About Hebrew Poetry

INTRODUCTION

We have now come to the third section of books of the Old Testament. The books of this section are called the Books of Poetry or the Poetical Books. When we think of modern poetry, we probably think of something written in measured lines, with rhythm, often in colorful language, and probably with rhyme. An example of the kind of poetry that we are used to hearing would be these famous lines:

"Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."Though colorful language may be absent from these particular lines, they definitely do have rhythm and rhyme, and they are measure lines. We should not expect Biblical Hebrew poetry to be exactly like the poetry we are used to today. There is almost no rhyme to Hebrew Poetry. The lines are not always exactly measured, and sometimes a definite rhythm is difficult to find. But there are a number of features that make Hebrew poetry a poetry of the highest level and that make it very enjoyable to read and hear.

PARALLELISM

The main feature of Hebrew poetry is called PARALLELISM. Parallelism means a repetition or echoing of a thought. Read this verse from Psalm 83:1 and notice how the same thought is repeated or echoed:

"Oh God, do not keep silent;
be not quiet, O God, be not still."

There is really only one thought expressed in that verse; but is expressed three times with slightly different words. That is what we mean by PARALLELISM of expression. When we read the Poetical Books of the Old Testament we can notice three main kinds of parallelism. First is SYNONYMOUS PARALLELISM. In this kind of parallelism the same thought is repeated in almost the same words. (Remember that a synonym is a word that means the same as another word.) A good example of synonymous parallelism can be found in Psalm 49:1: "Hear this, all you peoples;
Listen, all who live in this world."

Does the first line say anything different from the second line? No, it simply repeats the same thought in different words. To repeat the thought makes the thought very strong and clear and at the same time makes the expression poetically beautiful. Second is ANTITHETICAL PARALLELISM. In this kind of parallelism something is contrasted with another. (Something that is antithetical is something that stands in contrast or is the opposite of something else.) Proverbs 15:1 is an example of antithetical parallelism:

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