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Hebrew Poetry
B. Hebrew Poetry1. General Characteristics
Hebrew Poetry1. General Characteristics
a. The Difference between Poetry and Prose
(1) Basic Differences
Hebrew Poetry: General Characteristics
a. The Difference between Poetry and Prose
(1) Basic Differences
(a) Use of Language
Hebrew Poetry: General Characteristics
a. The Difference between Poetry and Prose
(1) Basic Differences
(a) Use of Language
(b) Purposes
Hebrew Poetry: General Characteristics
a. The Difference between Poetry and Prose
(1) Basic Differences
(a) Use of Language
(b) Purposes
(2) Example: Lam 2; 2 Kings 25:1-21
2 Kings 25:9
And Nebuzaradan burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every great house he burned with fire.
Lamentations 2:5-6
The Lord has become like an enemy,
He has swallowed up all its palaces,
He has destroyed its strongholds
And multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and moaning.
And he has violently treated his tabernacle like a garden booth
He has destroyed his appointed meeting place.
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(1) Rhythm and Sound
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(1) Rhythm and Sound
*Alliteration (beginning sounds)
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(1) Rhythm and Sound
*Alliteration (beginning sounds)
*Assonance (vowel sounds)
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(1) Rhythm and Sound
*Alliteration (beginning sounds)
*Assonance (vowel sounds)
* Play on Words
Example: Gamla (camel)Galma (gnat) [Mt 23:24]
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(1) Rhythm and Sound*Alliteration (beginning sounds)*Assonance (vowel sounds)
* Play on Words* Rhythm (meter)
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(1) Rhythm and Sound
*Alliteration (beginning sounds)
*Assonance (vowel sounds)
* Play on Words
* Rhythm (meter)
Hermeneutical Significance:
Relationship of word choice to form
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(2) A Key Structural Feature: Parallelism
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(2) A Key Feature: Parallelism
The balancing of adjacent lines
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(2) A Key Feature: ParallelismThe balancing of adjacent lines
But he was pierced for our trangressions,he was crushed for our iniquities; The punishment that brought us peace was upon
him,And by his wounds we are healed. [Is 53:5]
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(3) Other Structural Features
(a) Chiasm: An ABBA pattern in the structure of a verse or section of Hebrew poetry
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(3) Other Structural Features
(a) Chiasm
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, A
May my right hand forget its skill, BMay my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, B1
If I do not remember you… A1
[Ps 137:4-5]
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(3) Other Structural Features
(a) ChiasmDo not give dogs what is sacred;
Do not throw your pearls to pigs.
If you do, they may trample them under your feet,
And then turn and tear you to pieces.[Matt 7:6]
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(3) Other Structural Features
(a) Chiasm
(b) Acrostic
The use of the Hebrew alphabet to structure sections of poetry
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(3) Other Structural Features
(a) Chiasm
(b) Acrostic
e.g., Psalm 34—Its lines are organized according to the Hebrew alphabet
b. Hebrew Poetry: Nature and Structure
(4) Metaphorical Language and Imagery
Figures of SpeechE.g., simile; metaphor
Simile: Comparison often using “like/as”
“As the deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.” Ps 42:1
Metaphor: Indirect comparison
“You are my rock and my fortress.” Ps 71:3
