Biblical Poetry

In spite of some ambiguity about where to draw the line between Hebrew poetry and prose, traditionally roughly a third of the Old Testament has been categorized as poetry. In addition to Psalms, many of the prophetic books and most Wisdom books are written in poetic form. The books of Song of Songs and Lamentations are also poetic. This overview covers the main features and most common forms of Hebrew poetry as reflected in Psalms, Song of Songs, and Lamentations.

Features of Biblical Poetry

Biblical poetry is characterized by the use of parallelism, a correspondence of related clauses. This tendency to reinforce a phrase by slight modification and repetition is a common feature of biblical style in general, not just poetry; poetic style is characterized by terse, binary sentences with a high degree of parallelism.

The relationship between parallel clauses may be semantic (having to do with meaning), syntactic (having to do with the vocabulary and phrasing), thematic, or a combination of these. The classic types of parallelism are synonymous, antithetic, and synthetic. Synonymous parallelism occurs with two or more clauses that restate essentially the same information. Antithetic parallelism labels clauses that present contrasting content. Synthetic parallelism is a catchall category for instances of parallelism that do not fit either of the other types.

Forms of Biblical Poetry

The poetry found in Psalms and Lamentations may have been used in Israelite worship and follows some fairly consistent patterns. These patterns are commonly called “types,” “genres,” or “forms.” The main forms are lament, thanksgiving, praise, and royal psalms. Some psalms are historical surveys—poetic accounts of God’s interactions with Israel (e.g., Psa 78). Other psalms appear to have functioned as liturgies sung as people entered the temple for worship (e.g., Pss 15; 24). Wisdom psalms praise the benefits of righteous living (e.g., Psa 37).

Lament Psalms

A lament psalm is a cry to God brought on by hardship or despair. Sometimes the complaint is presented on behalf of the entire community, but some complaints are motivated by individual situations. Lament psalms use common themes and stereotypical language to describe the experience of suffering. A typical lament psalm (e.g., Pss 10; 28; 59) may include the following parts (though the sequence and use of each varies): an address to God; a complaint; a request for help; a reason for God to help; a statement of confidence; an assertion of innocence; a confession of sin; and an expression of praise. Sometimes a psalmist insists that his suffering is unjust because he is innocent; in other cases a psalmist confesses that he had sinned but repents. A lament may conclude with a vow of praise—a promise to praise God after deliverance from hardship.

Thanksgiving Psalms

In some ways, a thanksgiving psalm is structured as a continuation or response to a lament. The lament usually ends with a promise to praise God, and the thanksgiving psalm fulfills that promise. Some of the common parts of a thanksgiving psalm parallel segments of a lament psalm. A thanksgiving psalm typically includes a summary of adverse circumstances and a report of God’s deliverance. The lament explains the circumstances and contains a request for God to deliver. The thanksgiving psalm is an expression of praise to God motivated by a particular experience of His grace (e.g., Pss 30; 116; 124). This structural connection with lament distinguishes thanksgiving psalms from psalms of praise.

Praise Psalms

Praise psalms (or hymns) celebrate the human experience of God’s goodness. While thanksgiving psalms tend to offer praise to God for specific answers to prayer, praise psalms are general expressions celebrating God’s attributes and His actions in creation. Enthronement psalms (e.g., Psa 47) and Zion hymns (e.g., Psa 46) are specific types of praise psalms. The former celebrate God as king of Israel and all creation; the latter celebrate God’s choice of Zion as His earthly dwelling place. Praise psalms have a simple format: a call to praise, an expression of praise, and a concluding call to praise (e.g., Pss 8; 29).

Royal Psalms

Royal psalms emphasize the role of a human king as God’s chosen leader for Israel (e.g., Pss 20; 45; 72). These psalms celebrate kingship while presenting the king as dependent on God for success. Royal psalms do not have a typical format or even formulaic phrases, so the identification of a psalm as a royal psalm is based only on whether its content relates to human kingship in some way.

Context and Background

For much of Psalms, the social and historical context of its composition is unknown. Later scribes put headings on many of the psalms to indicate their intended usage, to provide musical notation, or to assign a historical setting. The headings link nearly half of the psalms to King David, and all historical headings associate the psalm with an event from David’s life.

