Psalms 1: Parallelism and Mixed Metaphors

The Book of Psalms is comprised of prayers and songs dating from Israel's early history to after the exile. Like most of the literature of the bible, individual psalms were composed over many years and edited into a final form as it appears in the bible.

The introduction to Psalms in the Harper Collins Study Bible lists the following types of psalms:

• Prayers for Help (Laments)
• Songs of Thanksgiving
• Hymns (like Songs of Thanksgiving though not necessarily offered with an explicit reason)
• Royal Psalms
• Other

The variety of poetry in Psalms is vast, though undeniably God-centric. In total, there are 150 psalms, many of them repeating themes and images of others, though all unique aspects of praise, lament, or worship. These are divided into five collections, or "books," each separated by closing verses.

The first of these books is comprised of Psalms 1-41. I would highly recommend reading them; they are fascinating and beautiful works of poetry. In this time and space, I only have room to look at two in-depth.

Warning: I will analyze poetry as part of this post. For a rough sketch of terms and methods of biblical poetry, check out my primer on biblical poetry.

Parallelism in Psalm 19
One of the distinguishing characteristics of ancient Israelite poetry is the form of synonymous parallelism. The "synonymous" part of this is a function of style. Biblical poetry is filled with parallel cola that say the same thing, only in different ways. Modern writers tend to avoid repetition as a matter of style, favoring stylistic features like rhyme scheme instead. Ancient Israelite poets favored synonymous phrases.

The "parallelism" part of "synonymous parallelism" connotes structure. Biblical poetry is structured on parallel lines of poetry, much as poetry today is structured by meter and/or line length.

Below I have broken down Psalm 19.7-9, one of the longest and most intricate examples of synonymous parallelism in Psalms.

The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the decrees of the Lord are sure,

making wise the simple;

the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is clear,

enlightening the eyes;

the fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the Lord are true

and righteous all together.

(Psalm 19.7-9)

In the left column appear the perfect will of God. Laws, decrees, precepts, commandments, and ordinances are all synonyms, and fear is a near-synonymous term, meaning obedience to the Law of God. Taken together, these all refer to the covenant between God and his people. To adapt a term from Taoism, this is the Tao, meaning "way." the Laws/precepts are of the same substance as following them. The Israelite path to peace and goodness is through this "way," a path that is sure, right, clear, pure, and true.

The results for adhering to the will of God are given in the right column. The lone exception is the final entry, which serves instead as a synonym for the perfection of the Lord's law. The law has a revitalizing effect on adherents.

Synonymous parallelism has a reinforcing effect, and when taken as a whole, is not a far cry from the method of some mystics. In certain mystical understandings of God, it is wrong to say that God is something. It is more accurate to say that God is "like" something because it is impossible to know exactly what God is. We dance around meaning, and understand the idea in our mind and heart - an inexpressible reality that is reached through, but not described through, synonym.

Psalm 23: The Lord is My Shepherd
Psalm 23 is one of the most popular psalms, with two metaphors that are part of the lexicon today: the Lord as shepherd and the “valley of the shadow of death.” Psalms is not the only place in the bible that equates God with a shepherd, which indicates that this was not an uncommon understanding of God’s relationship with his people. The “valley of the shadow of death” appears in either this form or one similar, such as in the New Revised Standard Version: “darkest valley.” The difference comes from conflicting divisions of Hebrew consonants. In any case, this metaphorical valley is a place of evil and shade, a place where the walker requires the protection of God.

The extended metaphor that comprises the poem – the imagined shepherd leading the sheep – is confused as the poem at times lapses into the interaction between the Lord and his people. Of course, the shepherd leading the sheep is meant to demonstrate the Lord as shepherd and the people as sheep. However, the poem does not stick to either view consistently, resulting in ambiguity that actually enhances the poem through its double meaning. Below is the text of Psalm 23 as it appears in the New Revised Standard Version. I have marked where the imagery corresponds to sheep or humans, or has a double connotation

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. [sheep; double]
He makes me lie down in green pastures; [sheep]
he leads me beside still waters; [sheep]
he restores my soul. [human]
He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. [double]

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; [double]
for you are with me; your rod and your staff - they comfort me. [double; sheep]

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; [human]
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. [human; human]

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, [human]
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. [human]
(Psalms 23)

The poem has a notable movement to it that plays out in the balance of images. The poem opens with a sheep and then a double meaning and continues with sheep images before introducing a human image. It then switches to three images with double meaning, and invokes the sheep one final time before delivering five images of a human relationship with God. The poem therefore moves from an understanding of the Lord as shepherd to images of the Lord as a God who should be obeyed. The psalm is instructional, starting off with an easy image separate from direct experience and expanding on the image to explain the direct experience shared by God and those who follow him.

That will do it for today. Stay tuned for more psalms next week!