Deceptive Resolution
LITERARY
STUDY OF BIBLICAL NARRATIVE
By Rav Dr.
Yonatan
Grossman
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This
series is dedicated to the refuah sheleimah of
our dear
mother
עטל רחל בת פעראל
by Frieda
and Dovid Wadler
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Lecture #18:
Deceptive Resolution
The issue of narrative demarcation, which we have discussed in the past
few lectures, has a number of ancillary phenomena. The most important of them
relate to the significance of the order and organization of facts in the
narrative and to the significance of the literary structure, and to these we
will dedicate the lectures that follow the present one. In todays lecture, I
wish to draw the readers attention to an interesting phenomenon that is not
particularly common in Scripture but is nevertheless important in the context of
the hidden reading of the story.
In the domain of music, we speak of deceptive cadence and irregular
resolution; in the domain of literature, we may speak of a deceptive
resolution. This device indicates a point at which the narrative seems to end
but does not. (There may also be a deceptive introduction.) In other words, on
the surface, it appears to the reader that the narrative begins or ends at a
certain point, but in fact these are only imaginary beginnings or endings.
This is not a trivial matter. Narrative demarcation is one of the
fundamentals that contribute to the stability of the reading. If the reader
lacks knowledge of where to start reading and where to finish, he loses
confidence in the narrative, in the process of reading and determining its
significance. Even so, and perhaps specifically because of this, challenging the
boundaries can allude to hidden interpretations that reflect the dynamic process
of reading.
The Book of Yehoshua
A good example of this is the Book of Yehoshua which, as Daniel Hawk
writes, tries to conclude but does not succeed.[1] According to Hawks view, the story
of the altar built on the East Bank of the Jordan (ch. 22) constitutes an
appropriate closing for the book, at the beginning of which the East Bank tribes
(Gad, Reuven, and half of Menasheh) are also mentioned (1:12-18), creating a
sort of inclusio.[2]
Hawk even suggests (based on the commentary of Polzin and Jobling) that
one should view the conflict regarding the two-and-a-half tribes altar as the
response to one of the basic questions of the book: who is in and who is out?
Throughout the length of the book, this question comes up in relationship to the
obligation Do not let any soul live (Devarim 20:16), contrasted with
the fact that so many Canaanites remain; it is deeply involved in stories of
Rachav and the Givonim. However, up until this point, the question arises only
as regards the feasibility (or lack thereof) of people not from the seed of
Israel remaining within its territory. At this point, as a closing, the question
is asked from the opposite direction are the tribes of Israel who inherit on
the East Bank of the Jordan going outside?[3]
Naturally, it would have been appropriate to conclude the book at this
point. However, immediately after the description of the two-and-a-half tribes
altar, the reader encounters an additional story Yehoshuas farewell speech
(ch. 23). This chapter also has a dimension of resolution and summation, as this
is a speech that represents the essential hero of the book, the leader who seals
the era. However, to the readers surprise, the book does not conclude here
either, and immediately after Yehoshuas speech another story appears the
covenant in Shekhem (ch. 24).
In Hawks view, one should see the triple conclusion of this book as a
literary tool wielded intentionally, reflecting the inability to overcome the
national disintegration and insubordination, until there is a need for an
additional inspirational speech and an additional covenant even after the main
story has in fact ended. Thus, we
have two consecutive deceptive resolutions at the end of the Book of Yehoshua.
The Book of Esther
In a similar way, the Book of Esther clearly has two conclusions. After Mordekhais letters are sent,
the classic concluding verses follow:
Therefore these days were called Purim, from the
word pur, because of everything written in this letter and because of
what they had seen and what had happened to them. The Jews took it upon
themselves to establish the custom that they and their seed and all who join
them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way
prescribed and at the time appointed.
These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every
family, and in every province, and in every city.
And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews,
nor should the memory of them die out among their seed.
At this stage of reading, it is clear to the reader that the narrative
ends with the peoples consent to Mordekhais request to celebrate the days of
Purim; indeed, this is how the holiday is celebrated in every place and location
and in each and every generation.
However, to the readers surprise, the book does not conclude at this
stage, and surprisingly the reader is finds additional letters being sent by
Esther and Mordekhai (9:29 ff.): So Queen Ester, daughter of Avichayil, along
with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter
of Purim. The narrator alludes to the surprise in sending this letter, calling
it this second letter of Purim in other words, Mordekhai and Esther once
again send letters establishing this holiday.
