POETIC BOOKS

Lesson 1
HEBREW POETRY
Text: Psalms 42:1
Content
I. Introduction to Hebrew poetry
II. Characteristics of Hebrew poetry
III. Hebrew poetry books
IV. Types of genre in Hebrew poetry
V. Division of the Hebrew poem
VI. The parallelism
VII. The acrostic

THE POETRY
Poetry is the manifestation of beauty or aesthetic feeling through words,
in verse or prose. (RAE)
The Little Illustrated Larousse (2000) defines poetry:
“Art of evoking and suggesting sensations, emotions and ideas
through a particular use of language subject to measurements,
cadences, rhythms and images.”
This definition highlights the effect of poetry which is to “evoke and
suggest” rather than explain. Therefore, poetry is a more artistic, more
stylized, more sensual, more self-conscious, and deliberate way of
speaking or writing in its use of figures and techniques of language.
Poets write about the human experience, producing communication and
responses.
The poet Myra Cohn Livingstone once said:
“Poetry humanizes us because through distilled experience, its
rhythms and its words connect one individual with another in a way
that no other form of communication can. “ Poetry also helps
alleviate the loneliness we all feel.” (Scott, 2011, p.10)

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Readers of poetry experience the message through images and sounds in
ways that appeal to their senses, their ideas, and their convictions.
MAIN POETS OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY
Among the most notable we have:
• Homer. The Iliad and The Odyssey
• Virgil. The Aeneid
• William Shakespeare. Othello
• Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Voyage of Parnassus
• Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. Rhymes
• Pablo Neruda. Twenty love poems and a desperate song
• Jorge Luis Borges. Poems
• Gabriela Mistral. Tenderness
• Cesar Vallejo. Trilce
“I fell in love with life,
She is the only one who will not leave me without first doing so.”
Pablo Neruda

I. INTRODUCTION TO HEBREW POETRY

In the Bible, one in three chapters is poetry; That is, 33% of the Bible
contains the poetic element.
In the Old Testament, there are poems and pieces of poetry in the
Pentateuch and in the Historical Books. Psalms, Proverbs, Song of
Songs, Lamentations, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and
Zephaniah are entirely poetic books; the same as much of Job,
Isaiah, Hosea, Amos and Ecclesiastes.
In the New Testament, the poetic element is present both in the gospels,
the epistles, mainly of Paul (Eph 5:14, 1Ti 3:16) and in Revelation through
songs of victory. The New Testament also has many poetic quotations from
the Old Testament. (Hoff, 1998, p.11)
Biblical poetry is about the poetic mind, the use of figurative language, and
emotional expression.
This poetry vividly expresses religious experiences and emotions. It
expresses all the joys and sorrows of religion. It runs through the varied
range of men's experiences: love and hate, life and death, doubt and faith.

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Emotion is part of the human experience, and the ancient Hebrew poets
are refreshingly candid in communicating their experience with real-life
situations. Thanks to such free expression it becomes possible to deal with
the deep issues of life, and if they cannot be resolved, they can at least be
accepted as part of the mystery of God.

II. CHARACTERISTICS OF HEBREW POETRY

Hebrew poetry has in common with other peoples the frequent use of
figurative language, with an abundance of similes and metaphors derived
from everything that man can capture through his senses.
In addition, it contains other features, such as beautiful verbal images and
figures of speech, acrostic arrangement, and personifications of ideas or
objects.
These literary devices offer us a beautiful balance that exists between the
inspiring work of the Holy Spirit and the broadest and deepest of human
emotion and expression. (Benware, 1994, p.147)
Among the main characteristics of Hebrew poetry are:
a) The absence of rhyme and meter, which contrasts with that of other
literatures in its structure.
• Rhyme. Phonetic rhythm
• Metrics. Number of syllables and place of accents
b) Concision is another distinctive quality of Hebrew poetry. This means
that Hebrew poetry is concise and only uses the words that are necessary.
Example:
“Jehovah is a man of war;
“Jehovah is his name.”
Exodus 15:3
The original Hebrew is even more concise than the English translation
because it has no verb.
c) Rhetorical images are another element of Hebrew poetry,
understanding that an image is a sensation created in the reader's mind by
the language of a text. For example, Psalms 104:3 describes the greatness
of God with striking images:
“Who establishes his chambers among the waters,
He who makes the clouds his chariot,

