Lamentations: Poems and Synesthesia

Being midway through the bible,
I would like to analyze some poetry. I
Bid you stay with me - I will break down
Lamentations and
Explain the meaning of its lines.

Today we look at The Book of Lamentations, an intricate web of five interwoven poems, each of which speaks of the Babylonian exile in a different way. These are the events immediately following the book of Jeremiah, which can be read in 2 Kings.



The first four poems take the form of acrostic poetry. An acrostic poem is one in which the first letter of every line or verse is used to spell or say something, as in the short poem above. Poems 1, 2, and 4 of Lamentations spell out the Hebrew alphabet verse by verse, all 22 letters in order, from aleph to taw. Poem 3 intensifies poetic form, with 3 successive verses devoted to each letter. Poem 5 mimics the number of verses in poems 1, 2, and 4, but does not exhibit an acrostic form. For those of us who cannot read Hebrew, I created a visual display so you can see how the poems sounds.

Poem 1:

________________________

Poem 2:

________________________ 

Poem 3:

________________________

Poem 4:

________________________ 

Poem 5:

________________________ 

Read chronologically (how else are you going to read them?), the series of poems exhibits an intensifying effect through poem 3, before tapering in poems 4 and 5. This creates the sensation of a great buildup of emotion that peters out into ambiguity. Indeed, Lamentations shifts over the course of the poem from mere description in its opening:

How lonely sits the city
that once was full of people!
How like a widow she has become,
she that was great among nations!
She that was a princess among the provinces
has become a vassal.
(Lamentations 1.1)

to an ambiguous closing:

But you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures to all generations.
Why have you forsaken us these many days?
Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored;
renew our days as of old -
unless you have utterly rejected us,
and are angry with us beyond measure.
(Lamentations 5.19-22)

This ending question is very troubling. It explicitly doubts the relationship established by the covenant between God and Israel, something that has not been seen before, except perhaps in Job, where it was quickly rebuffed. The end of Lamentations leaves us with an open question. Is God still devoted to Israel? Will he indeed restore his people?

This question may close the work, but in fact it is the thesis of Lamentations itself. Over the course of five poems we view the exile of Jerusalem through the eyes of six different parties.

Lamentations 1
This poem features two narrators, an omniscient narrator in 1-11b and the personified City of Zion (Jerusalem) in 11c-22. After getting a metaphorical sense of Zion's suffering (Zion as virgin daughter, suffering for her uncleanliness), Daughter Zion cries out in her suffering for the metaphorical pains she has suffered both directly by God and by "false lovers."

Lamentations 2
A new narrator describes how the Lord has punished Israel, and mixes metaphor with particular horrors that Israel has suffered:

My eyes are spent with weeping;
my stomach churns;
my bile is poired out on the ground
because of the destruction of my people,
because infants and babes faint
in the streets of the city.
(Lamentations 2.11)

Then in the last two verse the poem reverts back to the voice of daughter Zion:

The young and the old are lying
on the ground in the streets;
my young women and my young men
have fallen by the sword;
in the day of your anger you have killed them,
slaughtering without mercy.

You invited my enemies from all around
as if for a day of festival;
and on the day of the anger of the Lord
no one escaped or surived;
those whom I bore and reared
my enemy has destroyed
(Lamentations 3.21-22)

Zion has clearly suffered, but the most emotional plea fittingly comes in the most poetically dense portion of the book, poem 3.

Lamentations 3
This poem takes the point of view of a male of Jerusalem, who describes the physical manifestations of oppression suffered by the residents of the city:

I am one who has seen affliction
under the rod of God's wrath;
...
He has made my flesh and my skin waste away
and broken my bones;
he has besieged and enveloped me
with bitterness and tribulation;
he has made me sit in darkness
like the dead of long ago.
(Lamentations 3.1; 4-6)

The male speaks for the people, those shot with arrows, those laughed at by their enemies, those afflicted by the siege of Jerusalem. Such is described in the first third of his lament. Then comes the recognition of God, which expands upon the first two poems in praising God's greatness and seeking his protection. Praise of God constitutes the latter two-thirds of the poem.

For the Lord will not reject forever.
Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.
(Lamentations 3.31.33)

The narrator of Lamentations 3 knows that the Lord will one day defend him. He has called out to the Lord, and the Lord has apparently responded to him that his enemies will be judged for their actions. With God's apparent support, perhaps given through the words of Jeremiah or some other prophet, the narrator is confident that the Lord will pay back the deeds of Jerusalem's oppressors and restore his people to their proper place.

Lamentations 4
This note of hope is quickly subdued in the following poem, beginning from the first line:

How the gold has grown dim,
how the pure gold is changed!
The sacred stones lie scattered
at the head of every street
(Lamentations 4.1)

And so goes the rest of the poem, narrated by the community itself. Horrors are recalled, from the thirst of infants to the capture of King Zedekiah to even canibalism:

The hands of compassionate women
have boiled their own children;
they became their food
in the destruction of my people.
(Lamentations 4.10)

It is a truly dire situation, and yet the last two strophes of the poem speak of imminent salvation of God's chosen people.

Rejoice and be glad, O daughter Edom,
you that live in the land of Uz;
but to you also the cup shall pass;
you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.

The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter Zion, is accomplished,
he will keep you in exile no longer;
but your iniquity, O daughter Edom, he will punish,
he will uncover your sins.
(Lamentations 4.21-22)

These hopeful lines of poetry are significantly briefer than the 45 strophes that praise God in Lamentations 3. Clearly the expectation of salvation is wearing thin by this point, as the eventual reward becomes vague. Indeed, by the end of the next poem, hope will seem to all but disappear.

