Westminster John Knox Press

Reading Biblical Poetry
READING BIBLICAL
POETRY
An Introductory Guide
J. P. Fokkelman
Translated by
Ineke Smit
Westminster John Knox Press

LOUISVILLE L O N D O N
Copyright 2001 J. P. Fokkelman

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Library o f Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fokkelman, J. P.
Reading biblical poetry : an introductory guide / J.P. Fokkelman.
1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-664-22439-3 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Hebrew poetry, BiblicalHistory and criticism. 2. Bible. O.T.
Language, style. I.Title.
BS1405.2 .F67 2001
221.6'6dc21
2001026227
Contents
Preface
1
vii
Preliminary exercise
A strophe by Isaiah and a poem by David
T h e art of poetry: a definition and analysis
Components I and II: language and number
15
A text model and h o w to use it

Language and number (continued)
37
Parallelism: cola and verses
61
T h e strophe
87
T h e stanza
117
T h e p o e m as a w h o l e
141
In search of the correct division

The power of repetition
159
W i s d o m literature
The book of Job
175
Love p o e t r y
The Songs of Songs
189
T h e reader's attitude
Productive questions and hints
207
10
11
12
Guidelines for further reading

150 and more poems, and their divisions
211
Glossary
225
Bibliographical notes
229
Notes
231
Index of biblical passages
237
Preface
This b o o k is intended for those w h o do n o t read H e b r e w but have
to rely o n a translation of the Bible. I have tried to put myself in
their position as m u c h as possible, and w h e n I started writing I was
fully resolved to refrain entirely from using information from the
original texts, or at least to limit references to the original text to
the utmost m i n i m u m . N o w that the b o o k is finished, however, I
find that I have n o t always succeeded in this aim. Occasionally
I have b e e n forced to refer to the original language after all, in
order to keep m y argument transparent, and because the p o e m
u n d e r consideration d e m a n d e d it. Moreover, I have frequently
resorted to using m y o w n translations.
This is not surprising. Poetry is the most ingenious form of ver
bal expression. F u r t h e r m o r e , the poet's virtuosity permeates every
level of the text, from sounds and syllables to strophes and even
higher textual units; there is a b o x of tricks for every layer. T h e
result is that anyone w h o discusses p o e t r y should be able to draw
o n a similar extensive repertoire of tools; dealing w i t h poetry is a
m u c h m o r e technical j o b than interpreting narrative prose. T h e n
there are the readers, from w h o m considerably m o r e patience and
stamina is required than in the case of prose w i t h its familiar forms
of organization such as plot, time, etc.
This b o o k is the c o m p l e m e n t to Reading Biblical Narrative, the
A m e r i c a n edition of w h i c h appeared in 2000. At the same time,
however, Reading Biblical Poetry is perfectly able to stand o n its
o w n . This time I have m a d e m o r e allowances for the fact that the
b o o k will b e consulted by college students. For their convenience,
I have taken t w o measures: in the first place, every n o w and then
there is a footnote containing a reference to the H e b r e w Bible or
secondary literature. Secondly, I have also taken great pains over
chapter 12, "Guidelines for further reading," w h i c h offers, a m o n g
other information, for the first time ever the strophe divisions for
viii
Preface
all psalms.These data may serve as an incentive and a guide to the

reader to try his or her o w n hand at tackling these puzzles. Even
those "average" readers, w h o lack knowledge of the original text,
will find that the tools offered here will enable t h e m to embark
on this challenging enterprise.
February 2001
1
Preliminary exercise
A strophe by Isaiah and a poem by David
I n search o f t h e p o e t s o f t h e B i b l e
W i t h i n the Bible, poetry is almost exclusively confined to the O l d
Testament. Although poetic lines do occur regularly in the Gospels
and the letters of the N e w Testament, these are actually quotations
from the Psalms and the Prophets. In the first chapter of his Gospel,
Luke includes two poems: the song of praise spoken by Mary w h e n
she visits Elizabeth, w h o is later to b e c o m e the mother of J o h n
(w. 4655), and shordy afterwards, w h e n J o h n is born, the prophecy
spoken over the child by his father Zechariah (w. 6879). Both texts,
however, owe everything to Hebrew poetics and its rules; they are
mainly a collage of expressions and phrases from the O l d Testament.
This means that we can safely confine our attention to the O l d Tes
tament, which I will henceforth refer to as the H e b r e w Bible. This
is a t e r m that is better suited to the Scriptures of both Ancient Israel
and Jesus of Nazareth, as it is a collection of writings whose origin
predates the Greek of the N e w Testament by centuries, and is totally
independent of it from b o t h a literary and a religious point of view.
W h e r e do we find the poems?The Hebrew Bible consists of 1,574
printed pages in the standard edition that is used worldwide for the
study of the original text. A fairly accurate estimate would be that
more than 37 percent of these, about 585 pages, contain poetry These
figures, however, are fluid, as especially in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Ecclesiastes it is hard to determine the proportion of poetry to prose. Some
scholars see more prose there than I do. If I h u m o r t h e m and lower
my figure to 550 pages, this still means that almost 35 percent of the
pages in the standard edition consists of poetic lines. If we take into
account that these pages contain more white space than do the pages
of the histories and law, w e can conclude that roughly one third of the
Hebrew Bible consists of poetry. I call that quite a lot.
1
W h e r e exactly are the poems situated? For most texts, there is a

