Video Transcript: Hebrew Parallelism in Psalms and Proverbs
Now that we've gone through the books of job and Psalms, it's important to reflect again on how Hebrew parallelism and communication works. In Psalms job and the Proverbs. It switches a little bit between job and Psalms and then the Proverbs and we have to understand that something new and different is going on. parallelism is the primary element by which Hebrew poetry expresses itself, but that parallelism comes in a variety of kinds. Now there are different forms of Hebrew parallelism, three are dominant, and one is dominant above the rest. synonymous parallelism, as we've looked at before, is the most prominent form of expression of Hebrew poetry. synonymous parallelism is when two or more Hebrew lines say the same thing using different words. Like in Psalm 88, verse three, My soul is full of troubles, my life draws nearer to sheol notice that the two lines say exactly the same thing, person in difficult times, that are life threatening, but they said in different words, and in the Restatement comes the reitterance reaffirmation of a particular theme. That's fundamental foundational to Hebrew poetry. He established a decree in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, Psalm 78, verse five, again, two lines, saying the same thing Jacob and Israel, Israel was the other name given to Jacob when Jacob wrestled with God. So they're the same peoples and decree and law are the same. And establishing and appointing are the same. So you have, you have three ideas in each line or three concepts that are strung together and reiterated in the second line, in different words, but the very, very same concepts, synonymous parallelism, two or more lines that say the same thing using different words. Now, antithetic is important to look at, because we're now transitioning between job and Psalms into the Proverbs. And here's where the Proverbs really pick up on a new concept or a new idea or make better use of a particular form of Hebrew poetry, two lines that declare opposite ideas in order to support the same conclusion. Psalm 119 has an example of that in song in verse 113, I hate to double minded, but I love your law. I dislike what's going on over here, but I love this. I hate that which is duplicitous, but I love that which is singular, two different ideas, which is an expression together form the same conclusion. This is where I belong, not over there. And I do that by rejecting that, and by gravitating toward that they have the same ultimate conclusion, but expressed in opposite ideas. Again, Psalm 78, verse 50, He did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague. If God does not spare someone from death, it is because God permits or wills, someone to engage in things that will bring destruction. So he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague, opposite ideas that when brought next to one another form of singular conclusion or idea. A third form of parallelism in Hebrew poetry is what we call stairlike, and here's where we have a number of lines that seem to build upon one another. So that an idea that's expressed in some of the earlier statements becomes now the means by which to raise the ideas into a new level or to a new form of that, or a broader expansion of that. Psalm 103, verses two through five, Bless the Lord, oh, my soul, and do not forget all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy who satisfies you with good things as long as you live, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. So you start out with a prayer for blessing and you end
up with a renewed life and in between, you have a number of synonymous parallelisms. But then you have parallelism, which which builds upon the last thing, if God For if God is beneficial, it's because he forgives your iniquity and if God forgives your iniquity, which is this inner kind of thing. It's also true that God blesses you in the outward way so your diseases are healed. And if that's true, then you're no longer in danger of death. So he redeemed your life from the pit, which is an you for a euphemism for the idea of to die, you don't die. And because you are redeemed from the pit, you were established in honor and splendor. So he crowns you a steadfast love and mercy, and you keep going up and up and up. So you see a number of things which take you from a prone and defeated position all the way to the heights of glory, and mercy. So the parallelism is found in the individual relationship between the lines, but in the overall effect as well moving from a lower position to a higher position, almost like walking up the stairs. Now, there are other things that don't translate quite as well in Hebrew poetry. Regardless of how well the translators do, rhythm and meter that cadence for repetition and recitation, the beats that happen in the line, some of it comes across better in some of our translations. But most of it doesn't capture the pounding rhythms of Hebrew language and poetry, assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds and consonants the repetition of consonant sounds. Of course, if you're translating these Hebrew terms into English terms or other language terms, you will lose that entirely. As well as alliteration which is the repetition of word beginning letters, you simply lose that when you translate the Hebrew poetry into other languages, and some other subtle and complex literary devices like enveloping. We did see that in Psalm 118. The first and the last verses are Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, his steadfast love endures forever, almost like the package into which the rest of the Psalm is placed. And the rest of the Psalm is an expression of how that goodness of the Lord comes to expression in individual and corporate lives in the community. And one of the others that I briefly mentioned, we went over briefly, but now I'd like to take a greater look at it is the idea of chiasm. chiasm is built, or the term comes from the Greek letter chi, which looks like an English x. Now, that may not mean a lot to us in terms of how we understand poetry itself. But we're not to think about the letter x, we're to think instead about the form of the letter X, two lines crossing over one another one going in one direction, and one going in the other direction. And that's what we find in psalms like Psalm 114. Notice that each of the couplets in the Psalm that is each pair of two lines is synonymous parallelism. When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from people of a strange language, those are two ideas that are formed in synonymous parallelism, Israel and house of Jacob mean the same thing went out. And then the assumption of going out in the second line from Egypt, and people have a strange language, again, parallel ideas. Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel as Dominion pero. synonymous parallelism, the sea looked and fled back, Jordan turned back synonymous parallelism, the mountain skipped like rams, the hills like lambs, synonymous parallelism. Now, something interesting takes place, continuing the synonymous parallelism, ideas in clumps, or in sections are repeated. Notice the lines the sea looked and fled, Jordan turn back. Now