Lamentations 5
This poem continues to address the Lord, and offers the bleakest picture of Judah's suffering: women raped, skin black from malnutrition, downtrodden people who suffer hunger and thirst. Their hearts are sick and their eyes have grown dim. In light of the circumstances, there is one last question for God:

But you, O Lord, reign forever;
your throne endures to all generations.
Why have you forgotten us completely?
Why have you forsaken us these many days?
Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored;
renew our days as of old -
unless you have utterly rejected us,
and are angry with us beyond measure.
(Lamentations 5.19-22)

The closing of the poem - and the Book of Lamentations, reveals the potential for a great shift in Israelite belief. Up until this point, it has been common knowledge that the Lord supports and protects Israel. Now that view is being called into question. Why have they suffered so much and why do they continue to suffer? Will the Lord indeed intervene to save his people? Lamentations asks these very uncomfortable questions, and provides no answer. The bible, which has always praised God's greatness, even in times of oppression, here confronts a very difficult situation, and rather than finding an answer in God, finds no answer at all. The question hangs in the air for history to answer.

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!

2 Samuel 22: David's Song of Thanksgiving

2 Samuel 22 consists of a piece of biblical poetry, probably by multiple authors, but one with a consistent voice - that assigned to King David. The poem present a somewhat mystical image of God, in which God is not any one thing but is many things at once. Below the poem appears in 11 strophes that I defined by theme. I then analyze it in the subsequent section.

2 Samuel 22: David's Song of Thanksgiving
David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.

[1]
He said: The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge,
my savior; you save me from violence.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

[2]
For the waves of death encompassed me,
the torrents of perdition assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me,
the snares of death confronted me.

[3]
In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.

[4]
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked,
because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.

[5]
He bowed the heavens, and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub, and flew;
he was seen upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness around him a canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.
Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High uttered his voice.
He sent out arrows, and scattered them
—lightning, and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
the foundations of the world were laid bare
at the rebuke of the Lord,
at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

[6]
He reached from on high, he took me,
he drew me out of mighty waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
from those who hated me;
for they were too mighty for me.
They came upon me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my stay.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

[7]
The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands
he recompensed me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all his ordinances were before me,
and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me
according to my righteousness,
according to my cleanness in his sight.

[8]
With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself blameless;
with the pure you show yourself pure,
and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
You deliver a humble people,
but your eyes are upon the haughty to bring them down.
Indeed, you are my lamp, O Lord,
the Lord lightens my darkness.
By you I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God — his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?

[9]
The God who has girded me with strength has opened wide my path.
He made my feet like the feet of deer, and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your help has made me great.
You have made me stride freely,
and my feet do not slip;
I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,
and did not turn back until they were consumed.
I consumed them; I struck them down,
so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet.
For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
They looked, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
I beat them fine like the dust of the earth,
I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

[10]
You delivered me from strife with the peoples;
you kept me as the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
Foreigners came cringing to me;
as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
Foreigners lost heart, and came trembling out of their strongholds.

[11]
The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God,
the rock of my salvation, the God who gave me vengeance
and brought down peoples under me,
who brought me out from my enemies;
you exalted me above my adversaries,
you delivered me from the violent.
For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to your name.
He is a tower of salvation for his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.


Analysis of 2 Samuel 22

[1]
God's protection acts in a continuum of capacities: A rock connotes constancy, so God acts as a form of continual safety. A fortress connotes warfare, so God acts on behalf of David in battle. A deliverer connotes oppression, so God acts as a revolutionary who overthrows the old order. The three terms form a continuum from safety to a liminal state of danger to persecution. The next terms - shield, horn, stronghold, refuge - all hold their own connotations as well, with shield and stronghold both suggesting battle or willful confrontation, and horn and refuge both suggesting one who seeks safety (as in the safety offered by grasping one of the horns of the altar; in a similar way blood is dashed on the horns to expiate wrongdoing when a sin offering is made). The closing image is again one of a savior, so that the "strophe" begins at one end of the spectrum and ends at the other.

[2]
Strophe 3 introduces the first water images in the poem, the "waves of death" and "torrents of perdition." These synonymous images recall the destructive waters of the Red Sea that washed over the Egyptians as they pursued the escaping Israelites. The next two synonymous images are objects of binding: cords and snares. These images, like the preceding water images, give the sense that death is an active force that pursues the living. The poet is encompassed, assailed, entangled, and confronted, all actions that frighten or oppress.

[3]
Here is the anthropomorphic God, who lives in the temple. I would argue that the fact of God's hearing is not as important to his anthropomorphism as his residence in the temple. Of course, the mention of the temple indicates composition after the time of David, as Solomon would only build the temple of the Lord after his father's death. But if we consider the temple as part of the poet's cohesive vision, we find that the establishment of a temple serves to make God's temporary residence in the traveling ark permanent with a fixed building. God has been physically present with his people since the time of Moses, and remains with them when the Temple is established. God is not accessed on mountains (as with Moses) or beside a river (as with Jacob), but rather in the temple.

[4]
This strophe is perhaps our first introduction to the prophetic poetry of the bible, with what we might call "apocalyptic" imagery ["Apocalyptic" not in the sense of The Book of Revelation but rather in the sense of revelation of God's actions on earth]. The earth suffers a tumultuous time due to God's anger, in a scene reminiscent of a volcanic eruption. God's anger causes the earth to quake, smoke to arise, and fire and coals to shoot out. These physical manifestations of anger come from God's body, mixing emotion with a very physical reaction, though not an anthropomorphic one per se. God has human features, but these display superhuman capabilities: shooting fire and smoke. The poet seems to say that God is in some ways like humankind, but clearly certain aspects of him are manifested differently. There is a strong connection with the natural world, if only it is the destruction of the natural world.

