SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY

I. INTRODUCTION

A. This type of literature (i.e., depending on how one defines it) makes up 1/3 of the Old Testament. It is
especially common in the “Prophets” (all but Haggai and Malachi contain poetry)
and “Writing” sections of the Hebrew canon.

B. It is very different from English poetry. English poetry is
developed from Greek and Latin poetry, which is primarily sound-based. Hebrew
poetry has much in common with Canaanite poetry. It is basically thought-based
in balanced, parallel lines.

C. The archaeological discovery north of Israel at Ugarit (Ras
Shamra) has helped scholars understand OT poetry. This poetry from the 15th
century b.c. has obvious literary connections with biblical poetry.

II. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POETRY

A. It is very compact.

B. It tries to express truth, feelings or experiences in imagery.

C. It is primarily written not oral. It is highly structured. This
structure is expressed in:

1. balanced lines (parallelism)

2. word plays

3. sound plays

III. THE STRUCTURE (R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament,
pp.965-975)

A. Bishop Robert Lowth in his book, Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of
the Hebrews (1753) was the first to characterize biblical poetry as balanced
lines of thought. Most modern English translations are formatted to show the
lines of poetry.

1. synonymous – the lines express the same thought in
different words:

a. Psalm 3:1; 49:1; 83:14; 103:3

b. Proverbs 19:5; 20:1

c. Isaiah 1:3,10

d. Amos 5:24

2. antithetical – the lines express opposite thoughts by
means of contrast or stating the positive and the negative:

a. Psalm 1:6; 90:6

b. Proverbs 10:1,12; 15:1; 19:4

3. synthetic – the next two or three lines develop the
thought – Ps. 19:7-9

4. chiasmic – a pattern of poetry expressing the message in
a descending and ascending order. The main point is found in the middle of the
pattern (see III. D.; i.e., Amos 5:4b-6a)

B. Charles A. Briggs in his book, General Introduction to the Study
of Holy Scripture (1899) developed the next stage of analysis of Hebrew poetry:

1. emblematic – one clause literal and the second
metaphorical, Ps. 42:1; 103:3

2. climactic or stair-like – the clauses reveal truth in an
ascending fashion, Ps. 19:7-14; 29:1-2; 103:20-22

3. introverted – a series of clauses, usually at least four,
are related by the internal structure of line 1 to 4 and 2 to 3 – Ps. 30:8-10a
(much like chiasm)

C. G. B. Gray in his book, The Forms of Hebrew Poetry (1915),
developed the concept of balanced clauses further by:

1. complete balance – where every word in line one is
repeated or balanced by a word in line two – Psalm 83:14 and Isaiah 1:3

2. incomplete balance where the clauses are not the same
length – Ps. 59:16; 75:6

D. Today there is a growing recognition of literary structural
pattern in Hebrew called a chiasm, which usually denotes a number of parallel
lines (a.b,b,a; a,b,c,b,a) forming an hour glass shape, often the central
line(s) is emphasized.

E. Type of sound patterns found in poetry in general, but not often
in eastern poetry

1. play on alphabet (acrostic, cf. Ps. 9,34,37,119; Pro.
31:10ff; Lamentations 1-4)

2. play on consonants (alliteration, cf. Ps. 6:8; 27:7;
122:6; Isa. 1:18-26)

3. play on vowels (assonance, cf. Gen. 49:17; Exod. 14:14;
Ezek. 27:27)

4. play on repetition of similar sounding words with
different meanings (paronomasia)

5. play on words which, when pronounced, sound like the
thing they name (onomatopoeia)

6. special opening and closing phrase (inclusive)

F. There are several types of poetry in the Old Testament. Some are
topic related and some are form related.

1. dedication song – Num. 21:17-18

2. work songs – (alluded to but not recorded in Jdgs. 9:27);
Isa. 16:10; Jer. 25:30; 48:33

3. ballads – Num. 21:27-30; Isa. 23:16

4. drinking songs – negative, Isa. 5:11-13; Amos 6:4-7 and
positive, Isa. 22:13

5. love poems – Song of Songs, wedding riddle – Jdgs.
14:10-18, wedding song – Psalm 45

6. laments/dirge – (alluded to but not recorded in 2 Sam.
1:17 and 2 Chr. 35:25) 2 Sam. 3:33; Ps. 27, 28; Jer. 9:17-22; Lam.; Ezek. 19:1-14; 26:17-18; Nah.
3:15-19)

7. war songs – Gen. 4:23-24; Exod. 15:1-18,20; Num. 10:35-36; 21:14-15; Jos.
10:13; Jdgs. 5:1-31; 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6; 2 Sam. 1:18; Isa. 47:1-15

8. special benedictions or blessing of leader – Genesis 49; Num. 6:24-26;
Deuteronomy 32; 2 Sam. 23:1-7

9. magical texts – Balaam, Num. 24:3-9

10. sacred poems – Psalms

11. acrostic poems – Ps. 9,34,37,119; Pro. 31:10ff; and
Lamentations 1-4

12. curses – Num. 21:22-30

13. taunt poems – Isa. 14:1-22; 47:1-15; Ezek. 28:1-23

14. a book of war poems (Jashar) – Num. 21:14-15; Josh. 10:12-13; 2 Sam. 1:18

IV. GUIDELINE TO INTERPRETING HEBREW POETRY

A. Look for the central truth of the stanza or strophe (this is like
a paragraph in prose.) The RSV was the first modern translation to identify
poetry by stanzas. Compare modern translations for helpful insights.

B. Identify the figurative language and express it in prose. Remember this
type of literature is very compact, much is left for the reader to fill in (see
Special Topic: Wisdom Literature).

C. Be sure to relate the longer issue-oriented poems to their
literary context (often the whole book) and historical setting. Try to express
the central truth of the whole literary unit in your own words.

D. Judges 4 & 5 are very helpful in seeing how poetry expresses
history. Judges 4 is prose and Judges 5 is poetry of the same event (also
compare Exodus 14; 15; and Joel 2:28-32 with Acts 2:14-24).

E. Attempt to identify the type of parallelism involved, whether
synonymous, antithetical, or synthetic. This is very important.