The climax principle asserts that a sequence of similar phrases should be interpreted climactically even if the words and grammatical constructs used do not directly suggest this. That is the fact of the sequence justifies reading into the Biblical text a climactic interpretation even if no other textual source justifies it. For this reason we consider the climax method a distinct and separate method.

Verse Dt68-56:57a discussing the famine punishment God will bring on the Jewish people is written in a climactic manner as shown. For convenience we have inserted the Rashi comments clarifying the nature of the climax in brackets
• The very soft woman will look miserly at [ ]
• the man of her bossom [ husband ]
• and her children [ that are grown up ]
• and her placenta that comes from her legs [ the young children ]
• and her children she gives birth to [ newborns ]

Advanced Rashi: Notice how Rashi's sole contribution is to impose a climactic interpretation on the text. This climax is justified not by the words used but by the sequence itself which requires a climactic interpretation. In other words the sequence 1)children 2) placenta from her legs 3) children that she gives birth doesn't make sense unless we translate placenta as young children and her legs as referring to the way little children play inbetween their parent's legs. The sequence then reads 1) big children 2) young children playing between her legs 3) newborns and this makes sense.

It emerges that this is a fundamental example of the format-climax method. For it illustrates very clearly how the climax principle contradicts and changes the simple meaning of the text. The interested student should seriously study it.