quite definite answer to this question. T h e books of Psalms,
Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Lamentations consist exclusively of
poems, the b o o k of J o b almost exclusively. T h e books of Isaiah and
the twelve so-called M i n o r Prophets (bar o n e ) were also largely
written in poetry; the fact that the demarcation of the poems is
often difficult does not alter this. Finally, there are a n u m b e r of indi
vidual poems, distributed throughout the narrative prose. T h e y
occupy carefully chosen positions; varying in length from a few
words to many strophes, they articulate the mass of narrative prose,
throughout the entire "history" track that runs from Genesis
through to Kings. I will m e n t i o n only the most important ones
here: the strophes in w h i c h Jacob, and Moses after him, character
izes the tribes (in Gen. 49 and D e u t . 33), Moses' Song at the R e e d
Sea (Exod. 15), his long didactic speech in D e u t e r o n o m y 32 (no
fewer than sixty-nine full poetic lines in twenty-seven strophes),
Deborah's Song of Victory in Judges 5, the Song of H a n n a h in 1
Samuel 2:110, David's lament in 2 Samuel 1:1927, and his great
Song of Thanksgiving as king in 2 Samuel 2 2 .
3
This is all very well, but can w e actually see the difference
between prose and p o e t r y in our Bible translations? This is a
question w e have to ask, as I a m writing primarily for the m a n y
readers w h o do n o t read the Bible in the original languages.
T h e difference b e t w e e n prose and poetry has generally b e e n
carefully observed in recent translations, as for instance the bestselling N e w International Version (1978, revised 1983), and the
Jewish Publication Society's 1985 translation of the H e b r e w Bible:
prose has b e e n printed continuously, but p o e t r y is immediately
conspicuous by its typography: the lines are ragged instead of j u s
tified. In the older translationsthe many reprints of the King
James Bible and the widely available Revised Standard Version of
194652this is unfortunately n o t the case. In these versions,
only t h e Psalms, Proverbs, Job, S o n g of Songs, and Lamentations
are p r i n t e d in the desired typography of true poetic lines. T h e
abundant Prophetic texts have regrettably been printed as prose,
often in t w o columns per page. T h e unfortunate results of this will
soon b e c o m e clear, as I introduce two of the greatest poets by dis
cussing a strophe from Isaiah and a lament of David's.
Preliminary Exercise
Wash y o u r s e l v e s , m a k e y o u r s e l v e s c l e a n (Isaiah 1)
T h e first thing that strikes us w h e n w e o p e n o u r translation is the

typography in w h i c h the poems are presented: their appearance o n
the page. H e r e is a passage from Isaiah in the R S V rendering:
[16] Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of
your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, [17] learn to do
good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead
for the widow.
(Isa. 1:16-17)
Typography like this blocks our view of the true literary situation
by printing the text continuously, as if it were prose. Moreover, the
text is printed in two columns per page, a procedure w h i c h in itself
is already detrimental to the poetry. T h e t w o biblical verses I just
q u o t e d are actually composed of three verses in the literary
sensei.e., full poetic lineswhich each consist of three seg
ments. T h e i r 3 x 3 exactly fill o n e strophe, and thus the unit may
also be printed as follows:
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good,
seek justice;
support the oppressed,
provide justice for the fatherless,
plead for the widow.
line
la
lb
lc
2a
2b
2c
3a
3b
3c
This is a w o r k i n g translation that keeps a bit closer to the o r i g

inal text. T h e r e is o n e substantial difference from the R S V r e n
dering, w h i c h appears at the b e g i n n i n g of the third verse. T h e
H e b r e w w o r d hamots usually refers to an oppressor ("oppression"
in t h e first q u o t e ) , but this time (line 3a) the object of this action
is m e a n t . In the following, I will have to resist the t e m p t a t i o n to
go back to the Hebrew, as this introduces information the reader
c a n n o t check, w h i c h is s o m e t h i n g I w a n t to avoid. For o n c e ,
however, I will depart from this rule, and for a g o o d reason: the
very articulation of the third trio guides us in the choice o f t h e

right object.
T h e correct arrangement or division of the strophe is the ideal
starting point for a compact and simple analysis of the structure.
T h e presentation of Isaiah 1:1617 as three trios offers a perfect
view of w h a t happens. Each verse contains three forms of the
imperative (in the plural). Although the first verse is about physi
cal cleansing, the focus is o n the symbolic and moral meanings.
W i t h these three verses w e are in the middle of a long p o e m in
w h i c h t h e deity itself is fulminating against the corrupt c o m
patriots of the Judaean Isaiah; this is the long oracle* of d o o m of
Isaiah 1:220, some forty poetic lines. T h e addressed have to
cleanse themselves because they have blood o n their hands (thus
the end of verse 15, w h i c h immediately precedes o u r strophe), and
because their cult is only a lot of p o m p and show ( w . 11-14).
+
T h e second verse is a n e w series of three, w h e r e the imperative

