The Poetic Books

Introduction

The ancient Hebrews were a people skilled in composing forceful, elegant poetry. Nearly one-third of the Hebrew Bible is actually written in this manner. For example, the prophets used poetic oracles to teach covenant theology, and the powerful qinah, or “dirge meter,” was used both to pronounce doom on disobedient Israel and to lament the devastation when the pronounced judgment was fulfilled. One section of the OT is referred to specifically as the Poetic Books. Among these books, Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs are entirely poetic in form. The other two books in this division of the canon, Job and Ecclesiastes, contain poetic portions.

Unlike English poetry, which often focuses on rhyme, Hebrew poetry is characterized by rhythm: both rhythm of sound (including patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables, assonance and alliteration, and wordplay) and rhythm of thought (typically described as various types of parallelism). Poetic parallelism takes many forms, including the use of synonymous words, matched word pairs, opposite words, and progressive or sequential words and phrases. Hebrew poetry is the language of the heart; it is rich in metaphor and vibrant with word pictures.

Poetry has advantages over prose in that, through the use of throbbing rhythms, it can convey a message with elegance, emotion, and emphasis in such a manner as to make it memorable. Poetry is therefore an extremely important instrument for teaching. One way that the ancient Hebrews used the Psalms was to instruct the nation in its faith and history. Another function of the Psalms was devotional, as they examined the relationship between God and humankind in the varied circumstances of life—especially the circumstances that led to questions of theodicy, God’s role in addressing the problem of evil in the world. These devotional compositions stressed the supreme might of Israel’s God, his hatred of sin, the responsibilities of the covenant relationship, and the fate of the nation if it disobeyed or rejected his will. The Psalms also reveal a deity who cares greatly for his people and longs to shower his covenant love on them.

As a collection of sung prayers, Psalms became the hymnbook of ancient Israel. Long after prophetic oracles had been fulfilled and the nation of Israel dispersed, the Psalms continued to minister to God’s ancient people and remain still a centerpiece of Jewish worship. The Christian church incorporated this treasured legacy into its own worship in varying ways and continues to rejoice in the rich spirituality of the Psalms.

The Poetic Books also include a number of writings known as wisdom literature, especially Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Hebrew wisdom literature was similar in many ways to its ancient Near Eastern counterpart, as all societies seek to cope with the uncertainties of human existence and ensure their survival by handing down the accumulated knowledge of experience and observation. The concept of “the fear of the LORD” was foundational to the Hebrew wisdom tradition. For Israel, wisdom and the knowledge of God were inseparable since God is the source and dispenser of insight and understanding. Much of Hebrew wisdom is instruction and practical commentary on the law of Moses, designed to help the people of God navigate life safely and successfully.