[5]
Violent imagery continues in strophe 6 as God mounts a campaign against the poet's enemies. God thunders from heaven, the source of wind and clouds and water, taking these elements with him to form a canopy of clouds, like the one that led Israel by day as they wandered in the wilderness. God is conveyed on the wind wrapped up in the natural world elements of clouds and water, and image that combines the most primeval elements of Genesis. He then uses natural and unnatural means to fight the poet's enemies: arrows and lightning. These two parallel verses are synonymous, demonstrating God's ability to defeat armies through natural and supernatural means. God's power lays bare the entire earth, sea and land, a demonstration of his utter hegemony.

[6]
Just as God "came down" in strophe 6, he reaches "from on high" to rescue the poet. God's exact location is indeterminate, but clearly it is some place "up." Here God is not the God that resides within the temple, but the God that protects on the field of battle. In two parallel verses, God rescues the poet first from "mighty waters" and second from a "strong enemy" that is "too mighty for me." The mixing of metaphor and reality helps to muddle the meaning of the poem, as the poet mixes a figurative event with a literal one. Unless this poem is attributed to a person that was saved both from mighty waters and a strong enemy, it is safe to assume that the mighty waters part is metaphor. This allows the reader to question, "What else is metaphor in this poem?" Indeed, we can now interpret a great deal of this poem as metaphor. Perhaps God does not actually breathe smoke and shoot fire from his mouth. Perhaps this application of natural and human images to the divine serves as an attempt at mysticism, an attempt to experience (or in this case, convey) the ineffable through physical means. Mysticism does not tell us that God is something, but rather that God is like something. In this way God can occupy both high places and the temple because this is an acknowledgment that there are certain things we do not understand about him. Mysticism allows for alternative experiences and explanations of God where the traditional falls short.

[7]
The poem shifts here from the nature motif to a description of God's ways. The Lord delivers the poet because of the poet's righteousness and likewise because "he delighted in me," as stated in strophe 7. Keeping with the covenant and all of God's ordinances, the "ways of the Lord," is essential to keeping God's favor. Righteousness is equated with spiritual cleanliness, a way of keeping "holy." In biblical parlance, "holy" means "separate." Spiritual cleanness means staying away from the grime of sin.

[8]
The first four verses of this strophe display a mirroring quality to God: God reveals himself to people the way they are. [By extension, God reveals to people how they act; the loyal see their loyalty mirrored in God and could know that they are loyal.] Ideally the Israelites fall under the first three categories: loyal, blameless, and pure. These humble people conquer others through God's action; God acts as a shield for them in which they take refuge, assuming a passive state. God is a rock. In this sense it seems to be God's work alone that conquers Israel's enemies. However, a few verses clarify God's powers. The Lord is a tool; a lamp to provide light or something that gives crushing or leaping power to the poet. There are "historical" instances of actions like this in the bible, but I wonder whether the poet means it literally. I do not have an answer for this question - but I think the answer to the question would tell us a little more about the person or people behind this poem.

[9]
From this point to the end of the poem, the subject modulates frequently between God/He/You, and I. In classical mystic fashion, this creates an ambiguous quality to the work, so that addressing the Lord in the second person is the same as speaking of him in the third. The added third voice of the poet (I) further confuses the poetry, so that I becomes wrapped up in God, who is also You and He.

The poet is very much concerned with feet, footing, and balance, which conveys the feeling of balance and movement. The Lord secures the poet's feet and strengthens the poet's arms. The poet is aided by the Lord in warfare, so that the poet's enemies are destroyed. They fall under the poet's nimble feet like dust or the muck on a street.

[10]
This strophe makes clear the "poet" is David, or at least a king. The poet is a leader with so many subjects he does not know them all. His name invokes fear in people he has never met, and people surrender to him without a fight.

[11]
Strophe 12 recaps the opposite ends of the spectrum: God as rock and God as deliverer. It closes out the poem with praise for God, who loves and supports his anointed, the king. God is the Savior of Israel forever.

The vision of God presented in the poem is not entirely cohesive, but this allows for a mystical interpretation of the passage. The biblical poet may not have been driving toward a mystical vision, but the fact that we are able to interpret it as such may indicate that the poet held a view of God that the Lord was somehow ineffable, and that language failed to describe God or any experience with God.

2 Samuel 1-10: Poetry, Christian Interpretation, and Quantum Physics

Last week's entry concluded with the deaths of Saul and his son Jonathan, and David killing the man who claimed to mercifully murder Saul.

Today I will focus on David's early campaign as king. I will go about it a little differently than normal. Let me know if you like it! Or hate it!

David's Lamentation: 2 Samuel 1.19-27
David's mourning over Jonathan takes the form of poetry, in fact a complete poem with a great deal of repetition. The repetition helps to clarify David's psychology. Let's take a look:

Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!

How the mighty have fallen! 


Tell it not in Gath,

proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;

or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,

the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.


You mountains of Gilboa,

let there be no dew or rain upon you,

nor bounteous fields!


For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,

the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.


From the blood of the slain,

from the fat of the mighty,

the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,

nor the sword of Saul return empty.


Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!

In life and in death they were not divided;

they were swifter than eagles,

they were stronger than lions.


O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,

who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,

who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

How the mighty have fallen

in the midst of the battle!


Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. 

I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;

greatly beloved were you to me;

your love to me was wonderful,

passing the love of women.


How the mighty have fallen,

and the weapons of war perished!

The formula "How the mighty have fallen!" serves to structure the poem, appearing at the beginning and end as well as in the middle. However, the poem truly pivots on the verses that mention both Saul and Jonathan: "The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, / nor the sword of Saul return empty. / Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!" The poem begins with general lamentations for the glory of Israel, before focusing on the death of Saul. But David's mind isn't truly on Saul, for soon after the reference he includes Jonathan, before displaying his greater appreciation of Jonathan.

