Genesis 7: The Breath of Life Vs. The Flood

I am not well versed with sacred verse. So it was difficult for me to think of a passage of scripture whose structure surpassed others in quality. I thought of stories that might be mighty in description. It turns out I was right in my own right to do so. #Antanaclasis

In Genesis chapter 7, the Lord commands Noah to build an ark and to gather his family and two of every animal to survive the flood that was about to happen. This section of scripture contains various repetitions in the form of anaphora and epistrophe  and several uses of climax.

The God That Abhors You

How should one persuade another to repentance? Hellfire and damnation, proclaims Jonathan Edwards. In his sermon, “Sinner in the Hands an Angry God,” Edwards, an influential preacher of the Great Awakening (1741 C.E.), has a simple goal: crush the theological apathy from his audience’s mind and, as a replacement, inject an awful fear of God’s anger! Edwards makes his intentions crystal clear through his eloquent use of rhetorical devices, each device portraying his beliefs in a “retribution theology.”

Edward’s rhetorical argument builds off the concept of hell as well as the sinners who will occupy it, and he builds this argument within one consistent mode: dispraise. Edward repeatedly returns to his fiery depiction of these two concepts between his intermittent manipulations of pronouns. Every sentence and every phrase has “you” resting on the veritable chopping-block of condemnation. This preacher designed this language to engage every single audience member as a guilty perpetrator. His audience, whether they heard the sermon or read it, knows, inescapably, that Edwards is heaping his points against them. This isn’t a description of some figurative far off “sinner,” it’s clearly you.

He pricks our attention, in an inescapable way.

Then Edwards’ real work begins: abasing his attentive audience. He proceeds to persuade us to repentance by helping us see, by vivid imagery, the awfulness of our state. By dehumanizing metaphors, by exaggerated hyperbole, and by anaphoric evocations, this preacher ravages our emotions, pummels our pride, attacks our apathy, and blasts our beliefs with an exaggerated and sadistic God. Edwards’ God is depicted, quite elaborately, with an unmatched fury and a plan to devastate our heavenly tenements unless we “flee” to him with the humble outstretched hands of the supplicant.                

Warm Arizona Sun

The roosters “cock a doodle doo” to wake the local neighborhoods up so they can enjoy their warm day. (Onomatopoeia). The blazing hot sun flexes it’s powerful rays upon the dry, scorching desert. (Personification). It is like the whiff of warm air that people feel as if they have just opened up the oven after baking delicious cookies. (Simile). Whether it’s 10 in the morning or 10  at night, the heat radiates freely. (Contrarium). It is an incredible blessing to be able to escape the cold, bitter winters of Utah and enjoy the warm Arizona soil. (Comparison). The salty sweat slides off of the foreheads of the population as they don’t have to worry about bundling up for cold weather. (alliteration). Oh the joy one feels as their seasonal depression escapes them! (Exclamatio). Should I take advantage and go for a nice swim in November? Obviously. (Anthypophora). What an enormous blessing it is to have a tiny bit of sunlight. (Antithesis). Sometimes I wonder if spending my holidays in Phoenix would be a smart use of my time. Then, I quickly repent and realize the clear answer as I arrive and I feel my energy levels replenish. (Correctio). 

The Brother Of Jesus Was a Brilliant Rhetorician

Among my favorite master teachers of the New Testament is James. His contribution to the bible is only five short chapters but some of the most significant, clear, and powerful teachings of all scripture.

James (the supposed brother of Jesus) teaches using many forms of rhetoric in chapter three of his writings. He sure new his rhetorical devices.

 2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

...7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

From the use of metaphor, to parallelism, to even exergasia (it can be argued) this whole chapter is filled with powerful uses of rhetorical devices.  Three of which I desire to point out, which are: tautologia, anaphora, and anastrophe. 

Tautologia is "the repetition of the same idea in different words, but (often) in a way that is wearisome or unnecessary." This is used in verse seven as James lists the different kind of animals. He could easily have said, all animals have been tamed but instead who chose to emphasize the fact that man has been able to tame all things (in contrast with the lack of ability in taming our own mouths). 

Anaphora is used with the simple word, "and" within verse 7 to go even farther in creating an image of contrast. By using the word "and" after every type of animal he emphasizes once again how many things man has tamed only to fail in taming his own tongue.

Finally, anastrophe is used in verse 9 "...bless we God... Curse we men.." allows the reader to really see how grand the gap is between what we choose to say. By putting the verb first, it places emphasizes and added awareness of the opposite nature of these two things.

By Faith

Through faith...we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain

By faith Enoch was translated

By faith Noah… prepared an ark

By faith Abraham… obeyed, and went out, not knowing whither he went.

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise

Through faith Sara received strength to conceive seed

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offer up Isaac

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau

By faith Jacob blessed both the sons of Joseph

By faith Jacob made mention of the departing of the children of Israel

By faith Moses was hid three months of his parents

By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter

By faith he forsook Egypt

Through faith he kept the Passover

By faith they passed through the Red Sea

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down

By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not

And many others.

-Hebrews 11

 

This is another excellent example of anaphora.  Repetition of this type places increasing emphasis on faith.  Not only does it emphasize faith, it amplifies it.  For example, if only one instance of faith were given, it may be taken lightly, seen only as chance that something miraculous occurred.  However, with each successive instance thereafter mentioned, a more profound effect is induced.  In addition, this text demonstrates repotia.  A few of the verses begin with slightly different wording, such as “Through faith” instead of “By faith.”  This can have a powerful effect as well, breaking up any monotony putting a slight twist on the meaning of faith.  Some things can be done by faith, while other things are done through faith.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

While reading one of my favorite passages of scripture in the Bible, I started to notice some patterns and rhetorical devices that we had learned in class.  Here is the passage of scripture in Romans chapter 8:

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The passage starts by asking a question that is then answered which I remembered to be a rhetorical device.  I looked it up on Silva Rhetorica and this is known as anthypophora, a figure of reasoning in which one asks and then immediately answers one’s own questions.  This makes us as readers contemplate if there really is anything in the world that can separate us from Christ’s love.  He goes on to state that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. 

What is interesting about how the question is answered is that the answer is elongated.  There is an obvious use of division in describing what could potentially separate us from Christ’s love but in verses 38 and 39 we see the repetition of the word “nor” at the beginning of the phrases and this is known as anaphora.  This repetition makes us repeatedly consider all the possibilities that could potentially separate us from his love which he negates and states that none of these could succeed in taking away Christ’s love for us.  It makes his love much more powerful through this use of anaphora and division.