It may very well be that the deceptive resolution in this situation
represents the development of reality, in terms of both plot and history, and
that we are not talking about a simple literary game. In other words, it may be that the
story of Esther indeed concludes with Mordekhais letters, but after a number of
years, it became clear that the first letters were not enough. Many of the
people did not celebrate the days of Purim (or celebrate only the fourteenth of
Adar), and Mordekhai and Esther were therefore compelled to send another,
conciliatory letter words of peace and truth (9:30). Even if we are talking about a
literary technique, the aim is similar: creating the impression that the holiday
was not easily accepted. After the reader
believes that the narrative has concluded with the holidays acceptance by the
Jews of the Diaspora (and even in the Land of Israel!), the reader is surprised
to learn that this is not the case; additional efforts were required, with much
due diligence, to convince world Jewry to accept the holiday.
It may be that beyond the double conclusion, the reader is invited to
look into the hidden tension between the Jewish center in Shushan and the Jewish
center in the Land of Israel. The latter apparently found it difficult to
celebrate and commemorate a special day (the fifteenth of Adar) for the
salvation of the Jews of Shushan, those who did not immigrate to Israel and
chose to remain in exile.[4]
Yosef and Potifars Wife
The phenomenon of deceptive resolution or deceptive introduction is also
found in lone stories, not just in full books (such as Yehoshua and Esther).
For example, in the story of Yosef and Potifars wife, the common opening
formula of the Book of Bereishit appears: After these things (Bereishit
39:7). Wherever this heading appears in Tanakh, it introduces a new unit,
but not here; here, the heading brings the reader from the stage of exposition
to the stage of action. By integrating this opening formula within the
narrative, not at the beginning of the literary unit, the narrator turns what is
described in the first stage (in the case before us, in the exposition) to an
independent story, which must be judged on its own. In other words, the
presentation of Yosefs success in the house of his Egyptian master does not
come only in order to prepare the ground for the essence of the plot (Yosefs
withstanding the enticement of Potifars wife and his ending up in prison as a
result). Rather, one should see the description of Yosefs success as a unit of
inherent significance that contributes to the narrative of Yosef in Egypt.
Let us examine the verses of the exposition (39:1-6) as standing on their
own. First, a verse (39:1) is brought that brings the reader back to the
continuity of the plot, after it has been cut off with the story of Yehuda and
Tamar (Ch. 38):
And Yosef was brought down to Egypt, and Potifar,
Pharaohs official, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian man, bought him from
the hand of Ishmaelites who brought him down there.
After this, the verse describes at great length the success of Yosef in
Potifars house. This description is composed of three parts: first, Yosefs
success is described from the point of view of the narrator (A-B-C, the
objective description); after that, this success is described from the point of
view of Potifar (A1-B1-C1); and finally, Gods
blessing for Yosef spreads even to Potifar and to his house (A2-B2-C2):
A. And God was with Yosef,
B. And he was a successful man
C. And he was in the house of his
Egyptian master.
A1. And his master
saw that God was with him;
B1. And everything which he did, God
made successful in his hand.
C1. Yosef found favor in his eyes,
and he served him, and he appointed him over his house, and he put in his hand
everything he had.
And it was, from the time he appointed
him in his house and over everything he had,
A2. God blessed the Egyptian's house on
Yosef's behalf;
B2. God's blessing was in everything he
had, in the house and in the field
C2. So he left in Yosefs hand everything
he had; and he knew nothing of what he did except the bread that he ate.
And Yosef was of beautiful form and
beautiful appearance.
First, we must note that these verses obviously constitute an exposition
for the continuation of the narrative. It is significant that the last fact
noted is And Yosef was of beautiful form and beautiful appearance, a fact that
prepares the ground for the desire of Potifars wife to sleep with Yosef. Beyond
this, the use of the term hand as a leitwort in these verses (made
successful in his hand
he put in his hand
so he left in Yosefs
hand everything he had) echoes through the continuation of the story,
when Yosef leaves his garment in her hand (v. 12) the hand of Potifars wife
when he flees her advances. Furthermore, the description of Yosefs success
given to the reader in the exposition is repeated in the continuation of the
narrative by Yosef himself when he protests to Potifars wife (vv. 8-9).
Thus, as we have said, these verses have an independent meaning and
importance for the development of the plot of Yosef, well beyond their purpose
as the exposition of the entire story. First and foremost, one should mention
the unique stress placed by Scripture on the fact that God is with Yosef. This
is noted by the narrator (And God was with Yosef
God blessed the Egyptian's
house on Yosef's behalf; God's blessing was in everything he had, in the house
and in the field) and by Potifar (And his master saw
that God was with him; And everything which he did, God made successful in his
hand.) This fact is critical for
understanding Yosefs story, because until this moment, the reader has no way of
knowing whether Providence will accompany Yosef. Perhaps his sale to Egypt and
his disconnection from the family and the land of Canaan constitute a severing
from the continuity of the family of Avraham (just as Esav is disconnected by
going to Edom). Perhaps Yosef has been cut from Gods special providence as
well.