Over the course of the poem the formula: "X lies slain upon your high places" is repeated twice, opening first with Your Glory, O Israel and then with Jonathan, so that Jonathan is equated with the Glory of Israel, as opposed to his father, Saul. Of course, it is David and later his son Solomon that are the true glory of Israel, but David's sentiment exemplifies the great love he shared with Jonathan. Even with his emphatic defense of Saul, David appears to value Jonathan more. David is "distressed for you, my brother Jonathan," a sentiment that involves himself personally with Saul's son. On the other hand, David has the "daughters of Israel" "weep over Saul." As much as he supported King Saul, it was with Jonathan that David shared the truest friendship: "greatly beloved were you to me; / your love to me was wonderful, / passing the love of women." [For more on this type of friendship, read "Of Friendship" by Montaigne.]

Christian Interpretation of 2 Samuel 7
Christian interpretation of the bible is something I have steered away from thus far, but I just finished reading Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth and feel the need to speak out if only a little on this phenomenon.

David has built a house for himself and expresses a desire to build one for the Lord as well. The Lord's response, given to the prophet Nathan in a dream, explores the literal and figurative meanings of house and place. His speech is excerpted below:

Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?...I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. 

Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 

I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

The Lord's speech represents a new iteration of the covenant of land and progeny, the patriarchal covenant that stretches back to Abraham. The old iteration of that covenant has been fulfilled: the land promised - Canaan - is now inhabited by the progeny - the Israelites. God's newly designated land will be Jerusalem, where the ark of the covenant will be kept. the promise of progeny is still "a great name," but that comes through one person: David's son Solomon. The old covenant being fulfilled, a new one is established. The spirit of both is the same, while the terms change. Of course, the Israelites are also still bound to the covenant of faithfulness to God established under Joshua.

God's emphasis on location is fitting in a conversation that centers around a house. David builds for himself a house without building a resting place for God. Yet God insists that he does not have to settle down just yet; David's progeny will take care of the house and its location. Not only will David not need to build a temple/house (literal) for God; God will in fact build a (metaphorical) house for David! What wordplay! [Does anyone speak Hebrew? Are the roots similar? Do both connote house?] The house the Lord will "build" for David is part of the promise of progeny. A great kingdom will be established through David's offspring. The new king will be a great man, his relationship with God like that between father and son. But God will not punish this man on his own. Instead, humans will inflict blows on him for his iniquity. Nevertheless, David's kingdom will be eternal.

That sounds like Solomon, right? David's progeny, iniquity, establishing God's house...The only place where the whole thing breaks down is at the very end, the establishment of the throne forever. The United Monarchy only lasted 5 generations.

Were you able to read that passage without thinking of Jesus? I wasn't. [Those two preceding sentences mimic the style of Hal Lindsey's book. You should check it out if you're still interested. Fair warning, though, it's a bit outdated.] Read enough prophecy and you will see Jesus everywhere. Who established an eternal kingdom on earth? Jesus! Who is an ancestor of David? Jesus! Who endured the blows of human beings? Jesus!

Despite these rather *ahem* remarkable findings, it is highly improbably that this section refers to Jesus. On its own, this is merely the story of God's promise to David of Solomon and a temple in Jerusalem. The problem is that the people who believe that the passage does point to Jesus are drawing from a number of different sources. Two interpretation issues come into play: Biblical inerrancy and metaphor.

God creates metaphor in this section by making the tangible idea of David's house intangible in the sense of the "house of David" - his line of successors. To a degree this gives the reader a license to interpret other things as metaphorical as well, such as the kingdom, which is taken by some Christian readers to mean the so-called "kingdom of heaven" that Jesus ushers in. The biblical inerrantist also has license to assume that the time of David's kingdom has not come yet because, well, the throne clearly was not established forever. By this reading the throne must be established in the future.

The biblical inerrantist has some problems to deal with as well, such as Saul's actions fulfilling most of God's promise. Also, God specifically states that David's son will be punished for his "iniquity" with "blows inflicted by human beings." Certainly Jesus was brutalized, but it definitely was not on account of any iniquity!

Occam's Razor, the idea that the simplest explanation for a quandary is the most likely choice, would seem to apply here. Why jump through hoops to prove Jesus when Solomon is a simpler explanation? Why forecast so far into the future when Solomon is a few years away?

If I haven't confused you enough, let me make one last attempt.

Context is key here. Suppose I was traveling along X road at Y speed in a car with mass Z. According to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, I would only be able to know either my momentum or my location at any given moment. In fact, this is not true. My momentum is given by the equation ZY and my location by X. So what happened?

It seems I have misapplied the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which is applicable only at the quantum level. Context changes everything. If I am looking for a way to support my argument for Jesus, that is what I see. It might not be correct, and the way I apply laws may not yield a proper solution, but I can do it.

And because we are talking about something that no one can definitively prove either way [even if the author were alive, some would say the text could not be proven either way!] I am liable to believe whatever I like.

What do I believe? That a literary reading of the bible should acknowledge religious influences both inside and outside of the text. And so you have today's entry.

Judges 4-5: Deborah

Judges 4: Deborah and Barak
Judges 5: The Song of Deborah

Judges 4 and 5 offer two different accounts of the same story, the first in prose and the other in poetry. The long poem that comprises the song of Deborah is a much earlier work, and the preceding prose narrative is probably based off of it. There are some key differences in the two accounts, though they are quite similar to one another.

