Pastor Steve Paulus

Old Testament Poetry and Wisdom Literature

Hebrew Poetry

3. Hebrew Poetry: The Songs of Israel

One of the common modes of expression in the Old Testament is the use of songs and poetry. Songs, of course, are poetry put to music. Songs appear quite early in the Old Testament narrative and find their ultimate expression in the Psalms.

3.1. The Mashal (Definition and Examples)

One of the primary means of poetic expression in the OT is known as the mashal. This word has broad meaning and can be understood as a “proverb, parable, allegory, byword, taunt or discourse” (Harris, Archer, Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. I, p. 1258). The songs and wisdom literature of the OT are often expressed in this form. Many of the songs, Psalms, and Proverbs are referred to as a mashal.

Some examples of the songs of Israel are found in the following passages: the song of Miriam, Ex. 15:1-18; the song of Deborah, Judges 5:1-31. The Psalms and the Song of Solomon are also examples of the songs of Israel.

A famous example of a mashal is Jotham’s taunt of Abimelech and the men of Shechem after the murder of Gideon’s sons and the anointing of Abimelech as king (Judges 9:7-21).

Music and the implied use of song is often noted in the OT. Some examples include the following: David and Saul, I Sam. 16:15-17, 23. David’s tent, I Chron. 16:4-6, 37ff. David’s preparations for temple worship, I Chron. 25:1-7. II Chron. 5:11-14. Elisha in the desert, II Kings 3:14-16. Jehoshaphat at war, II Chron 20:20-22. Nehemiah celebrating the completion of the city wall, Neh. 7:1; 12:31, 35-38, 40.

3.2. Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry.

As with all poetry sound – stress, accent, and metrical arrangement – is a significant element in Hebrew poetry. In addition, the nature of the language requires the use of metaphor and imagery even in prose speech or writing. The use of metaphor or imagery is a common characteristic of poetry in many languages. Other characteristics are more common to Hebrew poetry, however, and a trained eye can discern them even in non-Hebrew translations of the Bible. Rhyme is not a feature of Hebrew poetry, generally speaking.

3.2.1. Parallelism: The primary characteristic of Hebrew poetry is parallelism. Parallelism is the balancing of one thought or phrase with a corresponding thought or phrase. The corresponding thought or phrase often contains the same number of words or at least a corresponding number of ideas.

There are four primary types of parallelism:

3.2.1.1. Synonymous parallelism: The primary trait of synonymous parallelism is repetition. The same thought is repeated using different words. For example:

“Simeon and Levi are brothers;

Their swords are implements of violence.

Let my soul not enter into their council;

Let not my glory be united with their assembly;

Because in their anger they slew men,

And in their self-will they lamed oxen.

Cursed be their anger for it is fierce;

And their wrath for it is cruel,

I will disperse them in Jacob

And scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:5-7).

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” (Ps. 27:1 NASB)

“The heavens are telling the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Day to day pours forth speech,

And night to night reveals knowledge” (Ps. 19:1-2).

“Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it:

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman keeps awake in vain” (Ps. 127:1)

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city” (Prov. 16:32).

3.2.1.2. Antithetic parallelism: The primary trait of antithetic parallelism is contrast. Two contrasting ideas are placed side by side. For example:

“The Lord will tear down the house of the proud,

But he will establish the boundary of the widow” (Prov. 15:25).

“The Lord is far from the wicked,

But he hears the prayer of the righteous” (Prov. 15:29).

“Better is a little with righteousness

Than great income with injustice” (Prov. 16:8).

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.

He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,

Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bring his sheaves with him” (Ps. 126:5-6)

3.2.1.3. Synthetic parallelism: The primary trait of synthetic parallelism is the extension of a thought through repetition and incrementally adding concepts or meaning. For example:

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

Nor stand in the path of sinners

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in his law he meditates day and night,

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does he prospers” (Ps. 1: 1-3)

“Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty,

Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name

Worship the Lord in holy array” (Ps. 29:1).

Much of the remainder of Ps. 29 is an example of synthetic parallelism.

“Do not rob the poor because he is poor,

Or crush the afflicted at the gate;

For the Lord will plead their case,

And take the life of those who rob them

Do not associate with a man given to anger

Or go with a hot-tempered man,

Lest you learn his ways,

And find a snare for yourself” (Prov. 22:22-25).

