Jensens survey of the old testament adam 148
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A. OLD TESTAMENT POETRY
1. Purposes. The underlying purpose of the
poetic books is common to all Scripture,
whether the book be didactic or
inspirational. Apply 2 Timothy 3:16-17 here.
Because the poetic books are charged with
feeling, they appeal especially to the human
emotions and will, and so are very
persuasive in exhorting and reproving.
The poetic writings deal with problems
and experiences common to all mankind,
which make them timeless and universally
attractive. J. Sidlow Baxter writes of this.
These books portray real human
experience, and grapple with profound
problems, and express big realities.
Especially do they concern themselves
with the experiences of the godly, in
the varying vicissitudes of this
changeful life which is ours under the,
sun. Moreover, experiences which are
here dealt with were permitted to
come to men in order that they might
be as guides for the godly ever
afterward. These experiences are here
recorded and interpreted for us by the
Spirit of inspiration through “holy men
of old” who spoke and wrote “as they
were moved” by Him. Thus, in these
poetical books we have a most
precious treasury of spiritual truth.3
2. Main Types. There are three main types
of Hebrew poetry: lyric, didactic, and
dramatic.
a) lyric. This type is called lyric because the
poetry was originally accompanied by music
on the lyre. Religious lyric poetry expresses
the poet’s emotions as they are stirred by
and directed toward God. Most of the
Psalms are lyric. W. T. Purkiser observes
that “while there had been lyric poetry even
before Moses, the form grew in beauty and
sensitivity until it reached its highest point
of perfection in David, the ‘sweet singer of
Israel.’”4
b) didactic. This is sometimes referred to as
a gnomic type, because the unit of thought
is a gnome, or maxim. The main purpose is
to share observations and evaluations of life,
not to communicate feeling as such.
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are examples of
this type.
c) dramatic. In Hebrew drama, the action is
mainly that of dialogue, to get across
thoughts and ideas. Job and the Song of
Solomon are of this type.
3.
Characteristics.
Some
of
the
distinguishing characteristics of Hebrew
poetry are the following:
a) Hebrew poetry does not depend on rhyme
or meter as such, but is built around a
thought pattern.5 This allows the author
much liberty in terms of the structure of a
single line, and accounts for the large
variety in line lengths, from very short to
very long.
b) The unit of Hebrew poetry is the line. A
pair of two lines (called distich) usually
constitutes a verse. But tristichs (three lines)
are common, and some stanzas include
tetrastichs (four lines) and pentastichs ( ve
lines). (Read Psalm 37 and note the variety
of combinations of lines.)
c) Hebrew poetry brings out the color and
vitality of the Hebrew language. The
language’s makeup invites this. For example,
the most prominent part of speech in
Hebrew is the verb, the action word. The
language’s grammatical structure is simple
and direct. (There is no indirect speech in
the Hebrew Old Testament.) Metaphors and
antitheses6 appear often in the text, and