Deborah and Barack begins "The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died." But the text immediately preceding this places Shamgar between Ehud and Deborah. Indeed, Shamgar's placement is confusing, especially because the account of his leadership is so brief. Probably he was inserted between the stories of Ehud and Deborah after these stories had been established in the bible.

Deborah and BarakJudges 4
For the Israelites' apostasy, the Lord hands them over to King Jabin of Canaan, who has oppressed the Israelites cruelly for 20 years and has 900 chariots of iron. The commander of his army is Sisera.

At this time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, judges Israel. She summons Barak son of Abinoam, of the tribe of Naphtali, to tell him that the Lord has commanded him to bring 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebuln to Mount Tabor. The Lord will have the Israelites defeat Sisera at the Wadi Kishon.

Barak says he will only go if Deborah accompanies him, and she agrees to do so, but warns, "the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman" (Judg. 4.9). This prophecy (or foreshadowing, for the author) will prove to be true, but not in the way the reader will expect.

A side note then informs us:

Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites, that is, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had encamped as far away as Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
(Judg. 4.11)

You might be wondering, "What in the world does that have to do with the story? The answer is "probably a lot." When the biblical author introduces information, it is always with good reason. A note like this would not exist without good reason.

When Sisera hears Barak is near, he summons his 900 chariots and all his men, and go to meet the Israelite. The Lord throws his army into a panic before Barak, and the Canaanites are all struck down as they flee in their chariots. But Sisera dismounts and flees on foot toward the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite. King Jabin is at peace with Heber, so this seems like a good place to go.

Jael invites Sisera in and covers him with a rug. When he asks for water she gives him milk, a sign of great hospitality. Sisera then asks that Jael not tell anyone he is there. When he falls asleep, Jael takes a tent peg and a hammer, and drives the peg into Sisera's temple, until it goes into the ground. Barak comes in hot pursuit, to find his enemy dead, fallen by the hand of a woman.

The Israelites then fight until they destroy King Jabin.

The Song of DeborahJudges 5
The first verse informs us that Deborah and Barak "sang," but the verb is singular, so probably only Deborah sang this song.

The song blesses and praises the Lord, describing his power over nature and his prowess in battle. And - look at this! - Shamgar is mentioned in verse 6: "In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, / in the days of Jael, caravans ceased / and travelers kept to the byways." But wait a minute. Shamgar doesn't sound like an Israelite at all! And he probably isn't.

In any case, Deborah is praised for causing the peasantry to prosper and grow fat on plunder. She arises "as a mother" to the people. Indeed, this seems to be a song reprimanding the rich and championing the poor peasants of Israel. Israel did not have the aristocratic shields and spears to fight with. They did not ride on white donkeys or sit on rich carpets. Yet they march to conquer a great army. Well, not all of them march. Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, and Isaachar are praised for their actions. The other tribes are chided for their inaction: Reuben tarried and searched its heart. Gilead, Dan, and Asher stay put. Zebulun and Naphtali both "scorned death."

The author then presents an image of divine war, a sort of "on earth as it is in heaven." As the kings fight at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, the stars fight from heaven against Sisera. This is the abstraction of the Lord's army made concrete.

The narrator then describes a scene that we did not see in the prose account: "The torrent Kishon swept them away, the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon." This account seems remarkably similar to the escape from Egypt, as Israel's enemies are thrown into a panic and defeated with a rush of water. It can be said to recallthat event.

The song curses"Meroz" because they did not help the Lord. What city or clan this was, or their relationship with Israel, is unknown.

The poem then praises Jael for her actions and recounts her slaying Sisera in classic biblical poetry:

He asked water and she gave him milk,
she brought him curds in a lordly bowl

This emphasizes Jael's hospitality through climatic parallelism, as the object delivered increases in richness from water to milk to "curds in a lordly bowl."

She put her hand to the tent peg
and her right hand to the workmen's mallet

This parallelism seems to increase in specificity and greatness. It was not just any hand, but the right hand. It was not only a tent peg, but actually a workmen's mallet. (This has implications for the prose account, in which it is said she grabs both. Perhaps this is a misinterpretation of biblical poetry on mine or the author's part. We shall probably never know, though.)

she struck Sisera a blow,
she crushed his head,
she shattered and pierced his temple

Again, these parallel verses increase in specificity.

He sank, he fell,
he lay still at her feet;
at her feet he sank, he fell;
where he sank, there he fell dead.

In this parallel structure, the content is not changed, but is rather rearranged. We do not receive any new information; instead the death is emphasized and dwelled upon.

We then get a poignant account of Sisera's mother looking out the window, wondering why her son is not home. Her ladies answer for her - or does she answer herself? They are surely finding and dividing the spoil, a girl or two for every man and other splendors. And of course, Sisera has not gotten a woman in battle; a woman has gotten him.

"And the land had rest forty years."

Deuteronomy 32: The Song of Moses

Deuteronomy 32: The Song of Moses

Yesterday's reading speaks of a song that the Lord gives to Moses to teach the people. It is a song to remind the Israelites of their broken covenant when they turn away from God. Today we will analyze the song, whose poetic verses comprise most of Deuteronomy 32. I would recommend following the link above to read the song in its entirety. It is a beautiful piece of literature. However, the narrator shifts a few times throughout the song, so when reading it be careful to discern who is saying what.

The Song of Moses: Deuteronomy 32.1-47

You might remember from Deuteronomy 30 that the Lord's new covenant with Israel calls on the heavens and earth as witnesses. These witnesses are invoked in the very first line of the song:

Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
let the earth hear the words of my mouth

The heavens and earth comprise the universe; there is nothing that is not a witness to this contract. The witnesses of the covenant are omnipresent in order to ensure that God is eternally in his people's hearts and on their lips.