Moreover, in terms of the general structure and development of Yosefs
story in Egypt, his success in the house of Potifar has even greater
significance.[5]
Responsibility for the house is one of the central motifs that accompany
Yosef. After his disconnection from his house in the land of Canaan, Yosef
passes through three houses; in each of them, he receives the reins of control
and rule. First, as we have noted, in the house of Potifar, the hand of Yosef,
into which the control of the house is given, is stressed. At the end of this
scene, Yosef is brought to the prison-house, and there he receives
responsibility and authority; once again, the hand of Yosef receives power of
over the house:
And Yosefs master took him and he put him in the
prison-house, the place that the kings prisoners were imprisoned, and he
was there, in the prison-house. And God was with Yosef, and He treated
him kindly, and He made the warden[6] view him
with favor. And the warden put in
the hand of Yosef all of the prisoners who were in the prison-house, and
everything which they did there, he would do. The warden did not look at
anything in his hand, because God was with him; and whatever he did, God
made successful.
After he leaves this house, Yosef rolls along to another house to the
royal palace. Lo and behold, there Yosef once again receives authority and
dominion (41:40-44):
You will be over my house, and by
your mouth my entire nation will be provided for; only the throne will I make
greater than you
And Pharaoh removed
his ring from upon his hand and he put it open Yosefs hand
And Pharaoh said to Yosef, I am
Pharaoh, and without you, no man will raise his hand or his foot in all
of the land of Egypt.
It is no coincidence that hands are also mentioned in this scene at
first, the ring that is on Pharaohs hand passes to Yosefs hand, and at the end
it is even stressed that no one in Egypt will be able to raise his hand without
Yosefs approval.
If so, it makes sense that aside from the test that Yosef withstands in
light of Potifars words in these opening verses, the scene in which Yosef gets
responsibility for Potifars house has significance as part of the broader
process that Yosef is undergoing.
Authority over the three houses prepares Yosef for authority over the house of
Israel. From this point of view, the verse seeks to hint to the reader that one
cannot see the greatness of Yosef in Potifars house only as a preparation for
the continuation of the small unit of the story of Yosef and Potifars wife; it
is a scene with independent status. The narrative of the seduction is thus
after these things, a separate episode that is mentioned after another passage
that stands on its own merit.
Accordingly, it is absolutely clear that the main purpose of these verses
is to open the story of Yosef and Potifars wife, and it is difficult to view v.
7 as the opening of the narrative. We therefore should relate to the opening of
v. 7 as a deceptive introduction, hinting that, from a certain point of view,
one should divide the two parts into two separate units, even if the simple
reading and the essential level of the plot indicate that we are talking about
one story.[7]
Shimshon
In Tanakh, deceptive resolutions are more common than deceptive
introductions, and we will focus this phenomenon here. After Shimshon kills a
thousand Philistines with a donkeys jaw (lechi), we read (Shoftim
15:16-17):
And Shimshon said: With the jaw of a donkey, heaps
upon heaps; with the jaw of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men. And it was, when was
done speaking, that he cast the jaw from his hand; and he named that place Ramat
Lechi.
These verses give the feeling of a conclusion of the story from two
perspectives. From the point of view of the plot, the narrative has reached its
conclusion. After the men of Yehuda bind Shimshon and turn him over to the
Philistines, Gods spirit rests upon him, he tears the ropes that bind his
hands, and he strikes down a thousand Philistines with the donkeys jaw that he
finds on the spot. The reader anticipates the comfort at the end of the
narrative: the struggle has been resolved with Shimshons defeat of his enemies. Moreover, beyond this, naming the
place in many contexts constitutes a conclusion for the narrative (etiological
conclusion). Thus, when the reader reaches the stage of the narrative in which
the location is named because of the event (Ramat Lechi), he feels that the end
of the narrative has arrived.
Despite this, however, the narrative does not end at this point; there is
a new wrinkle in the plot (ibid. vv. 18-19):
And he was exceedingly thirsty, and called on God,
and said: You have given this great salvation by the hand of Your servant; and
now shall I die of thirst, and I will fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
But God split the crater which is in Lechi, and
water came out from there; and when he had drunk, his spirit came back, and he
was revived; that is why it was named Ein Ha-Korei, which is in Lechi until this
day.