The background of Song of Songs is also unknown. Traditionally the book was associated with Solomon and thought to contain expressions of love between King Solomon and one of his wives. However, the only overt connection with Solomon is the ambiguous opening heading identifying the book as the “greatest song, which belongs to Solomon” (Song 1:1). Further, the Hebrew used in Song of Songs contains significant features of late classical Hebrew, suggesting the book dates to the Persian period or later. Song of Songs differs from all other types of biblical poetry, but it has significant similarities with love poetry known throughout the ancient Near East (see Pope, Song of Songs, 54–85). The question of how poetry celebrating human love and sexuality fits with the rest of the biblical text has motivated theological traditions in both Judaism and Christianity in which the book is read as an allegory of the love between God and His people.

The historical setting for the book of Lamentations is the period of national mourning following the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 bc. The poetry of Lamentations generally follows the lament format but emphasizes the experience of grief on a greater scale. The poet dramatically describes the disaster and attempts to make sense of the horror he has witnessed. Like a lament psalm, Lamentations includes elements expressing hope and confidence that God had not completely abandoned His people despite the crisis they were presently living through.

Theological Themes

Biblical poetry reveals expressions that run the gamut of human emotion—from the depth of despair to the height of happiness. While poetic language employs vivid imagery to describe events or themes of all kinds, most biblical poetry can be organized around two: the experience of human suffering and the assertion of divine kingship.

Human Suffering

The lament psalms, the thanksgiving psalms, and the book of Lamentations reflect the common experience of sin and evil for everyone living in a fallen world. The details change, but the experience is the same. This quality gives biblical poetry a timelessness and near-universal applicability. Everyone, at some point, experiences some unfairness or injustice; everyone comes face to face with sin and its consequences. Since many of the lament psalms are essentially prayers to God for deliverance or forgiveness, these psalms continue to influence how people pray. But these psalms can also be bold expressions of personal torment and despair, revealing that it is healthy to put such feelings into words and also comforting us with the knowledge that others have felt similar pain. Further, it is important to realize that the emphasis on suffering and injustice in many psalms is never the final word.

Divine Kingship

The theme of divine kingship encompasses the ideas of God as a warrior, as the creator, and as a righteous judge. Psalms praising God for His deliverance of Israel (e.g., Psa 78) and expressions of His power over creation (e.g., Psa 104) ultimately celebrate His lordship over the universe. Imagery of God as the divine warrior marching into battle on behalf of His people (e.g., Psa 68) similarly emphasizes His kingship over His chosen ones. Overall, the theme of divine kingship brings hope that someday, God’s reign will be perfectly restored and the circumstances that cause suffering and pain in the world will end.

Biblical Poetry and the New Testament

While poetry is less common in the New Testament, many passages allude to the poetry of the Old Testament. One of the most famous songs of the New Testament—Mary’s “Magnificat” in Luke 1:46–55—closely echoes the language and themes of Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2. Both passages address Israel’s need for deliverance and allude to God’s plan to raise up a deliverer. Poetry’s allusiveness—its ability to evoke images and associations—enriched the interpretation of poetry as prophecy, so lines from Psalms are quoted as fulfilled in Jesus’ life just as easily as Isaiah or Jeremiah (e.g., Psa 22:18 in John 19:24 or Psa 109:3 in John 15:25). Royal psalms—like Psalm 2—especially were given new significance when interpreted as references to the Messiah (e.g., Acts 13:33; Heb 5:5). Hebrews 1:5–14 links line after line of Old Testament poetry (including Pss 2:7; 45:6–7; 104:4; and 2 Sam 7:14) to express the Son’s superiority over all other heavenly beings and establish His right to kingship at the right hand of God. The New Testament writers make use of the poetry of the Bible to reveal that the Messiah has come, fulfilling the Old Testament longing for the restored reign of God.

Douglas Mangum

Further Reading

Types of Psalms Table

Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry Table

Acrostic Psalms

David and the Psalm Titles

Poetry, Biblical CLBD

Form Criticism CLBD

Psalms, Book of CLBD

Lamentations, Book of CLBD

Song of Songs, Book of CLBD

Parallel Love Poetry SS:NTIC

Parallelism DOT:WPW

Poetry, Hebrew NIDBV15

Poetry, Hebrew ISBE

Poetry JE:DRHRLCJPETPD12V

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