Next we are to consider God's speech/teaching in four different forms of water droplets: rain, dew, gentle rain, and showers. These are all synonymous in the sense that they come down upon the earth and yield growth.

Next we are presented with the Lord as Rock, a motif that will appear throughout the rest of the poem. The rock is perfect and just and faithful and upright. His "degenerate children," on the other hand, are perverse and crooked, foolish and senseless. This generation of Israelites is rebuked, and asked to remember their creation and protection by the hands of God.

Then comes a primeval image of the Most High (Elyon) apportioning nations and fixing boundaries "according to the number of the gods." The Israelites are kept by God as his own portion. This seems to suggest monolatry - the belief that there is more than one god but worshipping one only. This version of monolatry even suggests a hierarchy, with Elyon as the most high God, capable of assigning other gods to other peoples. From the Israelite point of view (in this verse at least), the Israelites are a protected people of the High God, and are justified in maintaining their convictions in the face of foreign peoples. [God, of course, just wants the Israelites to obey God.]

An eagle simile appears after to convey how God shields and cared for God's people in the wilderness. God protects and cares for the Israelites as an eagle protects its young. The Lord covers, bears, guides Israel, sets the nation "atop the heights of the land" (the location of eagle nests), feeds it, nurses it "with honey form the crags."

The Israelites grow fat, bloated, gorged, and then abandon God. This is a recurrent motif throughout the bible; when the Israelites get full access to food, they stuff themselves, grow complacent, and turn against the Lord. They follow strange gods, sacrifice to demons, forget the Rock that bore them.

The Lord sees this and "hides his face" from his people - meaning he will no longer support them. Just as the Israelites turned to another god, the Lord will support another people temporarily in order to seek revenge on the Israelites a la "eye for an eye."

The anger of the Lord is fiery like a volcano. It burns to the depths of Sheol [a shady place where souls go after death, though not a place where souls are tortured, like Hell) and "sets on fire the foundations of the mountains." The Lord will wage war against the Israelites with arrows, hunger, disease, and deadly animals. Young and old alike will die, their names blotted out.

Israel's enemies will not understand that they are successful because the Lord has given Israel into their hands:

They are a nation void of sense;
there is no understanding in them.
If they were wise, they would understand this;
they would discern what the end would be.
How could one have routed a thousand,
and two put a myriad to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
the Lord had given them up?
Indeed their rock is not like our Rock;
our enemies are fools.
(Deut. 32.28-32)

Even when the Lord turns his face from the Israelites, he is still their one and only God. There will always be that connection between them. Other people have other false gods, but YHWH is the one true God that can make armies win and lose as YHWH Sabaoth. And so the Lord will vindicate his people, and their enemies will realize that their gods are naught.

God then declares monotheism:

See now that I, even I, am he;
there is no god beside me.

God kills and makes alive, wounds and heals. God is omnipotent and will take vengeance on those who hate him. Those arrows that were before aimed at the Israelites will now be used against their enemies:

I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
and my sword shall devour flesh.

The people are told to worship God, as are the false "gods" of the foreign people. This is not meant to acknowledge that these gods exist, but rather is a rhetorical device to demonstrate YHWH's power. Even false gods would bow down to YHWH. And God will take vengeance and cleanse the land for his people.

These are the words that Moses recites for the people to remember after they have crossed the Jordan.

Numbers 22-24: Outside the Israelite point of view

Numbers 22: Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel / Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel
Numbers 23: Balaam's First and Second Oracles
Numbers 24: Balaam's Third and Fourth Oracles

Much of the Hebrew Scriptures is written in either third person omniscient or third person limited point of view. Though the narrative focuses on one group, the Israelites, the author also reveals the thoughts and actions of non-Israelite characters, such as the Egyptians. Kings are an especially popular type of character to which thoughts and emotions are ascribed. This is third person omniscent. When the narrative concerns only God and his people, we may refer to the narrative as third person limited, because the narrative is limited to these people. This is a frequently used narrative point of view.

The story of Balak and Balaam is unlike anything written up until this point. It entirely focuses on Balak and Balam, the Moabite king and one of his men (perhaps a priest) that can bestow blessings and curses. The narrative is written in a third person limited point of view that takes us away from the Israelites. However, the author's intention seems to be to glorify Israel from an outsider's perspective. So while this story takes place entirely separate from the goings on of Israel, it still can be used to support the idea of their, er, "manifest destiny" promised by the divine covenant.

P.S. Easy way to remember Balak and Balaam: Balak is the leader whose name sounds like Barack, the other leader. Let me clarify this. Neither are Muslims. Balaam, on the other hand, does not sound like Barack, so he is not the leader.

Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel: Numbers 22.1-21
Balak, son of Zippor and king of the Moabites, sees what Israel has done to the Amorites and is overcome with fear. This fear, for the biblical author, is self-serving, presenting Israel in its best, most fearsome light. Balak sends the elders of Midian to summon Balaam to curse the Israelites, "for I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed" (Num. 22.6; this is also a role that God fulfills).

Balaam says he will confer with the Lord. This might seem a bit strange to a modern audience, but this is a polytheistic society. As a sort of prophet with the ability to bless and curse, Balaam would be able to confer with any number of deities. But because the author is trying to illustrate the Lord's power over these other gods, Balaam is shown only conferring with him. Though Balaam is not an Israelite, he is an intermediary, and God speaks to him.

The God of Israel comes to Balaam and tells him not to return to Balak with the elders of Midian, because the Israelites are a blessed people. The elders return to Balak, only to find themselves back with Balaam with an offer of great honor. Balaam declines, saying he would not curse the Israelites for Balak's house and his riches.

But in the night, God tells Balaam he may return with the elders.

