Review article

Reading Psalms and Wisdom Literature

Gerhard Pfandl ; The Biblical Research Institute of SDA

Abstract

More than one-third of the OT is poetry. Most of it appears in the book of Psalms, in the wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), and in the prophetic books. Isaiah is written almost entirely in poetic form. A number of poetic sections are also found in the historical books, e.g., Genesis 49 and Numbers 23 and 24. Only seven OT books have no poetry at all (Leviticus, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, and Malachi). Thus, it is important to understand Hebrew poetry in order to interpret large portions of the OT correctly.
Poetry calls for a different hermeneutical approach from that used in narrative. Narrative brings information and teaches by illustration; poetry makes room for a freer expression of inspiration. In this article we will consider some basic guidelines to interpret Hebrew poetry.

Keywords

psalms; poetry; wisdom litrature; parallelism; literary figures

Hrčak ID:

281575

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/281575

Publication date:

31.8.2022.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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