(another three times, all of t h e m in the plural) always has an
abstract n o u n as its object: do evil, good, justice. In line 2a I used
the w o r d "evil" for the first object to show in m y translation that
this makes the phrase an e c h o of the evil in line l b . This instance
of repetition is linked to another in the second verse: the root for
"just" appears in 2c and is also used in 3b, in favor of the oppressed.
T h e central c o m m a n d imparting m e a n i n g to the nine injunctions
is 2b, "learn to do good," and starting from this pivot there are only
positive commands in the text.
T h e p o e t does n o t get bogged d o w n in a n o n c o m m i t t a l e x h o r
tation t o such abstract virtues as " t h e good." In his last trio h e p r e
sents the practical application.The c o m m a n d s (another three, still
in the plural) of the third verse all have concrete direct objects:
people of flesh and blood w h o are u n d e r great duress and deserve
to be protected. So m u c h for our brief analysis of the structure of
the strophe; it has n o w b e c o m e obvious that line 3a indeed refers
to the object of oppression rather than the subject, and the m o r e
recent translations have fortunately seen this.
A sentence such as "I have seen y o u " or "You will praise h i m "
needs only o n e w o r d in Hebrew. Moreover, the classical poets aim
t The first occurrence of each glossary term is marked by an asterisk (*) follow
ing the word.
for succinctness even by H e b r e w standards. This is w h y in English

w e almost always n e e d far m o r e words to render a verse than there
are in the original. A n d this in t u r n creates the situation that b i b
lical p o e t r y works w h e n each segment (half-verse, colon) is given
a line of its o w n in the typography. T h e complete verse in transla
tion simply becomes t o o long to b e printed o n a single line. Let
us see h o w this works for Isaiah 1:1617:
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; / remove the evil of
your doings / from before my eyes!
Cease to do evil, / learn to do good, / seek justice!
Correct oppression; / provide justice for the fatherless, / plead
for the widow.
Even n o w it hardly works, although I have used a smaller font. As
a staccato of commands, phrase after phrase, the passage is so dense
that even by H e b r e w standards it is exceptional; in terms of meter,
w e here have three times 2 + 2 + 2 beats. In the following, I will
call the first segment of a verse the A-colon, the second the
B-colon, and the third the C-colon. F r o m a visual point of view
it is g o o d practice to indent the B-cola in translation, and then
indent the C-cola o n e extra level, so as to show staggered articu
lation, w h i c h is the true hallmark of the poetic line.
For a good understanding of a p o e m it is essential to discover
the contours of the units or textual layers above the level of the
verse. This form of structuration and other matters will b e dis
cussed together w i t h David's p o e m ; I will first print it in its
entirety, in a w o r k i n g translation of my o w n .
D a v i d ' s l a m e n t for Saul (2 S a m u e l 1)

T h e situation at the end of the first book of Samuel is as follows: under
the command of king Saul and three of his sons, the Israelite army
tries to fend off an attack by the Philistines, but is utterly defeated.
Three days later the bad news reaches David in Ziklag, in the south
west of Palestine, where he is formally still the vassal of one of the
Philistine kings. H e composes a dirge for the fallen king and his first
b o r n Jonathan, w h o is Davids closest friend.The text is in 2 Samuel
1:19-27; the author of the book first provides some information (w.
1718) that in three prose lines tells us a surprising amount about
7
subject, genre, aim, target group, and source of the painful message,
and as such helps to guide our reading:
David composed this dirge over Saul and his son Jonathan
and he said
[in order to instruct the Judaeans through the hard message;
see, it is recorded in the Book of the Upright]:
[prose]
[w. 1718]
strophe stanza
Your glory/gazelle, O Israel,
[lies] slain on your heights;
how have the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
do not proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
Hills of Gilboa, [let there be] no dew
and no rain on you, fields up high,
for there the shield of the mighty was desecrated,
the shield of Saul is anointed with oil no more.
Without the blood of the slain,
without the fat of the mighty
the bow ofJonathan did not come back,
and the sword of Saul never returned empty.
Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and most dear,
in life and death they never parted.
They were swifter than eagles, mightier than lions.
Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you in crimson and finery,
who decked your robes with jewels of gold.
How are the mighty fallen in the midst of battle!
[It is] Jonathan [who is] slain on your heights!
I am devastated because of you, my brother,
Jonathan, you were most dear to me,
your love is a miracle to me,
more than the love of women.
How have the mighty fallen,
the instruments of war perished!
Ill
T h e seven strophes have b e e n arranged into three stanzas, as a short