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"He who walks on the wings of the wind"

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(EDIM
d) Parallelism is another very important characteristic in Hebrew poetry,
this is the development of an idea in two or more verses. Psalms 1:1 is an
example of parallelism in three lines:
“He did not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
nor was he in the path of sinners,
nor has he sat in the chair of scorners.”
e) The acrostic is another element in Hebrew poetry, like Psalm 119.
(Scott, 2011, p16)

III. BOOKS OF HEBREW POETRY

Hebrew poetry is almost everywhere in the OT but only five books were
written practically: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of
Solomon; These, with the exception of Job, were written during the time of
the united monarchy, that is, during the reigns of David and Solomon,
where peace reigned. This era is considered the “Golden Age of Israeli
literature”, between the years 1050 to 930 BC. C. (Sangoquiza, 2013,
p.223)
The five poetic books are:
• job
• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Ecclesiastes
• Song of songs
These five books are called poetic because of the division of the Christian
Bible from the Old Testament. Meanwhile, in the Hebrew Bible called
Tanak, these books belong to the third division called Writings or
Hagiographs.
The five poetic books are also classified as:
• poetic literature
• wisdom literature
A. POETIC LITERATURE
These books reveal the best of biblical theology, in literary categories that
not only effectively transmit the divine will and affirm the revelation of
God, but are living examples of the capacity for communication that is
manifested in their poems, songs and prayers.

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The books that belong to this category are:
• The Psalms: poems sung and accompanied by instruments.
• The Song of Songs: dramatic poem.
B. SAPIENTIAL LITERATURE
Wisdom literature in the Bible plays a role of great theological and
pedagogical importance, through its ethical, moral, spiritual and
educational contributions. (Pagan, 2012, p.437)
This literature comes from God through commandments, advice and
exhortation, and is mainly applied to conduct, behavior, personal, family
and social relationships.
The books that belong to this category are:
• Proverbs: teachings about life.
• Ecclesiastes: teaching on the randomness of life.
• Job: teaching about the suffering and reward of the righteous.

IV. TYPES OF GENRE IN HEBREW POETRY

There are various ways to categorize Hebrew poetry, but the following five
genre types are the main classes in Hebrew poetry:
• The lyrical poems
• Didactic poetry
• The prophetic poems
• elegiac poetry
• dramatic poems
A. LYRIC POEMS
They receive that name because they were originally intended to be
accompanied by music. It is called “lyrical” because in ancient times it was
sung with the accompaniment of a lyre or harp. Most psalms fall into this
category.
Among the Hebrews, psalms were sung in temple services and in
synagogues after the diaspora (dispersion of the Jews). (Hoff, 1998, p.14)
B. DIDACTIC POETRY
Its intention is to teach the people to observe and value life. Proverbs and
Ecclesiastes would be considered didactic.

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Within this genre, we find gnomic or sententious poetry. The writings of
poets who compose sentences and rules of morality in a few verses are
called “gnomic”. (Hoff, 1998, p.15)
C. DRAMATIC POEMS
They communicate stories, ideas and truth through dialogue, monologue
and actions of the protagonists in a way very similar to modern drama. The
books Job and the Song of Songs belong to this category.
D. ELEGIAC POETRY
It records human sadness and pain, and expresses lamentations for the
dead.
David's elegies for Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam 1:19-27) and for Abner (2 Sam
3:33,34) are poetic compositions of the highest form. Jeremiah's book of
Lamentations falls into this category, along with some psalms, such as
Psalm 137.
E. PROPHETIC POEMS
They are poems that talk about future events and are used in most
prophetic books such as Isaiah, among others.

