Literary Devices – Shemot 10/0

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Literary Devices – Shemot 10

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Structure

Parallels and Contrasts

Key Words

"כבד" (heavy) and "חזק" (strong)

The roots "כבד" and "חזק" appear only three times altogether in the chapter, but might be key words throughout the narrative of the Exodus.

  • Concordance – Using the concordance to trace the usage of both the verb and adjective "כבד" in Torah1 reveals how it appears throughout the Exodus narrative, marking key points in the story, from the initial "heavy" famine that causes the nation to descend to Egypt to the "great" wealth with which the nation leaves Egypt.2  Similarly, both the adjective and verbal root "חזק" repeat in the narrative, referring on one hand to Paroh's obstinance in preventing the Exodus and on the other to God's mighty hand which brings it about.
  • Articles – See R. Nathaniel Helfgot שתי מילים מנחות בסיפור יציאת מצרים, who explores the usages of the two roots כבד and חזק, showing how they demonstrate Hashem's measure for measure actions during the Exodus.

Character Titles