each verse begins with the successive letter of the alphabet. That is, the first word in 1:1 begins with alef, the first word in 1:2 begins with b eth, and the first word in 1:3 begins with gimel, and so forth through the twenty-two letters of the alphabet. When we come to chapter 3, we find twenty-two groups of three verses, and in each group the first word in each of the three verses begins with the same letter. For example, the first word in each of the verses 3:1, 3:2, and 3:3 begins with alef,
Page 2