Literary Devices – Shemot 33/0

Literary Devices – Shemot 33

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Key Words

פנים

• The Tanakh Lab demonstrates that various forms of the noun "פָּנִים" appear ten times in this chapter.  The word first appears in the statement that an angel, rather than Hashem, will guide the people; it then comes up in the context of the revelations to Moshe and his requests that Hashem's face (and not an angel) accompany them.  This key word reflects the chapter’s theme of seeking Hashem’s presence and revelation after the sin of the calf.  

עדי

• The Tanakh Lab demonstrates that, though the word "עדי" (adornment) appears only three times in the chapter, it is 199 times more prevalent here than elsewhere in Tanakh, suggesting that it is a significant word in the unit.¹ The verses highlight how the nation needed to remove the adornments they wore at Sinai during revelation, symbolic perhaps of a lowering of their status or mourning.   

Wordplay

עדי / עד / מועד

See above that the word "עדי" (adornment) might be one of the key words of the passage. Several have suggested that there might also be wordplay associated with the noun:²

• עדי / עד – Cassuto suggests that "עדי" is a play on words with “עד” (witness/ testimony). The nation had worn these adornments at Mount Sinai during revelation, and they perhaps served as testimony to the covenant.  After sinning, though, the people were no longer worthy of bearing testimony to the covenant, and so they needed to remove their adornments.³
• עדי / מועד – Amos Hakham⁴ suggests that “אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד” (verse 7) constitutes a play on words with “עדי”, conveying to the people that it (not their jewelry) is the real national treasure. 

לך רד / נחה / עלה

• Amos Hakham notes that in Chapters 32-33, Hashem states three different commands to Moshe that begin with the word “לך”. The first reads: “לך רד”, the next: “לך נחה,” and the final one: “לך עלה” (see 32:7, 32:34, 33:1). Together, these trace Hashem's initial anger and final forgiveness, a process which opens with “go down” but culminates with “go up”.⁵   

Artistic Repetition 

Triple "ויאמר" Verses 19-21 each begin by introducing Hashem’s speech with the word “ויאמר” without any intervening response or change in speaker.  Many times in Tanakh, this phenomenon implies resistance or opposition of some sort on the part of the other participants in the conversation.  In this case, it may underscore that Hashem does not fully accede to Moshe’s request, "Show me your glory", and instead states in three different ways, with increasing specificity, how He will appear to Moshe. 

Articles For discussion of the general phenomenon of the "doubled Vayomer" with many examples and varying explanations of the need for such repetition, see: Redundancy. For a comprehensive discussion, see מאיר שילוח, "ויאמר... ויאמר", ספר קורנגרין (תשכ"ד): 251-267.

¹ The noun appears no where else in Torah but in this chapter.

² The following works contain general discussion of wordplay in the Biblical text:

• See Wordplay in Biblical Hebrew: An Eclectic Collection, by Gary A. Rendsburg, for exploration of various forms of Biblical wordplays.
• See Wordplay in Ancient Near Eastern Texts, by Scott B. Noegel, for a book-length treatment of the range of permutations of wordplays in Tanakh and in other Ancient Near Eastern texts. 
• See How Translation Obscured the Music and Wordplay of the Bible, by Robert Alter, for an interesting account of Dr. Alter’s efforts to capture the wordplays of the Bible in translation.  

³ Cassuto suggests that the removal of the jewelry was, thus, parallel to the breaking of the Tablets.

⁴ See Da'at Mikra Shemot (Jerusalem, 1991): 316-317.

⁵ Furthermore, in the first command the nation’s destination of Israel is not mentioned (as Hashem is still intent on the sin), in the second it is referred to obliquely as “אֶל אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי לָךְ”, and finally it is called “אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָם”  The increasingly explicit emphasis on the gift of the land of Israel reflects Hashem’s growing forgiveness of the people, a process which continues in Chapter 34.