Literary Devices – Shemot 11/0

Literary Devices – Shemot 11

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Key Words

Firstborns

• Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the word “בכור” appears most frequently in this chapter, relative to the rest of Sefer Shemot and the rest of Tanakh. This is expected since the chapter introduces the plague of the firstborn. However, it also highlights the notion of "בכורה" as one of the themes of the Exodus story, as expressed in the beginning of the narrative when Hashem declares that the Israelites have the status of His firstborn (Shemot 4:22).

Preludes and Summaries

According to several commentators, several verses in our chapter are achronological and actually occurred earlier in the narrative but appear here as parenthetical statements to either introduce or summarize the narrative.

Prelude

Ibn Ezra, Shadal and R. D"Z Hoffmann explain that verses 1-3, comprising Hashem’s proclamation to Moshe about the tenth plague, are a parenthetical statement which provide background to Moshe's announcement of the plague. Hashem actually gave this information to Moshe earlier, before his confrontation with Pharaoh in Chapter 10.¹ [Ibn Ezra suggests that it is mentioned here so the reader knows that Moshe had previously been told about the plague and is not making it up on his own.]

Summary

Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, and R"Y Bekhor Shor state that verses 9 is not a warning that Paroh will harden his heart now, after the Plague of Firstborns, but rather a statement referring to what happened in the previous nine plagues. As such, verses 9-10 together comprise a summary regarding what happened throughout the bringing of all ten plagues.

Articles

• See Chronological and Thematic Order for an extensive discussion of issues of achronology in the Biblical text and how Tanakh employs parenthetical statements, preludes and conclusions to either introduce a topics or provide closure to a unit. Elsewhere achronology might serve to ensure that a storyline is not interrupted or to preserve thematic unity.

¹ This follows logically from the fact that Moshe and Paroh permanently part ways at the end of Chapter 10, but in Chapter 11 Moshe is in Pharaoh’s presence to warn him of the plague of the firstborn. This implies that Moshe’s speech to Pharaoh in Chapter 11 is a continuation of his speech in Chapter 10 and takes place before his departure from Pharaoh’s presence in 10:29, and that Hashem’s speech in 11:1-3 took place prior to the entire confrontation.