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel: Numbers 22.22-40
So it's a bit confusing when the next verse after Balaam leaves is, "God's anger was kindled because he was going." Didn't God just allow it? What we have here is a  glimpse into the author's writing process. The biblical authors and editors did not mind inconsistencies, as long as a story was told. Inconsistencies or contradictions could always be explained away. For example:

God's allowing Balaam to leave in verse 20 is repeated in verse 35. So really what the narrative does is give us a short version of the story, then a long version.

What follows, then, consitutes the long version of Balaam's permission. It is a rather humorous account, complete with a talking donkey.


Balaam is confronted by the angel of the Lord three times. Or more accurately, Balaam's donkey is confronted - Balaam cannot see the angel and strikes his donkey each time for its misbehavior. During the third encounter, the donkey finds himself in a tight spot facing down the angel of the Lord, and decides to lie down. Balaam strikes his donkey with a staff, to which the donkey magically responds something like, "What the hell, man?" In fact, it was the Lord that gave the donkey speech. In any case, though, Balaam does not seem too astonished by his talking donkey (perhaps it is difficult to surprise prophets) and carries out a conversation with a donkey that appears to possess superior skills in logic. Why, after all, would the donkey act so strangely if he did not have a good reason?

God opens Balaam's eyes, and Balaam immediately falls on his face. The angel of the Lord rebukes Balaam and informs him that his donkey saved him from death. Balaam admits he has sins and asks to return home. But the angel allows him to go with the elders of Midian.

Whose God is more powerful now?

When Balak sees Balaam, Balaam says, "I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say" (Num. 22.38). And indeed, Balaam serves the Lord's purpose from that point forward.


Balaam's First Oracle: Numbers 22.41-23.12
Balak takes Balaam to Bamoth-baal, where he can see part of Israel and curse them. Balaam tells Balak to make seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams, one of each on each altar. Balaam tells Balak to stay with the offerings and wanders off to with God. Balaam returns with an oracle that blesses Israel.

Oops.

Balaam's Second Oracle: Numbers 23.13-26
Balak takes Balaam to the field of Zophim, where he can see part of Israel and curse them. Balaam tells Balak to make seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams, one of each on each altar. Balaam tells Balak to stay with the offerings and wanders off to with God. Balaam returns with an oracle that blesses Israel.

Oops.

Balak tells Balaam something like, "Alright, don't curse or bless them." But Balaam responds that he must speak as the Lord tells him.

Balaam's Third Oracle: Numbers 23.27-24.14

Balak takes Balaam to Peor, where he can see part of Israel and curse them. Balaam tells Balak to make seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams, one of each on each altar.

This time Balaam does not wander off. He sees that the Lord wishes Israel to be blessed, so he sets his face toward the wilderness, where he sees Israel camping tribe by tribe. This must have been a fantastic sight, all the Israelites camped together in the wilderness. Then the spirit of God comes upon Balaam and he utters an oracle that blesses Israel.

Oops.

Just think - Balaam is not even an Israelite. And yet he is the perfect vessel to convey God's message that his people will be protected. Balak lashes out against Balaam, but Balaam responds that he can only recite the words of the Lord (who is not even his god!)

Before he leaves, Blaam utters one final oracle concerning the fate of the Moabites.

Balaam's Fourth Oracle: Numbers 24.15-25
The fourth oracle foretells the destruction of the Moabites, Amalekites, and Kenites in violent but compelling poetry. I have not done justice to the poetry of these oracles, and recommend you check them out on your own time.

So What?
So what indeed. The section was quite comical - the talking donkey, Balaam's failure to curse the Israelites and Balak's growing frustration. This is a very folkloric tale with its focus on the human condition and its prophetic poems woven throughout. If you have time to read it on your own, I would highly recommend checking it out.

Exodus 15.1-21 Redux

I apologize for the lack of analysis last night. Poetry is a pretty hefty topic to introduce and analyze all at once. Today I am going to take a step back and analyze the poetry introduced yesterday. Check out that post if you haven't yet - it has a lot of important information regarding today's post.

Also, if you cannot tell, I am having problems with font and formatting, because I generally type my blog in Microsoft Word or TextEdit, then copy and paste it here. Today's post is all typed in Blogger, for a change. Someday I might go back and reformat all the entries. In any case, it's something always in the back of my mind.

One thing I forgot to mention last night is that the easiest way to remember chiasmus is to think of the famous line from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address:

Ask not what your country can do for you—

ask what you can do for your country.

The "ask" parts provide the topical parallelism necessary for cohesiveness, while the you/you, country/country creates the chiasmus. Chiasmus comes from the Greek letter "chi," represented by an "X." In chiasmus, the equivalent words or phrases form an X:

your country can do for you

X

you can do for your country

Let's get going.

The Song of Moses: Exodus 15.1-19

The song/poem opens with a cast list: Moses and the Israelites. Even if the poem was not originally written by Moses, for biblical authors the attribution is important. The poem refers to events that have not happened yet. This does not indicate that it was written later than the rest of the text - in fact, it has many influences that seem to predate the rest of the narrative. Rather, this poem was inserted because it is an additional telling of the escape from Egypt, just as "true" as the others.

"Stanza" One
Distich one displays the Lord triumphing over the Egyptians. Distich two takes the idea of triumph and personalizes it: "The Lord is my strength, and my might...my salvation." The third distich continues to play on the theme and personalizes it further, going from God's characteristics to God himself: "my God...my father's God." The last distich gives two labels to God. The first, God as warrior, is implied in the narrative. The second, God as YHWH, or Lord, is explicit in the narrative (Ex. 3.13-15; "The Divine Name Revealed").

"Stanza" Two
Distich one demonstrates synonymous parallelism, except it's a little more than synonymous. Really, the second half of the distich gives specific examples of the generalized first half. The second distich parallels the first.

