Literary Devices – Shemot 6/0

Literary Devices – Shemot 6

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Chiastic Structure

Nechama Leibowitz has noted that Hashem's speech to Moshe in 6:2-8 has a chiastic structure, lending it a formal, majestic air. The middle verses mark the turning point, Hashem's promise of redemption, where the nation will move from being slaves to Paroh to being servants of Hashem.

Structure

 A - I am Hashem - אֲנִי י״י  (verse 2)

 B - Mention of Patriarchs (verse 3) 

C - Promise of land (verse 4) 

D - Description of servitude to Egypt (verse 5) 

D - Promise of redemption from servitude; becoming God's nation (verses 6-7) 

C - Promise of land (verse 8) 

B - Mention of Patriarchs (verse 8) 

A - I am Hashem – אֲנִי י״י  (verse 8)

Secondary Literature

• Nechama Leibowitz discusses this structure both in her Gilyonot on the parasha, and in עיונים חדשים בספר שמות (ירושלים): 85-88.  She notes that the unit divides into two halves: Hashem's message to Moshe (1-5) and the message Moshe is supposed to relay to Israel (6-8). There is a four-fold repetition of the phrase "אני ה', at the beginning, the end, and twice in the middle, framing the turning point, Hashem's promise of redemption.
• See also  R. Elchanan Samet’s נאום ה’ בראש הפרשה: מבנהו ומשמעותו for in-depth analysis of the speech, suggesting a similar structure to that of N. Leibowitz.

Techniques of Repetition

Resumptive Repetition

• Resumptive repetition refers to a literary feature by which Tanakh returns to a previous topic after an interruption of the narrative. In this chapter, verses 29-30 refer back to verses 11-12, resuming the narrative that was interrupted by a genealogical list. See Rashi on 6:29, who points out the resumptive repetition.

Secondary Literature

• For discussion of this literary technique see Redundancy and the corresponding interactive module.