁴
• Hard work – In verses 8–14 the roots "עבד" and "פרך" appear a total of seven times (vss. 13–14)⁵ as Paroh reacts to the proliferation of the nation by enslaving them.
• Midwives – Verses 9–15 speak of the next stage in Paroh's plan, asking the midwives to kill the Israelite baby boys, and therefore the term "מילדת" (in singular or plural) appears seven times.⁶

רַב וְעָצוּם (numerous and mighty)

Paroh's inability to curb the Israelite population explosion is the main subject of the chapter, and thus "רַב וְעָצוּם"‎ is mentioned three times (1:7, 9, 20).⁷ The term "יִרְבֶּה" is mentioned in another two places, "פֶּן יִרְבֶּה" (v. 10), and "כֵּן יִרְבֶּה" (v. 12). The similarity between these phrases emphasizes how Hashem foiled Paroh's plans. – see Slavery in Stages.

חיה

The root חיה appears 5 times in the last 7 verses of the chapter.⁸ It, too, emphasizes the failure of Paroh's plan. Although Paroh attempted to kill the Israelites, the nation remained full of life.

ראה and ירא

U. CassutoShemot 1:17About U. Cassuto notes a play on words in verses 16, 17, and 21. Paroh requested the Midwives to see ("וּרְאִיתֶן"), but instead they were afraid of Hashem ("וַתִּירֶאןָ" and "יָרְאוּ"), see Yirat Elohim.

Character Titles

Chapter 1 refers to each of the children of Yaakov, the nation of Israel, Paroh and God by various names. In some instances, these variations reflect a fundamental difference of meaning, while in others they may serve a purely literary function.⁹

Yaakov's Children

Chapter 1 refers to Yaakov's children in four different ways:

• "בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" ("Children of Israel") – 1:1, perhaps 1:7.¹⁰ In speaking about the sons of Yaakov as an entire group, the general term, Children of Israel, is used.
• "רְאוּבֵן שִׁמְעוֹן…" (proper names of the sons) – 1:2–4. Though not all 70 descendants of Yaakov are listed by name (as they have already been recorded in Bereshit 46), Yaakov's actual sons merit repeated individual mention. See Lists of Twelve Tribes for a discussion of how this list compares to other similar ones.
• "יֹצְאֵי יֶרֶךְ יַעֲקֹב" (Yaakov's descendants, lit. "the ones who came from Yaakov's thigh")¹¹ – 1:5. This verse refer not only to Yaakov's twelve children, but rather to all seventy of his offspring who entered Egypt. Therefore, the more inclusive term "יֹצְאֵי יֶרֶךְ יַעֲקֹב" is used here.¹²
• "יוֹסֵף וְכָל אֶחָיו" ("Yosef and his brothers") –1:6. In this verse we are told of Yosef and his brothers' death to explain the backdrop of the slavery. As Yosef's death is the key factor, all the other brothers are referred to in relationship to him.

Israel¹³

The names used:

• "בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" ("Children of Israel") – 1:7,¹⁴ 12, 13. This is the default name used.
• "עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" ("nation of the Children of Israel") – 1:9. This is the only place this phrase appears.¹⁵ The word "עַם" is used here to emphasize that the term "בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" no longer means Yaakov's sons,¹⁶ but rather the entire Israelite nation. In addition, Paroh might be emphasizing the Israelite Problem by showing that the conflict is between two nations,¹⁷ and not only with a small family.¹⁸
• "עִבְרִיֹּת‎"¹⁹ ("Hebrews," here found in the feminine) – 1:15, 16, 19. After the slavery began, Paroh started using the derogatory term "עברי" to refer to the Jews.²⁰

Paroh

• "מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ" ("A new king") – 1:8. This verse is emphasizing the fact that the king is "new," and not that he is a Paroh or reigning in Egypt. Regarding the meaning and significance of "a new king", see New Dynasty, New King, or Same Old King.
• "פַּרְעֹה" ("Paroh") – 1:11, 19, 22. We have not been able to find a satisfactory explanation as to why the Torah alternates between Paroh and King of Egypt. If you have a working hypothesis, please email us at: resources@alhatorah.org.
• "מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם" ("King of Egypt") – 1:15, 17, 18. See above.

God

• In our chapter God is referred to exclusively as אֱ-לֹהִים, (Elohim, 1:17, 21), His generic name.²¹ In both cases, the context is the midwives' "fear of God." If one maintains that the midwives were Egyptian, it is logical that the universal name Elohim is used – see Who Are the Midwives and Yirat Elohim.²²

¹ U. CassutoShemot 1:22About U. Cassuto himself suggests that the chapter divides into three sections, with each third containing seven verses. For more, see Structure.

² See Character Titles below that terms referring to the Israelites and Paroh, the two foci of our story, are also mentioned seven times each.

³ Cf. TanchumaPekudei 9About the Tanchuma that learns from the six terms (not counting "וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם") in this verse that each mother gave birth to sextuplets.

