Difference between revisions of "Literary Devices – Shemot 3/0"
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<div><b><center><span class="highlighted-notice">This topic has not yet undergone editorial review</span></center></b></div> | <div><b><center><span class="highlighted-notice">This topic has not yet undergone editorial review</span></center></b></div> | ||
<category>Type Scenes | <category>Type Scenes | ||
| − | Robert Alter has identified a convention of Biblical narrative in which a basic narrative sequence appears multiple times in Tanakh, each time with modifications that serve the needs of the specific unit. Paying attention to the deviations from the expected template often reveals the hidden messages of the individual story. | + | <p>Robert Alter has identified a convention of Biblical narrative in which a basic narrative sequence appears multiple times in Tanakh, each time with modifications that serve the needs of the specific unit. Paying attention to the deviations from the expected template often reveals the hidden messages of the individual story.</p> |
<subcategory>Initiation Prophecies | <subcategory>Initiation Prophecies | ||
| − | One of the prominent type-scenes in Tanakh is the נבואת הקדשה (a prophet’s first prophecy). It is fruitful to compare and contrast Moshe’s initial prophecy with that of others, such as Gidon (Shofetim Chapter 6), Shemuel (Shemuel I Chapter 3), Yeshayahu (Yeshayahu Chapter 6), Yirmeyahu (Yirmeyahu Chapter 1), and Yechezkel (Yechezkel Chapter 1). | + | <p>One of the prominent type-scenes in Tanakh is the נבואת הקדשה (a prophet’s first prophecy). It is fruitful to compare and contrast Moshe’s initial prophecy with that of others, such as Gidon (Shofetim Chapter 6), Shemuel (Shemuel I Chapter 3), Yeshayahu (Yeshayahu Chapter 6), Yirmeyahu (Yirmeyahu Chapter 1), and Yechezkel (Yechezkel Chapter 1).</p> |
</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
<subcategory>Articles | <subcategory>Articles | ||
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</category> | </category> | ||
<category>Parallelism | <category>Parallelism | ||
| − | Parallelism is sometimes used to impart poetic formality and import to speech, as in the following phrases from Hashem’s speech to Moshe in 3:15-17. | + | <p>Parallelism is sometimes used to impart poetic formality and import to speech, as in the following phrases from Hashem’s speech to Moshe in 3:15-17.</p> |
<subcategory>Examples | <subcategory>Examples | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
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</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
<subcategory>Secondary Literature | <subcategory>Secondary Literature | ||
| − | For more information about the nature of Biblical parallelism, see Dr. Mayer I. Gruber’s article, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20689374?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">The Meaning of Biblical Parallelism: A Biblical Perspective </a>and Dr. Adele Berlin’s <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23503350?searchText=&searchUri=&ab_segments=&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3A597a674cac61fd731f453302a133d0b9">Grammatical Aspects of Biblical Parallelism</a>. Other resources (not available online) are Dr. Robert Alter’s <i>The Art of Biblical Poetry</i> pp. 3-61, Dr. Adele Berlin’s <i>The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism</i>, and Dr. James Kugel’s <i>The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History</i>. | + | <p>For more information about the nature of Biblical parallelism, see Dr. Mayer I. Gruber’s article, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20689374?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">The Meaning of Biblical Parallelism: A Biblical Perspective </a>and Dr. Adele Berlin’s <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23503350?searchText=&searchUri=&ab_segments=&searchKey=&refreqid=fastly-default%3A597a674cac61fd731f453302a133d0b9">Grammatical Aspects of Biblical Parallelism</a>. Other resources (not available online) are Dr. Robert Alter’s <i>The Art of Biblical Poetry</i> pp. 3-61, Dr. Adele Berlin’s <i>The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism</i>, and Dr. James Kugel’s <i>The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History</i>.</p> |
</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
Version as of 12:04, 9 August 2023
Literary Devices – Shemot 3
Type Scenes
Robert Alter has identified a convention of Biblical narrative in which a basic narrative sequence appears multiple times in Tanakh, each time with modifications that serve the needs of the specific unit. Paying attention to the deviations from the expected template often reveals the hidden messages of the individual story.
Initiation Prophecies
One of the prominent type-scenes in Tanakh is the נבואת הקדשה (a prophet’s first prophecy). It is fruitful to compare and contrast Moshe’s initial prophecy with that of others, such as Gidon (Shofetim Chapter 6), Shemuel (Shemuel I Chapter 3), Yeshayahu (Yeshayahu Chapter 6), Yirmeyahu (Yirmeyahu Chapter 1), and Yechezkel (Yechezkel Chapter 1).
Articles
- See Shemuel’s Consecration Prophecy by R. Amnon Bazak for comparison of Moshe’s and Shemuel’s consecration prophecies.
- See Before I Formed You in the Belly I Knew You: Yirmiyahu’s Prophecy of Consecration, by R. David Sabato, for analysis of the essential components of prophecies of consecration, with a focus on Yirmeyahu.
Symbolism
Water
Water is an important symbol in the narrative of Moshe.
- He begins his life by taking refuge near water twice (Shemot 2:3 and 2:15).
- The Nile features prominently in the story of the plagues, and the Splitting of the Sea is the climax of the Exodus narrative.
- Moshe leads the Israelites out of a nation known for its fecundity due to its plentiful water source into an arid desert and ultimately to a land flowing with milk and honey but not with water.
- Moshe’s need to provide water for the people features in several pivotal stories. In this context, it is significant that Moshe’s first encounter with Hashem takes place deep in the desert (“אחר המדבר”) and with a symbol of fire.
- The significance of the symbol of water and lack of water perhaps lies in Moshe’s message that water -- essential to life, and representing the power, wealth, and self-sufficiency of Egypt -- is not as important as fealty to God.
Parallelism
Parallelism is sometimes used to impart poetic formality and import to speech, as in the following phrases from Hashem’s speech to Moshe in 3:15-17.
Examples
- זֶה־שְּׁמִ֣י לְעֹלָ֔ם / וְזֶ֥ה זִכְרִ֖י לְדֹ֥ר דֹּֽר
- יְהֹוָ֞ה אֱלֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ נִרְאָ֣ה אֵלַ֔י / אֱלֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם יִצְחָ֥ק וְיַעֲקֹ֖ב
Secondary Literature
For more information about the nature of Biblical parallelism, see Dr. Mayer I. Gruber’s article, The Meaning of Biblical Parallelism: A Biblical Perspective and Dr. Adele Berlin’s Grammatical Aspects of Biblical Parallelism. Other resources (not available online) are Dr. Robert Alter’s The Art of Biblical Poetry pp. 3-61, Dr. Adele Berlin’s The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism, and Dr. James Kugel’s The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History.