analysis must show. T h e first strophe consists of only o n e tripartite
verse (a so-called tricolon), and has to serve as an introduction in
m o r e than o n e respect. T h e very first w o r d of strophe and p o e m
is ts vi in the original language (also spelled Zvi) and wrong-foots
us o n purpose: w e just cannot understand it at this stage.The w o r d
is a h o m o n y m * that means b o t h "jewel, glory" and "gazelle," and
w e are forced to defer o u r decision as t o w h i c h m e a n i n g to choose.
Moreover, w e do n o t k n o w w h o or w h a t the m e t a p h o r * refers to.
T h e information that Zvi lies slain o n the heights of Gilboathe
l o w table-mountain w h e r e the battle t o o k placesuggests that w e
have to d o w i t h o n e or m o r e persons, but w h o ? Is it the king, w i t h
the princes at his side, or the army? Here, too, w e have to defer our
decisionand, as w e shall see, as far as the final strophe. In other
words, the p o e t immediately presents us w i t h a riddle.
e
T h e second sentence of the p o e m is the C - c o l o n of the o p e n

ing verse. W h i l e the first sentence contained an unevenness
because of the awkward position of the vocative* and remained
incomprehensible, the rhetorical exclamation is smooth and simple.
M o r e than that, it is a clich, a general statement that also might
have b e e n exclaimed after the battles of Waterloo or Hastings. At
the same time, however, its " n o r m a l " and clich character is u n d e r
m i n e d by a strategic decision. T h e p o e t makes this exclamation a
seed that will grow. At the end of strophes 6 and 7 the sentence
returns, first accompanied by an adjunct o f place, and then (at the
end of the p o e m as a whole) w i t h a n e w clause in the B - c o l o n as
its counterpart. For this reason, " h o w have the mighty fallen!"
merits the label of "refrain phrase." T h e worst clich effect has
b e e n removed anyway, as it has b e e n placed after the sentence about
Z v i : fortunately, the p o e m does n o t start w i t h a platitude.The r i d
dle of Zvi I will call t h e t h e m e phrase.
Stanza I consists of t w o strophes, w h i c h are b o t h d e t e r m i n e d by
t w o c o m m a n d s placed in front, followed by t w o negative sen
tences. In strophe 2 David forbids certain persons to carry the
"joyful message" to the Philistine h o m e front. B u t w h o exactly are
these people? In reality, the cities o n the coast have heard of the
o u t c o m e of the war at least two days before David does, and e x u
berant festivities must long since have started in the Pentapolis, the
league of the five major cities of the Philistines! I conclude that

here David is addressing imaginary messengers in a desperate
attempt to reverse reality. As yet, he absolutely cannot bear t h e
thought that the other camp is n o w joyously celebrating its t r i
u m p h o n the battlefield, and tries to prevent this party by magicalpoetical means. This is indicated by the double "lest."
In strophe 3 David again opens with two prohibitions, in sen
tences w h i c h have b e e n so shortened by anger that they do n o t
even contain a verb. T h e i r content is remarkable: h e curses the
slopes of M o u n t Gilboa. David tries to c o n d e m n t h e m to p e r m a
nent infertility by blocking the supply of life-giving water. B u t
w h i c h person is capable of stopping rain? T h e r e is only one: the
deity. In the Song of the Vineyard (Isa. 5:1-7), G o d does indeed
c o m m a n d the clouds n o t to grant their rain to the vineyard h e has
decided to curse. All this demonstrates h o w David here tries the
impossible, exactly as in strophe 2. Against his o w n better j u d g
m e n t h e places himself in the position of God. H e feels so p o w e r
less in the face of this catastrophe that he deploys all the p o w e r
tools in the language he must w o r k w i t h as a poet, in order to t u r n
back the clock. In this way, great poetic expressivity becomes the
mask and the sign of complete impotence.
All these prohibitions of David's, so characteristic of stanza I, are
apotropaic*: they aim at fending off disaster by denying and aveng
ing the inexorable course of history. T h e poet makes a titanic effort
to eliminate the fait accompli. This in itself is also a message: the
warding-off gesture is a form of avoidance. David will n o t and
cannot relate to the catastrophe directly and personally at this
point, w h i c h may in t u r n be explained by his distress and pain.
After t w o strophes, David still has n o t reached that point. Stanza
II stands out sharply from its surroundingsi.e., the first and last
stanzasby referring to the times before the battle, and surpris
ingly exchanging the m i n o r key of the complaint for the major
key of a song of praise. This central part praises the courage and
victories of Saul and J o n a t h a n as the heroes of earlier battles. Stanza
II is a eulogy* that forms the center of an elegy*.The m a x i m u m
contrast b e t w e e n center and flanks creates a formidable dynamic
in the perception of the p o e t and the empathetic reader.
I have rendered the usual " h e r o e s " of the refrain phrase by
" m i g h t y " here, as the root "strong, m i g h t y " is an important key