⁴ M. Greenberg, Understanding Exodus (New York, 1969): 35–36, notes that these terms parallel the expressions of fertility mentioned previously in the promises to the Patriarchs in Sefer Bereshit (See Bereshit 17:2,6, 18:18, 22:17, 26:4, 28:14, 35:11, 48:4). These parallels highlight both that the covenants with the Patriarchs have begun to be fulfilled, but that the promise of inheriting the land, has yet to be realized. See also Relationship of Sefer Shemot to Sefer Bereshit. Greenberg (p. 32) also observes that all of the words denoting fertility (except "וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתָם") are repeated later in the chapter (see vss. 9, 10, 12, and 20 – "יִפְרֹץ", v. 12 is a combination of פָּרוּ וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ). For more see "רַב וְעָצוּם" below, and compare Tehillim 105:24, "וַיֶּפֶר אֶת עַמּוֹ מְאֹד וַיַּעֲצִמֵהוּ מִצָּרָיו".

⁵ While the root "עבד" appears over 1,200 times in Tanakh, the root "פרך" appears only four times outside this chapter.

⁶ In at least three of these occurrences, the word "מילדת" is not necessary, and the verses could have been formulated in a shorter fashion without it. Verse 18 could have read "וַיִּקְרָא מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם להן" instead of "לַמְיַלְּדֹת". Similarly, in verse 19 the word "הַמְיַלְּדֹת" could have been omitted, and "בְּטֶרֶם תָּבוֹא אֲלֵהֶן הַמְיַלֶּדֶת" could have been rephrased as "בְּטֶרֶם נבוא אֲלֵהֶן". It is noteworthy that the word "מילדת" appears in only two other places in Tanakh (Bereshit 35:17, 38:28) outside this chapter.

⁷ According to Cassuto above, who splits the chapter into three sections, each "רַב וְעָצוּם" appears in a different third of the chapter.

⁸ See R. Elhanan Samet in עיונים בפרשת השבוע, סדרה ראשונה.

⁹ See Character Titles for a general discussion of their use in Tanakh.

¹⁰ The phrase in verse 7 is ambiguous and may be referring not to Yaakov's sons but rather to the entire Israelite nation. This depends on whether the verse is still part of the summary of Sefer Bereshit (cf. Bereshit 47:27) or is referring to events after the brothers' death – see below regarding "עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל". According to the latter possibility, the narrator might be contrasting the children of Israel (Yaakov) of verse 1, with the Children of Israel (the Israelite nation), mentioned from verse 7 on.

¹¹ The term "יוצא ירך" appears only in only two other places in all of Tanakh – in the related verse in Bereshit 46:26 (also about Yaakov) and in Shofetim 8:30 (Gidon). Interestingly, all three of these verses speak of seventy sons or descendants – see Magic Numbers.

¹² As well as in Bereshit 46:26.

¹³ Note that Israel is mentioned seven times in the chapter, excluding the "children of Israel" in verse 1, which refers to the children of Yaakov. This might support the possibility that "Children of Israel" in verse 7 is speaking of the Israelite nation – see below.

¹⁴ See above and below that "בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" in verse 7 might be referring to the children of Yaakov, and not to the nation.

¹⁵ There are only two other places in Tanakh (Shemot 3:10, 7:4) where Hashem uses a similar term, "עַמִּי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל".

¹⁶ See above that "בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" in verse 7 might already refer to the Israelite nation.

¹⁷ Paroh is speaking to his "nation" ("עַמּוֹ") about the "nation" ("עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל").

¹⁸ Both explanations appear in M. Greenberg, Understanding Exodus (New York, 1969): 20.

¹⁹ See Who Are the Midwives as to whether "הָעִבְרִיֹּת" in verse 15 is an adjective describing the midwives' nationality, or a noun referring to the Israelite women.

²⁰ See U. CassutoShemot 1:15About U. Cassuto who claims that the word עברי is usually used to refer to Israelites (or their ancestors) in relation to the external world, and especially when they are slaves – see עבר. In addition, he maintains that in Akkadian the word חַ׳בִּרֻ was used to denote alien people, who usually served as servants, and in Egyptian similar terms meant people forced to work in Paroh's service – see Habiru. See however, M. Greenberg, Understanding Exodus (New York, 1969): 28, who disagrees and claims that עברי has no pejorative connotations.

²¹ The tetragrammaton (שם הוויה) does not appear at all in Shemot 1-2. See Divine Plans and Egyptian Free Choice for a discussion of the meaning of this phenomenon.

²² Cf. U. CassutoShemot 1:22About U. Cassuto who suggests that the absence of the Tetragrammaton in the first two chapters of Shemot (and the concluding chapters of Sefer Bereshit) implies that the Israelites in Egypt were unable to maintain the close bond which the Patriarchs had with Hashem.