Literary Devices – Bemidbar 11
Structure
Moshe's complaint to Hashem in verses 11-15 is arranged in a chiastic structure:
- לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתָ לְעַבְדֶּךָ וְלָמָּה לֹא מָצָתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ
- לָשׂוּם אֶת מַשָּׂא כׇּל הָעָם הַזֶּה עָלָי... כִּי תֹאמַר אֵלַי שָׂאֵהוּ בְחֵיקֶךָ
- מֵאַיִן לִי בָּשָׂר לָתֵת לְכׇל הָעָם הַזֶּה כִּי יִבְכּוּ עָלַי לֵאמֹר תְּנָה לָּנוּ בָשָׂר וְנֹאכֵלָה
- לֹא אוּכַל אָנֹכִי לְבַדִּי לָשֵׂאת אֶת כׇּל הָעָם הַזֶּה
- אִם מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ וְאַל אֶרְאֶה בְּרָעָתִי.
The structure highlights how Moshe is not simply relaying the nation's complaint about meat but framing this with his own complaint about his inability to lead.
Key Words and Sounds
The chapter contains several keywords which serve to both unify the two seemingly distinct narratives of the chapter (the nation's request for meat and Moshe's crisis of leadership) and to reveal the unit's main message.
רַע
Bemidbar 10 ends with a five-fold repetition of the root "טוב" (good). At the beginning of Bemidbar 11, there is a shift to the word “רע” (bad), which appears four times in the chapter. Additionally, the sound “רע” appears several times in etymologically unrelated words, such as in verse 3: “וַיִּקְרָא... תַּבְעֵרָה... בָעֲרָה". This switch indicates the shift from the nation’s harmonious journey in the beginning of Bemidbar to the discontent and rebellion that ultimately derails their mission.
אסף
The root אסף (to gather) appears six times in the chapter as a verb, and one more time in the noun "אסַפְסֻף" (mixed multitudes). It is used both in reference to gathering the quail and with regards to gathering the 70 elders who were to aid Moshe. The word, thus, serves to connect the two themes of the chapter: the nation's complaint about quail and Moshe's frustration with the nation.1
בשר ורוח
Together these words appear 14 times in the unit, with בשר, flesh, appearing 8 times, and "רוח", appearing 6 times. The opposing words highlight how the people's request for meat needed to be countered by an infusion of "spirit" into the camp.
Articles
- Watch Bemidbar: The Story of Two Generations, by Dr. Yael Ziegler, for discussion of the key words "good" an "bad" and what they represent about the psychology of the generation that left Egypt.
- Listen to Of Lusts and Laments (beginning at 15:24), by R. Chanoch Waxman, for contrast of Moshe’s perspective on the journey with that of the nation, as represented by the shift from “טוב” to “רע” .
- See Moshe vs. "the Lustful": Leadership in Crisis, by R. Elhanan Samet for discussion of all the keywords mentioned above and how Hashem taught Moshe that in the face of the nation's lusting and rejecting of his values, he must make the "spirit" prevail over the "flesh;" and counteract the "asafsuf" with a "gatheirng" of elders. For a similar analysis, see Alex Israel's Flesh or Spirit?
- See Leitwort (VI), by Prof. Yonatan Grossman, for analysis of the phenomenon of contrasting pairs of guiding words (like "good" and "bad") in Biblical narratives and see his Repetition of Sounds for discussion of the ways in which Tanakh makes use of the aural qualities of words (similar to the sound of “ra” in Bemidbar 11) to express themes and tones.
Word Play The word “עין” appears twice in describing the manna. The people say: “אֵין כֹּל בִּלְתִּי אֶל הַמָּן עֵינֵינוּ” (verse 6). The Torah then states that the manna was “וְהַמָּן כִּזְרַע גַּד הוּא וְעֵינוֹ כְּעֵין הַבְּדֹלַח”. The use of the same word in both phrases emphasizes the people’s choice to see the manna in the most negative light -- "בִּלְתִּי אֶל הַמָּן עֵינֵינוּ" instead of as it actually was -- “עֵינוֹ כְּעֵין הַבְּדֹלַח”.2
Character Titles
The Nation
- "העם"
- העם הזה
- עם י"י