Hebrew Poetry III

Overview of Old Testament Hebrew Poetry

Loago Setswalo

I. Various Forms of Hebrew Poetry

A. Poetry of Prayer & Praise

1. Mostly Psalms

2. Exodus 15 etc

B. Prophetic Poetry of Judgment & Hope

1. It Generally has a historical reference

a) Isaiah 1:1 - Historical setting for he poem of Isaiah 1 given.

b) Isaiah 6:1- gives another historical event etc

2. Generally A prophet records Direct Messages from God to a specific audience

a) Generally contains messages of future judgment

(1) Isaiah 1:1 - Hear .. the Lord has spoken etc

b) An Appeal is made to avert the judgment

(a) Appeal sometimes in acted parables , oral, written, etc

i) Isaiah 1:6-8: Why should be stricken anymore?

ii) “Through its vivid imagery and language of direct address, prophetic
poetry functions to influence the perceptions, emotions, and actions of
the audience”.

c) Generally ends with Encouragement & Hope

(1) Isaiah1 :24-28 - Prophecy of restoration

(a) Isaiah 40-50 - Encouragement

(b) Isaiah 60-66 - Visions of future Glory & Triumph

d) The Prophetic part of that poetry is sometimes typical, or has an end time
application.

(1) Messianic prophecy

(a) Isaiah 53: -His life & Death

(b) Isaiah 61: - His message & Ministry

(c) Isaiah 63: His judgement on the heathen etc

e) Found in Prophetic books

(1) Isaiah, Jeremiah Nahum, Amos

C. Poetry of Grief, Sorrow

1. Lamentations
a) “The book of Lamentations contains several poems that present a gripping and
emotional response to the experience of the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Babylonians (587 BCE) and the exile of its inhabitants. With vivid imagery, the
poems describe the aftermath of the siege, its effect on women and children, the
hostility of the enemies, and the desolation of the city. Like the Song of Songs, this
book is a sequence of poems. It does not tell a coherent narrative from beginning
to end, but it unfolds through various first-person voices who represent different
responses to exile.

b) Lamentations does not present a carefully reasoned argument about the cause of
destruction or a narrative report of destruction like we might find in a newspaper.
Instead, it offers a disjointed set of images that shift back and forth between
description, accusation, and anguished prayer. The effect is disorientation. It is
often hard to pick out exactly what is happening, where, and when. But the result is
that the readers are just as affected by the chaos of the scene as the poet.

 c) Lamentations of Jeremiah over sin of Judah typifies lamination of Christ for the sins
of the church


D. Poetry of Love
1. Songs of Solomon
a) The Song of Songs represents some of the most sublime poetry in the Hebrew
Bible. Indeed, the very name of the book indicates its beauty. In Hebrew, the
construction "song of songs" expresses superlative meaning. It might also be
translated as "the best song." What makes this poetry so beautiful and unique is
the way in which it captures the range of emotion involved in desire and erotic love.
From joy to anguish, from delight to pain, from experiences of pleasure to
situations of danger, the Song touches upon a range of emotions, senses, and
images.

b) It has conversational poetry between lovers.

c) Purpose: Demonstrate the Love that God has for his church- bride.

E. Didactic Poetry : Poetry of Wisdom

1. Proverbs:
a) Authors:

(1) Solomon (see 1:1; 10:1; 25:1).

(2) The Wise Men (22:17-24:34).

(3) Agur (30). The name means “gatherer” or “collector”.

(4) Lemuel (31). The name means “dedicated unto God” and may have also
referred to Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24-25).

b) The book of Proverbs is comprised both of longer poems in chapters 1–9 and of
small lines of poetry in the proverbial sayings. Proverbs, for example, relies upon
the personification of wisdom and foolishness to portray vividly the desirability and
danger of the opposing paths

c) Poetry makes a decisive difference to the didactic function of wisdom literature,

which is particularly evident in the proverbial sayings of the book of Proverbs. The
terse nature of proverbial sayings is not only a feature of their form, but it also
serves their function of imparting wisdom and cultivating discernment in the
student.

d) Definition of a Proverb: What is a Proverb? The word ‘proverb’ (mischele) means

“to be like, a comparison; noting likeness in things unlike.” What would you say a
‘proverb’ is? Name a modern-day proverb which illustrates your definition.

(1) Characteristics of a Proverb. Proverbs are brief, concrete, and pithy. They
illustrate general truths and have diverse applicationsPurpose: Proverbs 1:2-6 -
Why it was written -

e) Purpose of the Book: Contrast Wisdom & Foolishness & to help people discern
the difference.

(a) Gives Moral Guidance & Practical wisdom

(b) Proverbs 1-9 - Prologue to Wise Living

(c) Proverbs 10-30 - Principles of Wise Living

(d) Proverbs 31 - Personification of Wise Living - “The Virtuous Woman”

(2) Wisdom in Proverbs: “In the Bible, wisdom is always God-oriented and
practical. It is not entirely coextensive with knowledge, for a knowledgeable
person may be very deficient in wisdom.

(a) Wisdom is the right use of one’ s knowledge, insight and skill to the glory of
God.It originates in the fear of the Lord (Prov. 1:7; 9:10; cf. Job 28:28; Psa.
111:10).

 (b) Thus the Bible defines wisdom in terms of one’s relationship with God
rather than formal education or attainments before men (cf. James 3:13-18).

(3) Foolishness in Proverbs

(a) “Definition: “The word is used in Scriptures with respect to moral more than
to intellectual deficiencies. The ‘fool’ is not so much one lacking in mental
powers, as one who misuses them... In Scriptures the ‘fool’... is the person
who casts off the fear of God, and thinks and acts as if he could safely
disregard the eternal principles of God’ s righteousness (Psa. 14:1; 92:5-6;
Prov. 14:9).” (Unger’ s Bible Dictionary, p.375).

(b) Definition: “One ‘who acts without counsel, and whose will is too hard for
his understanding; he hath no reason for what he doth, but because he hath
a mind to do it.’” (Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies, p.172). 


f) Job: The dialogues in Job make extensive use of metaphor and vivid imagery to
convey the unsearchable nature of wisdom and the anguish of human suffering.

(1) Purpose: Why do the innocent people suffer?

g) Ecclesiastes: Vanity of Vanities

(1) Meaninglessness of Life without God

(2) Practical valuable lessons for wise living.