These verses give the impression that this epilogue is related to the
main part of the narrative; Shimshon relates in his words to the
uncircumcised, clearly to referring to the Philistines mentioned in the main
part of the narrative, and Lechi is also mentioned in this appendix (the crater
which is in Lechi). In fact, the mention of the word hand associates the
appendix with the main part of the narrative. It is evident that the hands of
Shimshon are a focus of the narrative, as his hands are bound by the men of
Yehuda, and freeing his hands from the ropes is the beginning of the story of
salvation: And his bonds melted off his hands. However, beyond this, it
appears that this term (hand) constitutes a guiding motif through the length
of the story:
A. The
words of the men of Yehuda to Shimshon: To bind you we have come down, to put
you in the hand of the Philistines (12); For we will certainly bind
you and we will put you in their hand(13).
B. The
beginning of the salvation: And his bonds melted off his hands (14).
C. The
revenge of Shimshon upon the Philistines: And he found a fresh donkeys jaw,
and he sent forth his hand and he took it; and he struck down with it a
thousand men (15).
C1.
The conclusion of Shimshons revenge: And he cast the jaw from his
hand and he named that place Ramat Lechi.
B1.
Shimshons prayer at the time of his distress: You have given this
great salvation by the hand of Your servant
A1.
and I will fall into the hand of the uncircumcised?
Following the appearances of the word hand in the narrative spreads
before us all of its stages, and it may be that this motif is arranged in a
chiastic structure. At first, Shimshon is meant to be handed over into
Philistine hands; to the readers surprise (and apparently the verse wants to
allude that this is to Shimshons surprise as well), at the end of the
narrative, after the stage of respite after miraculous salvation, the
complications arise anew to the degree that it now seems that Shimshon may be
handed back into the hand of the uncircumcised.[8]
With the assistance of the framework (A-A1), Shimshons
dependence upon God is noticeable.
Even after the act of salvation which is by dint of Shimshons strength the
narrative does not end, and the danger of the hand of the Philistines still
hovers above him.
The metaphor of the hand is prominent in the scene of Shimshons
salvation. As we have said, the reader first notices it when Shimshon uses his
strength to free his hands from their bonds (2), and it may be that this (or, at
least, this as well) is Shimshons intention at the beginning of his prayer,
when he mentions this salvation (B1).
In this sense, one may view the words of Shimshon You have given this
great salvation by the hand of Your servant not only as a metaphorical
description, but a realistic description, because the salvation is related to
Shimshons hands.
In the main action of the story of salvation, Shimshons hand is
described not only as the instrument of freedom, but the instrument of violence,
striking a great blow against the Philistines (C-C1).[9] Thus, in
terms of the structure of the narrative and its guiding motifs as well, the
story of thirst is tied deeply to the story of Shimshons revenge upon the
Philistines with the donkeys jaw.
Naturally, the true end of the story is not the first naming of the place, after
Shimshon is saved from the hands of the Philistines, but in the second naming of
the place (Ein Ha-Korei, the Wellspring of the Caller), which expresses
Shimshons salvation from the thirst in which he finds himself.
What is the contribution of the deceptive resolution in this case?
Boling argues that the point is the
contrast between Shimshons strength, which is expressed in the story of the
lechi, and his weakness and need for Gods mercies, which is expressed in
the scene of his thirst.[10] Yair
Zakovitch points out that this is the one scene in Shimshons stories in which
an act of strength is not the focus.
This scene carries within it a certain criticism of Shimshons pride, as
it presents his confrontation with his fatal flaw:
Shimshon, who ignores the divine character of his
salvation, is struck by thirst. Once
he recognizes, in his prayer, the great salvation which God has wrought for him
by the power of Gods spirit then, and only then, does his spirit return to
him.[11]
This serves to underline the aim of the deceptive resolution at the end
of the first scene, in which Shimshon is delivered from the hands of the
Philistines. Here, indeed, the main part
of the story concludes with salvation that springs from the physical strength of
Shimshon. However, Shimshon himself
must go through an educational process and internalize that his salvation comes
from God. For this purpose, the
appendix of the story gives us a new danger, and Shimshon must reach a spiritual
place in which he can pray to God and declare that the salvation comes from Him. Only at this point does the ultimate
conclusion of the narrative appear.
With the issue of narrative demarcations resolved, we will turn in the
next lecture to the overall question of literary structure and its role in
expressing the themes and morals of narratives in Tanakh.
