Principle 5
The text uses word play, i.e., it plays off the sound of words to make a point.
EXAMPLE (Gen. 40:13, 19):
In a dramatic moment of the Yosef (Joseph) story, a section that takes place in an Egyptian prison, the hero predicts to two of his fellow prisoners that the Pharaoh will pardon them—or so it seems. To the cupbearer, Yosef says,
In another three days
Pharaoh will lift up your head…
Here he uses a standard ancient Near eastern expression for showing favor to someone. In contrast, the prognosis for the chief baker is not so good:
In another three days
Pharaoh will lift up your head
from off you…
By beginning both predictions with the same phrasing, the narrator is able to heighten the final blow on both the victim and the audience, delivered by the addition of “from off you” (one Hebrew word, mei-alekha).