V. DIVISION OF THE HEBREW POEM

There are certain natural divisions in a Hebrew poem and they are:
• The line or verse
• The verse
• The stanza
A. THE LINE OR VERSE
Hebrew poetry is easily separated into lines or verses. The verse does not
correspond to the verse, but it may be half, or a third, or a quarter of the
verse. Said another way, the verse consists of two, three, or four lines or
verses.
The end of each line is marked with a break in sentiment, and in our
versions is marked by a punctuation mark (period, comma, colon,
semicolon, question mark, exclamation mark), and the beginning of a new
line.

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In Hebrew the division into lines is indicated by certain signs called
accents, which the Masoretic scholars placed to indicate the end of a line.
Example: (Giles, 1991, p.236)
Bless the Lord, my soul, (1st. line or verse)
And bless all my being his holy name.
(2nd. line or verse) (Psalms 103:1)
B. THE VERSE
The verses are joined together to form a verse, the length of which is
indicated by the verse numbers. The sign used in Hebrew to indicate the
end of the verse is the sof pasuq, which has the shape of two points.
Each verse has, as we have said, generally two lines, or verses, but verses
of three or four are common.
The division of Hebrew poetry into verses is natural, and corresponds to
the thought in the original language, with its natural pauses and divisions.
Example:
O Jehovah, how my adversaries have multiplied!
There are many who rise up against me.
There are many who say about me:
There is no salvation for him in God. Selah
(Ps 3:1,2)
C THE VERSION
Stanzas are those largest divisions of poetry, which would be a
combination of verses of approximately four, six, or eight lines. Example:
Psalms 19:7-10
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of Jehovah is faithful, making wise the simple.
The commandments of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The precept of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. (19:7,8) (stanza)

The fear of the Lord is clean, lasting forever;

The judgments of Jehovah are true, all just.
They are more desirable than gold, and more than much refined gold;
And sweeter than honey, or that which drips from the honeycomb.
(19:9,10) (stanza)
(Giles, 1991, p.236)

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SAW. THE PARALLELISM
It is a very common form of style in oriental literature. It consists of a set of
phrases or verses with the same or very similar structure that reinforce
each other in their meaning.
In parallelism, the idea that the second or subsequent lines of a stanza
bear some parallel with the thought of the first.
In the structure of Hebrew poetry a statement is made in the first line
(base), and then the second repeats, expands or contrasts that thought.
(Benware, 1994, p.147)
Parallelism is used in both prose and verse and can be used to reinforce or
clarify a concept and generate rhythm.
In fact, there is a lot of art in repeating ideas; For example, a symphony
repeats a musical theme with many variations; likewise in the art of
Hebrew poetry.
There are different types of parallelism in the Bible, and they are:
• Synonymous parallelism
• Antithetic parallelism
• Synthetic parallelism
• emblematic parallelism
• Climactic parallelism
A. SYNONYMOUS PARALLELISM
This parallelism shows some passages of the Bible, in which the different
lines or members present the same thought with slight alterations in the
form of expression.
We will specify three kinds of synonymous parallels: 1) identical, 2) similar,
3) inverted. Let's see below.
1. Identical. It is called this when the different members are made up of
the same or almost the same words, example:
The rivers are lifted up, O Jehovah,
The rivers raised their sound;
The rivers raised their waves. (Ps 93:3)
You are bound with the words of your mouth, And imprisoned with the
reasons of your mouth. (Pr 6:2)