The third distich demonstrates emblematic parallelism. The hand that is "glorious in power," an abstract manifestation, makes a physical gesture: "shattered the enemy." The next distich contains synonymous parallelism. The two following it serve mostly as narrative.

"Stanza" Three
The reference to the earth swallowing the Egyptians may indicate a belief in the underworld. The dead Egyptians are taken under the earth, to the afterlife.

"Stanza" Four
The first distich of "stanza" four is composed with a sort of hybrid chiasmus-synthetic parallelism:

In your steadfast love...you led them

X

you guided them...by your strength

Chiasmus: Highlighted in red and green: [aspect of God]/guidance
Synthetic: "Love" to "strength"

Distich three is a unique three-line distich, arranged by chiasmus alternating the people of various parts of the Promised Land and their fear:

Chiefs of Edom...dismayed

X

tremblimg...leaders of Moab

X

all the inhabitants of Canaan...melted away [with fear?]

That's pretty cool. At least I think so.

Exodus 15.1-21

The Song of Moses / The Song of Miriam

Primer on Biblical Poetry

I am deeply indebted to my college professors for this section, one of whom introduced me to The Bible as Literature, a wonderful resource for reading the bible as literature that I really do not use enough in writing this blog…

Here lies the first extended poem of the Bible. But if you’re expecting Emily Dickinson, you will be sorely disappointed. Like Dickson’s poetry, biblical poetry is at times narrative, at times contemplative. Unlike Dickinson’s poetry, biblical poetry…lingers.

Biblical poetry, if not formatted as it is commonly found in contemporary Christian bibles, can be difficult to identify with the untrained eye. But once you learn to identify the devices, it becomes fairly easy, and you can even identify units of poetry still hiding in the text proper.

Of course, identifying these devices was a problem. Writes John B. Gabel et al. in The Bible as Literature:

The problem came about because Hebrew poetry had no formal device like our rhyme to mark the ends of poetic lines and because its rhythm was too fluid to settle into patterns that unmistakably announced the presence of verse.

(Gabel 35)

But then came Bishop Robert Loweth’s 1753 hit Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews. Whereas the poetry we know poetry is based on form, Loweth proposed that biblical poetry was based on thought. It is poetry balancing units of rhythm or rhyme verses poetry balancing “sense units.” One of my college professors told me that the reason Hebrew poetry is not based on rhyming because it would be way too easy. There may be truth to that – Hebrew is an incredibly lyrical language. Rhymes and rhythms that might delight an English speaking audience are simple units of language.

Hebrew poetry does have a general form, called “parallelism.” One of the simplest types of parallel relations is “synonymous.” Let me give you an example, with text from above, arranged like a distich, a two-line block of biblical poetry.

Poetry we know is based on form / but biblical poetry is based on thought.

Poetry we know balances units of rhyme / but biblical poetry balances sense units.

Here the two left units parallel one another. The two right units parallel one another as well. How do you feel about that? I just sort of said the same thing twice, just in different ways. But the biblical writers didn’t see poetry that way:

Turning it in the hand and viewing it from different angles, as it were, the Hebrew poet could more fully demonstrate its latent significance.

(Gabel 37)

Another type of synonymous relationship is “synthetic,” which indicates a flow in logic or movement. For example:

Poetry we know is based on form / but biblical poetry is based on thought.

Poetry we know balances units of rhyme / but biblical poetry balances sense units.

We might find this / poetry boring.

Biblical poets would not find this / poetry boring.

There is a logical flow between the first distich and the second distich. The second distich moves the ideas in the first distich forward. But notice that both distiches are comprised of synonymous parallelism.

The third type of parallelism mentioned in The Art of Biblical Narrative is “antithetic” in these the second unit in a distich “denies or provides an exception to the preceding one” (Alter 38). Actually, it was used above:

We might find this / poetry boring.

Biblical poets would not find this / poetry boring.

Other terms to consider: “Emblematic parallelism” has one literal and one metaphorical unit. “Climatic parallelism” builds up to a climax. “Chiasmus” is a type of parallelism that lines up the top left unit with the bottom right one, and the top right one with the bottom left one. For example:

Poetry we know is based on form / but biblical poetry is based on thought.

Whereas biblical poetry balances sense units, / poetry we know balances units of rhyme.

The Song of Moses: Exodus 15.1-19

That is about all you need to know for now. Here is the “Song of Moses” in its entirety. Look for parallelism throughout.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
   horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
²The Lord is my strength and my might,^*
   and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,
   my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³The Lord is a warrior;
   the Lord is his name.

⁴‘Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea;
   his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.^*
5The floods covered them;
   they went down into the depths like a stone.
⁶Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—
   your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
⁷In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
   you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.
⁸At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
   the floods stood up in a heap;
   the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
⁹The enemy said, “I will pursue, I will overtake,
   I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
   I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.”
¹⁰You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;
   they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹‘Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
   Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
   awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
¹²You stretched out your right hand,
   the earth swallowed them.

¹³‘In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;
   you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
¹⁴The peoples heard, they trembled;
   pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
   trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
   all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
¹⁶Terror and dread fell upon them;
   by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone

until your people, O Lord, passed by,
   until the people whom you acquired passed by.
¹⁷You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,
   the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
   the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
¹⁸The Lord will reign for ever and ever.’

19 

When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

The Song of Miriam: Exodus 15.20-21

What follows is the very brief “Song of Miriam.” Notice that Miriam is Aaron’s sister. Even though Moses and Aaron are brothers, Miriam is not listed as Moses’ sister.

Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them:
‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.’

Check it out – it rhymed there. Thanks, translators!