Literary Devices – Shemot 9/0

Literary Devices – Shemot 9

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Key Words

"כבד" (heavy) and "חזק" (strong)

The roots "כבד" and "חזק" appear only three times each in the chapter, but might be 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, 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.³

"שלח" (to send)

• Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the root “שלח” appears 12 times in this chapter. Hashem instructs Pharaoh to send out the people (verse 1) and threatens recompense if he does not do so (verse 2 ). Pharaoh sends agents to investigate the nature of the plague, and decides not to send out the people (verse 7). Hashem responds by sending His plagues (verses 14-15). Pharaoh desperately sends for Moshe and Aharon (verse 27), but ultimately does not send out the people (verse 35). Like many of the literary devices of the Exodus story, this key word emphasizes the theme that, notwithstanding man’s freedom to choose, he is ultimately an agent of God with a role to play in God’s plan.

Wordplay

Examples

• דָּבָר, וְדִבַּרְתָּ, דֶּבֶר – In Shemot 9:1-6, words containing the letters ד, ב, ר repeat five times. In verse 1, the phrase “וְדִבַּרְתָּ אֵלָיו” (verse 1) is used in place of the more common “וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו” and in verse 5-6, the phrase “הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה” (verse 5) repeats.  Both might be a play on the name of the plague, דֶּבֶר, pestilence which is the subject of the verses.
• הוֹיָה / יהו-ה –Robert Alter, in his translation of Shemot, suggests that the unusual form “הוֹיָה” (verse 3) is a pun on Hashem’s name, evoking the sense that “God’s intrinsic and unique capacity for being... is not just a matter of static condition but an awesome power of action -- the hand that ‘is about to be’ against all the livestock of Egypt.” It further serves to emphasize how this plague is brought directly by God, without the instrumentality of Aharon or Moshe lifting a staff or the like.
• שַׁלַּח / שֹׁלֵחַ – In verse 13, Hashem commands Moshe to instruct Pharaoh “Send out my people that they may serve Me,” and in the next verse, with a wordplay, He states, “For this time I am sending all of My plagues to your heart.”⁴

Articles

The following articles contain general discussion of wordplay in Tanakh:

• 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 word plays in Tanakh and in other Ancient Near Eastern texts.⁵

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

² The first four instances of the adjective 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 See also J. Jacobs, "Midda Keneged Midda Be-Sippur Ha-Mikra'i," (Alon Shevut 5766), pp. 138-140.

⁴ See above that "שלח" is a guiding word in the chapter as a whole.

⁵ See How Translation Obscured the Music and Wordplay of the Bible, by Prof. Robert Alter, for an interesting account of Prof. Alter’s efforts to capture the wordplays of the Bible in translation.