Literary Devices – Shemot 12/0

Literary Devices – Shemot 12

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Key Words

בית ומשקוף

• Tanakh Lab – The word “בית” is the second most frequently appearing word in the chapter, repeating 16 times. The word “מַשְׁקוֹף,” also associated with the house, appears only three times, but no where else in Tanakh, making it a significant word as well. This emphasizes the significance of the Jewish home in the context of the Exodus story.  

• Articles – Several articles touch on these keywords:
• In both R. Amnon Bazak’s article, The Meaning of the Korban Pesach and  Prof. Yonatan Grossman’s The Korban Pesach: Defining Israel as God’s People the authors analyze the nature of the Pesach ritual, questioning whether it constituted a sacrifice or a festive meal. Both notesthat during the exodus story, the home was transformed into an altar, playing a key role in the rite. Though the Pesach is an expression of a national covenant with God, it was originally performed in family units, in the home, for the sanctity and centrality of the home is crucial part of the formation of the nation.
• See Lot’s “Pesach” And Its Significance by R. Yoel Bin-Nun, or the Hebrew version פסח מצרים ופסח סדום, in which the author compares the stories of the destruction of Sedom and the Exodus from Egypt, noting that in both the home plays a central role as a haven within a corrupt society. 

"כבד" (heavy) and "חזק" (strong)

The roots "כבד" and "חזק" appear only once each in the chapter, but serve as 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 Prof. Yonatan Grossman's Leitwort who discusses the phenomenon of keywords as a whole,³ bringing "כבד" as one example, and R. Nathaniel Helfgot שתי מילים מנחות בסיפור יציאת מצרים, who explores the usages of the two roots כבד and חזק.  Both authors note how the repetition of the roots demonstrates Hashem's measure for measure actions during the Exodus.⁴

Symbolism

Blood is an important symbol in the story of the Exodus, related to both punishment and covenant / redemption. 

• Blood appears twice in Shemot 4, first in the context of the miracle of turning water to blood and then in the story of the circumcision of Moshe’s son. 
• Later in the narrative, the plagues begin with blood.
• In Shemot 12, the Israelites smear the blood of the Passover offering on their doorposts, leading into the actual exodus from Egypt.⁵
• Blood, thus, represents Hashem’s violent confrontation with Paroh and the culture of Egypt. Moreover, the alternating symbols of blood as punitive plague and blood as symbol of the covenant (both circumcision and the Paschal sacrifice) hint to the underlying theme of the Exodus as representing the transition from being slaves of Paroh to being servants of Hashem.

¹ One can check both the adjective and verbal forms of the root.

² The first four instances of the root relate to the oppressive famine that initially sent the Israelites to Egypt. The word is then used to describe the shared Israelite and Egyptian mourning for Yaakov, representing the point at which the Israelites were welcomed into Egyptian society. In the narrative of the Exodus in Shemot, the word is used in several contexts: to describe Moshe’s lack of eloquence, the oppressive, unparalleled nature of the plagues, the obduracy of Paroh, the wealth with which the Israelites left Egypt, and the honor which is given to God through His miracles.

³ For other articles discussing the use of key words in the Biblical text, see Martin Buber’s דרכו של מקרא: עיונים בדפוסי-סגנון בתנ”ך, and The Multi-Purpose ‘Leading Word’ and the Problems of Its Usage, by Yairah Amit and Jeffrey M. Green.

⁴ See also J. Jacobs, "Midda Keneged Midda Be-Sippur Ha-Mikra'i," (Alon Shevut 5766), pp. 138-140.

⁵ In his commentary on the Torah, Prof. Robert Alter points out that the language of the instruction to touch the blood to the lintel (12:22) is parallel to the language that describes Zipporah’s touching her son’s foreskin to Moshe's feet (4:25), in another story having to do with the symbol of blood. This strengthens the connection between these two narratives in which the symbol of blood relates to the covenant between Hashem and the Israelites.