word in the song. It occurs in v. 25a and parallel to this in v. 27a,
indicating a closure or finish at strophe level, and it is the c o u n
terpart of the n a m e "Saul" in the strophe about the shields (v. 21).
T h e most telling aspect, however, is its placement in w . 22a and
23b. Its position o n the edges of the central stanza gives the root a
structural function, that of demarcating and framing that unit.
Moreover, here it appears with a reversed key signature. In the
verses of the flanking stanzas I and III, " m i g h t y " is in a m i n o r key
and refers to the fallen heroes of David's o w n party; at the top and
b o t t o m of the middle stanza its effect is exacdy the reverse: in v.
22 it refers to Saul's and Jonathan's former enemies, and at the end
of v. 2 3 it aims to h o n o r father and son themselves: "they were
stronger than lions."
At the beginning of stanza II, Jonathan receives a m u c h longer
sentence than his father.This is mainly because the w o r d "empty,"
w h i c h further specifies the return of Saul's sword, is the exact
counterpart of two wordier complements that characterize the
return of Jonathan s b o w : " n o t w i t h o u t the blood of the slain . . .
n o t w i t h o u t the fat of the warriors." Formally speaking, o u r atten
tion is directed toward the weapons rather than their bearers. T h e
same already happened in strophe 3, w h e n the poet's gaze discov
ered " t h e shield of the mighty, tainted" o n the battlefield, and " t h e
shield of Saul [was] anointed w i t h oil n o more." Polishing one's
shield w i t h oil was o n e of the things a soldier had to do in prepa
ration for battle; this was supposed to make blows from the e n e m y
glance off it. B u t the introduction of " o i l " in this strophe is first
and foremost a subtle allusion to Saul's status: he was the Lord's
Anointed, m e a n i n g that h e held the sacred office of king, and as
such was inviolable. N o w , the shield smeared with blood and m u d
symbolizes the terrible and desecrating end he m e t with.
T h e shift to speaking of weapons instead of their bearers is an
example of m e t o n y m y * . This f o r m of indirectness again betrays
the poet's emotional condition: h e is still intent u p o n avoidance.
At this point, however, strophe 5 appears as a c o m p l e m e n t . S u d
denly, father and son are juxtaposed, and the order of their names
has b e e n reversed. T h e two names are followed by t w o apposi
tions ("beloved and most dear"), and t w o adjuncts o f time o f
10
m a x i m u m contrast,"life and death." Finally, in the last position of

the double verse, the actual sentence core follows: "they never
parted." This predicate* is the only element in the sentence that
is n o t duplicated.
For the Israelite, life and death cannot be meaningfully linked
or united in any way: they form the ultimate polarity of h u m a n
existence. Here, however, their opposition is p u t in perspective, I
w o u l d almost say negated, by the mutual loyalty of father and son,
whose force is so strong that it cannot be split up. Verse 2 3 is an
arena in w h i c h unity and duality are at war, and all duplications in
the [outer] form ultimately prove to serve the Saul-and-Jonathan
unity. T h e entire p o e m is a chain of twenty-five predicates in all.
T h e middle o n e n u m b e r 13is this o n e verb that, thanks to the
negation, conquers or surpasses polarity and division, and so tries
to exorcise the divisive ravages w r o u g h t by death.
T h e distribution of the two proper names t h r o u g h o u t the
p o e m is in itself an important beacon, w h i c h points the way to the
solution of the Zvi-riddle. W i t h i n stanza II, b o t h names occur
twice, in a chiastic* order. If w e take strophe 1 to be a part of stanza
I, a pattern becomes visible:
I
Zvi
Saul
II
Jonathan
Saul
Saul
Jonathan
III
Saul
Jonathan
T h e balance b e t w e e n these occurrences is the first clear sug

gestion that the n a m e Z v i might b e the cover for the person most
beloved by David. If this is true, the t w o names u n d e r III mirror
the t w o of the beginning in a crosswise construction. In that case,
the p o e m starts and ends w i t h the o n e person w h o s e loss David
can never get over; first d e n o t e d enigmatically as the glory of
Israel, h e appears u n d e r his o w n n a m e in the final strophe, w h i c h
clearly forms the climax.
Stanza III consists of t w o strophes. T h e first, strophe 6, is
devoted to the king; the other one, the seventh and last of the song,
speaks about Jonathan. In the o n e strophe the w o m e n lament the
king; in the other David himself, in the first person, laments
the prince, his b o s o m friend.
11
A r o u n d the center, w h i c h was in a major key, the poet creates

