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JBTM_13-2_Fall_2016
JBTM_13-2_Fall_2016
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JBTM Jeffrey G. Audirsch<br />
40<br />
Literary Characteristics of Biblical Poetry<br />
Many Jews and Christians are drawn to biblical poetry due to its vivid and figurative<br />
character. To interpret adequately biblical poetry, we must be familiar with the plethora<br />
of literary features. In this section, I will discuss several of the most prominent literary<br />
features. As mentioned earlier, biblical poetry is known for its terseness—that is, short<br />
lines, few words, and few conjunctions. Thus, terseness adds to the explosive nature of<br />
poetry, meaning every word is ripe for interpretation.<br />
5<br />
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,<br />
and do not lean on your own understanding. (Prov 5:3)<br />
1<br />
A time to be born, and a time to die. (Eccl 3:1)<br />
Next, imagery is an overarching literary feature with many others falling under its umbrella.<br />
“Images are the glory, perhaps the essence of poetry,” notes Luis Alonso Schökel. 33 For<br />
this reason, we must do our best to define and understand these images. That being said,<br />
imagery evokes “a sensory experience in our imagination” 34 that can be described as “word<br />
pictures.” 35 Since imagery is an overarching literary feature, one example will suffice:<br />
4<br />
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;<br />
remove the foreskin of your hearts,<br />
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Jer 4:4a)<br />
In this text, the imagery of circumcising one’s heart is vivid and, to be completely<br />
honest, unfathomable. To physically circumcise one’s heart would actually bring about<br />
death; however, when interpreted figuratively, Jeremiah is challenging the Judahites and<br />
Jerusalemites despite the impossibility of imagery evoked.<br />
Probably the most recognizable types of imagery are simile and metaphor. A simile is<br />
a comparison is made between two things while utilizing “like” and/or “as” (e.g., see Song<br />
4). 36 The comparison being made is typically explicit. 37<br />
“Parallelism,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, & Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III<br />
and Peter Enns (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 502–15.<br />
33<br />
Alonso Schökel, A Manual of Hebrew Poetry, 95.<br />
34<br />
Leland Ryken, Read the Bible as Literature (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 90.<br />
35<br />
Ernest C. Lucas, “Terminology of Poetics,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, &<br />
Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 522.<br />
36<br />
For an in-depth analysis of similes in biblical poetry, especially Hosea see David L. Petersen and<br />
Kent Harold Richards, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry, ed. Gene M. Tucker, Guides to Biblical Scholarship<br />
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992), 50–60.<br />
37<br />
G. B. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible (Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox, 1980),