Introducing Postings from Proverbs with A Brief Understanding of Hebrew Poetry

Over the next few days there will be posts from scripture from some of the important themes from Proverbs. A paltalk friend Pamela aka WYOGRIDLEY and I will be posting such themes as :
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1. Self-control
2. Self-image
3. Pride
4. Wisdom
5. The Tongue
6. Friendship
7. Productivity
8. Accountability
9. Conflict
10. Honesty
11. Purity
12. Reputation
13. Wealth
14. Providence
15. Parents
16. Humility
17. Contentment
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As always this is for all members of Christ's Church in order that we may grow in our faith and in living our lives for the glory of God. Stay tuned and may God grant that we all gain wisdom to live to the glory of God and unified with one another as people of Christ's Church. .

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Since Proverbs is Hebrew poetry and since it is so different than western literature it is helpful to get a basic uderstanding of how it is written. This is needful in understand an interpreting what you read in the Psalms, proverbs and other poetical writingsin the Old Testament. So since most of what will be done in posting on proverbs will be postings within certain themes for you to just read the scriptures and to glean from thin I am posting this morning a explanation concerning hewbew poetry so that you may read and get full understanding from the many passages to be posted.

Hebrew Poetry

“Poetry, has been well defined as "the measured language of emotion." Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man's relation to God. "Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon, redemption, repentance are the awful themes of this heaven-born poetry." In the Hebrew scriptures there are found three distinct kinds of poetry,
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(1 that of the Book of Job and the Song of Solomon, which is dramatic;
(2 that of the Book of Psalms, which is lyrical; and
(3 that of the Book of Ecclesiastes, which is didactic and sententious.
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Hebrew poetry has nothing akin to that of Western nations. It has neither metre nor rhyme. Its great peculiarity consists in the mutual correspondence of sentences or clauses, called parallelism, or "thought-rhyme." Various kinds of this parallelism have been pointed out:
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(1.) Synonymous or cognate parallelism, where the same idea is repeated in the same words Ps 93:3 94:1 Pr 6:2 or in different words (Ps 22, 23, 28, 114, etc.); or where it is expressed in a positive form in the one clause and in a negative in the other Ps 40:12 Pr 6:26 or where the same idea is expressed in three successive clauses Ps 40:15,16 or in a double parallelism, the first and second clauses corresponding to the third and fourth Isa 9:1 61:10,11
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(2.) Antithetic parallelism, where the idea of the second clause is the converse of that of the first Ps 20:8 27:6,7 34:11 37:9,17,21,22 This is the common form of gnomic or proverbial poetry. (See Pr 10-15.)
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(3.) Synthetic or constructive or compound parallelism, where each clause or sentence contains some accessory idea enforcing the main idea Ps 19:7-10 85:12 Job 3:3-9 Isa 1:5-9

(4.) Introverted parallelism, in which of four clauses the first answers to the fourth and the second to the third Ps 135:15-18 Pr 23:15,16 or where the second line reverses the order of words in the first Ps 86:2 Hebrew poetry sometimes assumes other forms than these.

(1.) An alphabetical arrangement is sometimes adopted for the purpose of connecting clauses or sentences. Thus in the following the initial words of the respective verses begin with the letters of the alphabet in regular succession: Pr 31:10-31 La 1,2,3,4 Ps 25,34,37,145. Ps 119 has a letter of the alphabet in regular order beginning every eighth verse.

(2.) The repetition of the same verse or of some emphatic expression at intervals Ps 42, 107, where the refrain is in verses, 8, 15, 21, 31 (Comp. also) Isa 9:8-21, 10:1-4 Am 1:3,6,9,11,13 2:1,4,6

(3.) Gradation, in which the thought of one verse is resumed in another Ps 121. Several odes of great poetical beauty are found in the historical books of the Old Testament, such as the song of Moses Ex 15 the song of Deborah Jud 5 of Hannah 1Sa 2 of Hezekiah Isa 38:9-20 of Habakkuk Hab 3:1 ... and David's "song of the bow" 2Sa 1:19-27”


Easton’s Bible Dictionary