a balance between stanzas I and III.This is immediately visible in
the exhortation of strophe 6. W h i l e in strophe 2 the p o e t refuses
all j o y to "the daughters of the Philistines" (as the original text lit
erally reads) and h e n c e tries to stop the message of victory by
means of a prohibition, in strophe 6 he issues a c o m m a n d , so that
t h r o u g h o u t the land " t h e daughters of Israel" express their grief in
m o u r n i n g rituals. T h e y should weep for a king w h o gave t h e m
prosperity in better days. Saul's care is expressed through attributes
and terms of outward p o m p , and a chiasm* keeps the core of the
strophe together:
[weep over Saul]
who clothed you

who with jewels of gold
in crimson and finery,

decked your robes.
This is followed by the exclamation about the mighty having

fallen, w h i c h as a repetition of v. 19c b e c o m e s the refrain sentence
and concludes the strophe.
T h e final strophe is m u c h m o r e personal, w i t h its intense
exchange b e t w e e n " m e " and "you." B o r r o w i n g a t e r m from love
poetry, David calls J o n a t h a n " m y b r o t h e r " w h i c h is w h a t t h e
girl from the S o n g of Songs calls her lover (and h e can address
h e r as " m y sister"). In the center, the p o e t applied the adjectives
" b e l o v e d " and " m o s t dear" to t h e k i n g and his son in a rather
objective t o n e . T h e s e t w o terms n o w t u r n o u t to have b e e n used
in preparation for t h e final strophe as well, w h e r e the w o r d
" l o v e " appears twice exclusively in h o n o r o f J o n a t h a n , and fol
lows "dear." T h e relationship w i t h t h e middle of stanza II is again
chiastic:
Saul and Jonathan:
the beloved,
the most dear . . .
Jehonathan, you were

most dear to me
your love is a miracle to me,

more than the love of women.
[middle of strophe 4]
N e x t to this u n i q u e praise for his friend, David places his personal

paina formidable contrast. H e speaks his n a m e twice, in its full
form Jehonathan (literally: "Yahweh has given"), and n o w expresses
his grief uninhibitedly and directly w i t h "I am distressed for
12
t h e e " f o r once I will use the English of the almost fourcenturies-old King James Bible. T h e original text literally says
something like "I a m hard-pressed," in the sense of "I a m in a ter
rible plight." T h e avoidance stage has passed, and David is n o w
ready for the naked truth. H e is crushed and shocked. His grief
makes h i m aware of the full depth of their love for each other,
while the love lends depth and a voice to the grief.
Meanwhile, David as a speaker has made his most surprising
move o n the threshold of the strophe. H e started it with a n o m i
nal sentence, w h i c h is n o t h i n g but the t h e m e phrase v. 19a w i t h
w h i c h the p o e m opened: "Jehonathan[lies] slain o n y o u r
heights." H e has changed only o n e element: he has replaced the
word Z v i with his friend's name! Suddenly w e have received
the poetic answer to the question of w h o is h i d d e n b e h i n d the
metaphors "jewel" and "gazelle." T h e substitution of the n a m e
Jonathan for the very first word, together with the hint provided
by the structure, proves that Jonathan = Zvi. W h i l e the last strophe
sings of t h e love of J o n a t h a n (for David), and immortalizes this
w i t h a u n i q u e c o m p a r i s o n " y o u r love is m o r e wonderful to m e
than the love of w o m e n " w e may call the love for Jonathan (on
David's part) the alpha and omega of the song as a w h o l e .
T h e refrain phrase " h o w have the mighty fallen" is repeated, and
is expanded even further than in v. 25a, as it is given a parallel in
the i n d e p e n d e n t clause that flanks it: "the weapons of war have
perished." This last clause combines the shields, the sword, and the
b o w u n d e r o n e heading, and so concludes the metonymical
speech. This half-verse about the weapons thus also refers to the
owners of the weapons and their deaths. T h e indirect character of
the reference n o w n o longer means avoidance, but offers a discreet
way to provide the lament w i t h a n o t - t o o - v e h e m e n t ending, by
means of a certain distance.
These preliminary exercises already demonstrate that the
H e b r e w p o e t is a master of proportions. At every position in the
p o e m , and at every levelwhether w e are dealing w i t h sounds
and words, or w h e t h e r w e are looking at half-verses or verses,
strophes or stanzashe always adapts himself to t h e proper d i m e n
sions of his material. H o w e v e r conscientious, a translation can
never take into account all subtleties of style such as alliteration*,
13
n u m b e r of syllables, rhyme, and such, but at the levels above v o c a b