[1] L. D. Hawk, Every
Promise Fulfilled: Contesting Plots in Joshua (Louisville, 1991), p. 117.
[2] See, for example,
Yehoshuas words to the two-and-a-half tribes (22:5) and compare them to Gods
words at the beginning of the book (1:7) (Hawk, ibid. p. 119).
Similar ideas have been raised by Shmuel
Ahituv, Yehoshua (Mikra Le-yisrael; Jerusalem, 5756), p. 348. Also
see the broad analysis of Yehoshua Reiss, Omanut Ha-arikha Be-sefer Yehoshua
(Doctoral thesis, Bar-Ilan University, 5768), pp. 272-277.
[3] Hawk, ibid., pp.
120-1.
[4] I have expanded on
this point in my lecture series on the Book of Esther (Lecture #24).
[5] In fact, this scene
echoes the sale of Yosef to Egypt. Potifars preference of Yosef reminds the
reader of Yaakovs preference of Yosef, and just as Yosefs garment remains in
the hand of Potifars wife as Yosef is thrown into the pit of prison, so his
garment remains in the hand of his brothers at the time they throw him into the
(literal) pit. See R. Yaakov Medans Bi-makom She-baalei Teshuva Omedim
(Parashat Yosef Ve-echav), Megadim 2 (5747), p.56; G. Eldad, Maaseh
Adam Ve-tachbulotav Be-ikvot Benei Yaakov Be-darkam Mitzraima, Megadim 39
(5764), pp.33-39.
[6] Translators
note: Prison-house is beit ha-sohar in the original Hebrew;
warden is sar beit ha-sohar (literally, officer of the prison-house).
[7] This example is also
mentioned by Uriel Simon as a an example of a deceptive resolution (U. Simon,
Keria Sifrutit Ba-mikra: Sippurei Neviim [Jerusalem-Ramat Gan, 5757],
p.117, n.4). Simon cites another example of a deceptive resolution: the
conclusion of the story of David and Bat Sheva (II Shmuel 11:26-27) gives
the feeling of a conclusion when David succeeds in hiding his sin: Thus the
reader is made, almost against his will, a party to Davids delusion that the
path of those sins, with the power to hide their actions, leads to success
(Simon, ibid. p. 115). Simon even stresses that the feeling of the conclusion
becomes stronger in light of the diametric opposition between the sinful act,
which is done so discreetly and suddenly at the beginning of the story, and that
same act which is now done in a legal, open, and perpetual way (referring to
11:4 and 11:28.) Indeed, Simon stresses, everything erupts at one time in the
description of the narrator, who says, And the thing which David had done was
evil in Gods eyes. The heroes indeed do not feel this yet, but the reader is
directed toward the coming events. This is a conclusion which raises ones
hopes, concluding a secondary unit with the core of the one which comes after
it. Its purpose here is not only ratcheting up the tension, but to announce a
theological proclamation this resolution can only be deceptive, because the
story cannot end thus! (ibid. pp. 116-117).
[8] This term, referring
to the Philistines, is used by Shimshons father and mother when they oppose his
marriage to the Philistine girl. Perhaps the narrator is mocking Shimshon: had
he listened to his father and mother originally, he would never have been in
this danger.
[9] Similarly, compare
And he sent forth (va-yishlach) his hand and he took it, which
indicates the beginning of the revenge, with And he cast (va-yashlekh)
the jaw from his hand, which indicates the end of this scene (Y. Zakovitch,
Chayei Shimshon Nittuach Sifruti-Bikoreti [Jerusalem, 5742], p. 144).
[10] R. G. Boling, Judges
(AB, New York, 1981), p. 239.
[11] See Zakovitchs
Shimshon, pp. 148-149 (as well as Zakovitch, 5741, p. 15). Josephus Flavius expresses a similar
idea in Antiquities of the Jews, Book V, 8-9.
We may buttress this reading by pointing
to the frequent use of a pair of antonyms in the story: aliya and
yerida, ascent and descent. And the Philistines came up and they
camped in Yehuda
And the men of Yehuda
said, Why have you come up to us? And
they said, To bind Shimshon we have come up
And three thousand men of Yehuda came
down
and they said to him, To bind you we have come down, to put
you in the hand of the Philistines
And
they brought him up from the rock (15:9-13). Since the motif of aliya
and yerida is already stressed at the outset of the narrative, it has a
great influence on the readers interpretation of the entire story. It may be
that the pair of verbs seeks to serve a metaphorical role, signifying the
spiritual and emotional aliya and yerida of Shimshon himself, as
expressed in the relationship between the story of salvation and the story of
thirst.