Proverbs chapter 22:17 through chapter 24 are composed of short statements in the form of synthetic parallelism.

3.2.1.4. Chiasm: The primary trait of chiasm is synonymous parallelism with the order reversed. For example:

“Be gracious to me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of thy compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:1-3).

In this Psalm verses 1 is chiastic, verses 2 and 3 are synonymous. The remainder of the Psalm is written in synonymous, synthetic and chiastic parallelism demonstrating the interchangeable nature of parallelismic form in many Psalms.

3.2.2.. Acrostic: Another common characteristic of Hebrew poetry is the use of alphabetic acrostic. This is a device where the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are used as the first letter in a verse followed by the next letter to begin the following verse and so on. This is a feature which does not normally come across in translation, though one may see clear implications of it in Ps. 119, for instance. Each segment of this Psalm is a strophe beginning in a given letter of the alphabet. When I first read Psalm 119, I thought the headings were names of the authors! Other acrostics, both partial and complete, are Lamentations, Proverbs 31:10-31, Ps. 37 and Nahum 1:1-10.

3.2.3. Other Characteristics: There are several other characteristics of Hebrew Poetry including Stich, Strophe, Alliteration, Anthropomorphism, Personification and Pun.

3.2.3.1. The stich is the most basic element of poetry and is composed of a phrase which is the basic building block of a verse. Verses of Hebrew poetry are usually composed of two or three phrases. But there are other patterns as well. These are most easily discerned in the original Hebrew, but are preserved well in the NASB. For example:

“For if you cry for discernment,

Lift your voice for understanding;

If you seek her as silver,

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will discern the fear of the Lord,

and discover the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:2-5).

This is an example of the distich (two-line verse) in a 2:2 rhythmical pattern.

“The Lord has accomplished His wrath,

He has poured out His fierce anger;

He has kindled a fire in Zion

Which has consumed its foundations” (Lamentations 4:11).

Here we have an example of four lines to a verse.

3.2.3.2. The strophe, or larger grouping of verses, is sometimes used in Hebrew poetry, but it is not a primary characteristic. A strophe or stanza may be signaled by a repeated verse or phrase known as a refrain. For example:

“The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold” (Ps. 46:7,11)

This refrain repeated in Psalm 46 marks the end of two stanzas (strophes) of unequal length. Unlike the Greeks, the Hebrew mind seems less concerned with symmetry and a tidy mathematical framework. Stanzas contain a different number of lines, forms of parallelism change within the same psalm, acrostics are sometimes left off in mid-alphabet. Nevertheless, general characteristics are evident, and with practice, easily spotted.

Another example of a refrain marking the end of a strophe is found in Is.9:8-10:4:

“In spite of all this His anger does not turn away,

And His hand is still stretched out” (9:12,17,21; 10:4)

3.2.3.3. Personification is the practice of giving human characteristics to inanimate things. For example:

“How lonely sits the city

That was full of people!

She has become like a widow

Who was once great among the nations!

She who was a princess among the provinces

Has become a forced laborer!

She weeps bitterly in the night,

And her tears are on her cheeks;

She has none to comfort her

Among all her lovers

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

They have become her enemies.

Judah has gone into exile under affliction,

And under harsh servitude;

She dwells among the nations,

But she has found no rest;

All her pursuers have overtaken her

In the midst of distress” (Lam. 1:1-3)

3.2.3.4. Pun (paronomasia) is the “play on words” such as substituting a word for one similar in sound or meaning. A good example is found in Micah 1:8-16, or Jeremiah 1: 11-12. This poetic device is not clear except in the Hebrew language. A good translation will include an explanation of these devices in the margin.

Assignment

1. Identify 2 examples of synonymous, antithetic, and synthetic parallelism from Psalms or Proverbs.

2. Find a passage in the Old Testament where personification or anthropomorphism is used.

Sources for Part 3

Gleason L. Archer. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction.

Chicago: Moody Press, 1974.

C. Hassell Bullock. An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic Books. Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1979.

William P. Brown. Character in Crisis: A Fresh Approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996.

Richard J. Clifford. The Wisdom Literature. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.

Otto Eissfeld. The Old Testament: An Introduction. NewYork: Harper and Row, 1965, p. 669-721.

Ronald E. Murphy, Wisdom Literature and Psalms, Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1983.

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