suddenly, why is it OC that you flee or Jordan that you turn back? There's a repetition of exactly the same thing only now posed as a question. And the lines that follow to the mountain skipped like rams, the hills like lambs, or mountains that you skipped, like rams, oh hills, like lambs. The middle part is a mirror reflection. The verses that talk about the sea and Jordan fleeing, become questions, the verse that talks about the mountains and hills dancing, become reflected as questions so that the midpoint of the song becomes the mirror. Whatever happens in the first half of the song is now going to happen again in reverse order in the second half of the song. When you look in the mirror, you see everything that is standing before the mirror, but you see it in reverse, idea or or presence, those things that are closest to the mirror look closest, those things that are further away, look further away. And so there's this reversion of the appearance of things. So the first idea in the psalm we just throw one out from Egypt, the house of Jacob From the people of a strange language, Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel as dominion is the last thing in the Psalm as well tremble, own Earth at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the God of Jacob. Notice the repetition of the key ideas, who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water. And the central elements, again reverse their position as well. What was stated up front is stated in a different way, in the end, Israel was taken out of Egypt, and remember the shaking and trembling that happened at that time, in order that the people of Israel would become a solid and secure sanctuary for God. Now, at the end, those who don't have that become just a pool, and those that are not in that confidence with God become those who shake. So the whole idea of the psalm is that of whatever was stated upfront is stated in reverse order, in the second half chasm. There are many examples of this in Hebrew poetry, sometimes in a smaller, limited amount, and sometimes in a much more expansive amount, and also storytelling, the story of Rahab and Joshua chapter two is told in chiastic form, so that every element of the story in the first half is repeated in the second half in reverse order. And the key idea is located right in the middle. The story of Ehud, the judge, in the book of Judges in chapter three is the same kind of thing. And throughout the whole of the Bible, there are different expressions of chiasm as not something we often look at, but something that's essential to our understanding of how the Psalms function, and we ought to pay attention to it when those things happen. But getting back to the transition now, from Psalms to Proverbs, it's important to see that in the Psalms, most of the parallelism is synonymous parallelism, two lines that repeat the same basic idea in different words, probably as much as 85% of the psalms are made up of a kind of synonymous parallelism, it accentuates ideas by repeating and restating those ideas. When we move into the Proverbs, we'll find that most of the parallelism after the opening lectures on wisdom in Chapters one through nine, is antithetic, perhaps up to 85%. So almost the reverse of what happens in the Psalms happens in the Proverbs. Still poetry expressed in parallelism, but now a different kind of parallelism in job and Psalms. synonymous parallelism, mostly in Proverbs, mostly antithetic. parallelism. That means that the idea or the process by which proverbs are stated, is best expressed through antithetic. parallelism. antithetic parallelism, accentuates proverbial
ideas by showing the contrast between this and that between the good and the bad between the right and the wrong. And so most of the proverbs two liners mostly are antithetic parallelism, good thing to keep in mind throughout the reading of the proverbs. Here's just the opening of Proverbs chapter 10. Notice that these are proverbs of Solomon. But now look at the Proverbs themselves. Each one of these two lines is an individual proverb. Now they're coupled, or they're heaped up next to one another, but the original ideas that someone would toss off Solomon would toss up just these two liners. Okay? A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother. Notice the opposites, joy coming to a parent with wisdom and heartbreak to a parent, when there's foolishness or ill will or inappropriate behaviors. Again, ill gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death. So if something is stolen or inappropriately, purloined, it may make me feel good for a time but it can keep me from the challenges that face all of us including death. However, righteousness a relationship with God, not only prevents death from having the last word, but sees me through death into life and it has eternal value. So you see the opposites that are there in this antithetic parallelism. Another what the Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked, opposite ideas that together form a singular conclusion. Don't do that, do that or do this and that will not happen to you. Lazy hands make for poverty but diligent hands bring wealth. Laziness brings Shame brings loss brings lack, but diligence or engaging in the work that one's supposed to do, will produce its rewards and its wealth. A he who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. Blessings crowned the head of the righteous but violence overwhelms the mouths of the wicked. The name of the righteous is used in blessings but the name of the wicked will rot out. The wise heart accepts commands but the chattering fool comes to ruin antithetic parallelism, every one of them. Most of the proverbs, exist in antithetic parallelism, that's the standard language of heap of Hebrew poetry to express proverbial ideas. It may be well to look at these things further, you can find more about them particularly in my book, Covenant Documents.