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2. Similar. It is called this when the feeling is substantially the same but
the language and figures are different, example:
Does the wild donkey moan by the grass?
Does the ox low next to his pasture? (Job. 6:5)
For He founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. (Ps 24:2)
3. Invested. It is called this when there is an inversion or transposition of
words or sentences, so that the order of thought is changed, for example:
The heavens tell the glory of God,
And the firmament announces the work of his hands. (Ps 19:1)
They did not keep the covenant of God,
Nor did they want to walk in his law. (Ps 78:10)
B. ANTITHETICAL PARALLELISM
Under this division falls every passage in which there is contrast or
opposition of thought presented in the different sentences.
This kind of parallelism abounds, especially, in the book of Proverbs,
because it is particularly adapted to express maxims of proverbial wisdom.
There are two forms of antithetical parallelism:
1. Simple , when the contrast is presented in a single couplet of simple
sentences, example:
Justice magnifies the nation;
But sin is a reproach to the nations. (Pr 14:34)
The tongue of the wise will adorn wisdom;
But the mouth of fools will speak nonsense. (Pr 15:2)
2. Composite, when there are two or more sentences in each member of
the antithesis, example:
The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey his master's manger;
Israel does not understand,
my people have no knowledge. (Isa 1:3)
For a brief moment I abandoned you, but I will pick you up with great
mercies. With a little anger I hid my face from you for a moment;

But with everlasting mercy I will have compassion on you, says the Lord
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your Redeemer. (Is 54:7,8) (Terri, p.30-32)
C. SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM
In synthetic, constructive or complete parallelism, one line is built on the
other, that is, the second line or perhaps some subsequent ones complete
or expand the thought of the first. (Benware, 1994, p.147)
There are two types of synthetic parallelism and they are:
1. Corresponding is when there is a formal and intentional
correspondence between related sentences, as in the following example
taken from Psalms 27:1, where the first line corresponds with the third and
the second with the fourth:
Jehovah is my light and my salvation;
Who will I fear?
Jehovah is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid? (Ps 27:1)
2. Cumulative , when there is a culmination of feeling that runs through
the successive parallels; or when there is a constant variation of words and
thoughts through the simple accumulation of images or ideas, for example:
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor was he in the way of sinners,
He has not sat in the chair of mockers;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And he meditates on his law day and night. (Ps 1:1,2) (Terri, p.33)
D. EMBLEMATIC PARALLELISM
It is a type of synonymous parallelism in which a line contains a simile or
metaphor . A simile is a comparison that uses the word “like.” A metaphor
is a word or phrase, referring to an object or idea, that is used in place of
another to suggest that they are similar. Example: Job 5:7,26
But as the sparks rise to fly through the air,
Thus man is born to affliction. (5:7)
You will come to the grave in old age,
Like the sheaf of wheat that is gathered in its season. (5:26)
(Scott, 2011, p.20)

E. CULTIMINATING PARALLELISM
This type of parallelism is built word upon word until a culmination of
thought is reached, for example:

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Pay tribute to Jehovah, O children of the powerful, Give to Jehovah glory
and power. (Ps 29:1)
Bless the Lord, my soul,
And bless all my being his holy name. (Ps 103:1)
(Benware, 1994, p.147)

VII. THE ACROSTIC

The acrostic is another characteristic of Hebrew poetry.
In acrostic poems the first line of each stanza begins with a letter of the
Hebrew alphabet, as in Psalms. 25, 34, 145; Prov. 31:10–31. Or the first
word of each line begins with a letter of the alphabet, as in Ps. 111 and in
112.
The greatest of the acrostic psalms is Ps. 119, which has 22 sections, each
of which has eight verses and sixteen lines. Each section corresponds to
one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet (alephato); Within these
sections, each verse begins with the letter of the alphabet that
corresponds to that section. (Gilis, 1991, p.245)

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
Benware, P.N. (1994). Overview of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids,
Michigan, USA. Editorial Spokesperson
Gillis, C. (1991). The Old Testament: A Commentary on Its History and
Literature, Volumes IV. El Paso, TX: Casa Bautista Publications.
Hoff, P. (1998). Poetic Books. Deerfield, Florida. Life Publishing.
Pagan, S. (2012). Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. TERRASSA (Barcelona):
CLIE Editorial.
Sangoquiza, J. (2013). Overview of the Old Testament. Institute of Spiritual
life
Scott, E. (2011). Poetic Books. Springfield, Missouri, USA. GlobalUniversity.
Terry, M.S. Hermeneutics.

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