The article argues from an empirical study of the alliterative and metrical characteristics of the speeches of Genesis A that the poet made a concerted attempt to differentiate between the spoken language of God and that of mortal speakers. In particular the analysis shows that divine language is highly patterned, alliteratively ornate and unusually hypermetric. The most extreme effects are generated by the genres of benediction and malediction. The evidence shows that the poet was also able to use the rules of his poetics effectively for rhetorical ends. An attempt is made finally to link this characterising of the divine voice with the Biblical vox tonantis.