ulary even a translation can show m u c h of the poets' measured
composing. W e have already seen this in the meticulous as well as
playful handling of the "three-units" principle in Isaiah.
T h e p o e m s in the Bible are extremely varied.We notice this w h e n
w e look at genre: there are proverbs and p o e m s from the W i s d o m
tradition, songs of victory and defeat, lamentations by individual
voices or groups, hymns, songs of thanksgiving, love poetry, ora
cles of d o o m or salvation p r o n o u n c e d by the prophets, and m u c h
more. B u t however diverse the poems, they have a n u m b e r of
powerful rules and literary conventions in c o m m o n ; and after w e
have learned to recognize and apply these, t h e texts are generally
self-explanatory: this is the subject of the rest of this b o o k .
T h e n u m b e r of English-speakers w h o read classical H e b r e w is
so small that I will here assume the position of readers w h o have
to take recourse to translations. I want to find an answer to the
question of w h a t the primary tools are that such readers require
for an independent and creative reading of the translated p o e m s . I
will start from the reality that there are three c o m m o n l y used
translations: the A u t h o r i z e d (or King James) Version (usually in
some sort of m o d e r n i z e d spelling), the 194652 Revised Standard
Version, and the N e w International Version. I will regularly q u o t e
from the Jewish Publication Society's Tanakh translation, 1985.
Legend
I must first point out a pitfall: the t e r m "verse" is ambiguous . W h e n
I write "v. 1 6 " or "verses 1 0 - 1 4 , " I a m referring to the traditional
verse n u m b e r s of the transmitted text. T h e numbers here indicate
biblical verses. A biblical verse can b e prose or poetry, and its length
may vary from a few words in o n e sentence to as many as ten sen
tences and thirty words. T h e y have b e e n transmitted or d e m a r
cated as textual units by the rabbis, for the purpose of recitation in
the synagogue. In a b o o k about poetics, the other t e r m "verse" is
m u c h m o r e important: this refers to the complete poetic line, as
w h e n w e talk about texts by Yeats or Wallace Stevens, lines by
H o m e r , Horace, and Shakespearethe verse in the literary or
14
poetical sense. In the H e b r e w Bible, the traditional verse n u m b e r s

almost always coincide w i t h the actual poetic lines in the books of
Job and Proverbs: a happy coincidence. Outside these, however, in
the Prophets and in the books of Psalms, Song of Songs, and
Lamentations, or in the strophes that here and there adorn and
enrich the prose from Genesis through to Kings, the biblical verse
is n o t at all the same as the (literary) verse = the poetic line.
As I expect this b o o k also to be used or consulted by all sorts
of students, I have added endnotes to each chapter at the end of
the b o o k w h i c h may b e of service to Hebraists. Readers w i t h o u t
knowledge of the original languages can safely skip t h e m . For
these readers I have included a glossary of foreign and technical
terms at the end of the b o o k . T h e first occurrence of such a t e r m
(for instance, " m e t o n y m y " or "merism") has b e e n marked by an
asterisk, indicating that it will be explained in the list. Finally, I
should point o u t an important terminological distinction: I use the
word " p o e t i c " as an adjective relating to poetry (i.e., primary liter
ature), and the w o r d "poetical" as an adjective referring to the
scholarly discipline of poetics, w h i c h produces secondary literature
about poetry.
2
The art of poetry: a definition and analysis
Components
I and II: language and
number
D e n s i t y ; l a n g u a g e as a s y s t e m o f differences
Sensitivity to verse has something to do w i t h aptitude, and a lot to
do w i t h the proper training. A correct perception of poetry is
based o n the art of reading. C o m p e t e n t reading, and the right kind
of experience, I consider m o r e essential than drawing u p a defini
tion of the art of poetry. Yet, it is w o r t h the effort to try and define
H e b r e w poetry. A n adequate set of specifications has many p r a c
tical advantages and will lead to effective insight and increased
pleasure in reading.
W h a t exactly is "poetry"? T h e G e r m a n t e r m for it, Dichtung,
by a lucky coincidence sounds as if it was derived from the G e r
m a n root dicht, m e a n i n g "dense," a similarity I simply must take
advantage of. T h e sounds create an association that w e can put to
g o o d use, even if it is n o m o r e than m y o w n opportunist popular
etymology*.
W h a t a p o e t undertakes does have a lot to do w i t h creating
"density." Poetry is the most compact and concentrated f o r m of
speech possible. By making the most of his or her linguistic tools,
the p o e t creates an immense richness of meaning, and this r i c h
ness becomes available if w e as readers k n o w h o w to handle the
density: h o w w e can cautiously tackle complexity, probe the vari
ous layers o n e by one, and unfold t h e m .
T h e p o e t creates this abundance of meanings by visiting all the
n o o k s and crannies of the language, and by b e i n g an expert at it.
I may draw a comparison here w i t h the visual arts: it is a wellk n o w n fact that the greatest painters and sculptors spend their
entire lives lovingly studying their materials and e x p e r i m e n t i n g
w i t h t h e m : paint and canvas, clay and b r o n z e . T h e same holds true
for the poet: his raw material is language, in the first instance, and
16
very few p o e m s are b o r n w i t h o u t the poet's exploring and trying

out various forms of language and style, w i t h o u t outlines and
deletions.
O u r language is a well-ordered and subtle system of signs,
w h i c h may be described as a n e t w o r k of relations and differences.
These forms of cohesion were discovered only at the beginning of
the twentieth century, w h i c h means that scholarly attention to
t h e m is comparatively recent; the poets, however, have b e e n actu
ally w o r k i n g w i t h t h e m for thousands of years. T h e y brilliantly
exploit the differences and contrasts inherent in their language as
a system.
In the case of Hebrew, an additional factor is involved: the dif
ference between that language and English. We should remain
aware of that difference w h e n reading translations of poems from
the Bible. H e b r e w needs fewer words than o u r m o t h e r tongue.
Take, for instance, the sentence: "I have listened to you." In
H e b r e w this is only o n e word, of three or four syllables, w h i c h
moreover contains an extra element of information as compared
to English: it shows w h e t h e r " y o u " (the direct object) is a m a n or
a w o m a n . A phrase such as "the people w h o pursue m e w i t h o u t
reason" in the original language consists of only two words, five
syllables in all.
Because English needs m o r e words, it is often impossible to print
a complete verse o n o n e line (as w e have already seen in the Intro
duction). As a result, the RSV, NIV, and many other translations have
had to decide to print o n e verset (colon, plural cola) per line in their
presentation of biblical poetry. A n d sometimes even that is hardly
feasible. I will illustrate this by an extreme case of divergent lengths.
In Psalm 69:5a/5b, the H e b r e w text contains 5 + 4 words filling
cola of regular length. Two popular D u t c h translations print the
equivalent of these words (taken from the RSV) as follows:
More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me
with lies.
A rather unfortunate typography. T h e text itself consists of t w o
cola, because w e easily recognize t w o sentences of almost c o m
pletely parallel structure. T h e translators needed a lot of words (no
The Art of Poetry: A Definition and Analysis
17
fewer than sixteen) to render v. 5a, and have succumbed to the

temptation to cut the first sentence in two. T h u s they have divided
a syntactically and rhythmically close-knit unit into t w o lines, o n
the basis of a criterion that has n o t h i n g to do w i t h w r i t i n g H e b r e w
verse but is d e t e r m i n e d by the receiving language: the length of
the translated English phrase. W h i c h leads to a second mistake:
printing the B-colon in the position of an A - c o l o n . T h e R S V cuts
b o t h sentences in two, w h i c h leads to the illusion that w e have t w o
A-cola and two B-cola here.
T h e p o e t traverses the system of relations formed by the lan
guage, and is very adroit at exploiting the differences that as it were
form the clue to this system. Below I a m giving a list of the most
important differences determining the usage of the H e b r e w
language. As in English, many of these contrasts are binary*:
masculine/feminine
singular/plural
past/present/future
stating, noting, or describing versus wishing, begging,
and commanding
positive/negative
figurative/non-figurative
active/passive
transitive*/intransitive*
speaking about/speaking to
abstract/concrete
regular/irregular word order
This list is mainly about language and text signs (signifiers*),
but w e could go o n w i t h a list of meanings (signifieds*), i.e., c o n
cepts and things the language refers to:
high/low
God/man
native/foreign
good/evil
joy/distress
fear/security
trust/despair
. . . etc., but I have to admit that this short list is fairly arbitrary.This
second list, however, makes us realize something m u c h bigger: the
18
n u m b e r of meanings or subjects is simply inexhaustible, so I will

immediately stop adding o n to it.
H o w e v e r many there are, all these differences do not yet have a
specifically literary quality; they also may be observed and studied
in an ordinary newspaper article or some other piece of everyday
language. So, it is time to consult the p o e t himself and see h o w h e
juggles binary and other differences. H e r e is a short p o e m from the
Psalter, a unit of nine verses:
verse
Psalm 113
la
b
2a
b
O servants of Yahweh, give praise,

praise the name of Yahweh.
Let the name of Yahweh be blessed,
now and forever.
3a
b
4a
b
From the rising of the sun to its setting

the name of Yahweh is praised!
Yahweh is exalted above all nations,
His glory is above the heavens.
5a
b
6a
b
Who is like Yahweh our God,

who is enthroned on high,
who looks far down,
in heaven and on earth?
7a
b
8a
b
9a
b
W h o raises the poor from the dust,

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people,
who gives the barren woman a home,
as a happy mother of children.
strophe
We only need to look at the kind of sentences, and the use of space
on the page, to find the right way into the work and to be able to
see its articulation in various parts. T h e division into verses and the
way they have been cut into halves (cola) originates from the Jewish
text tradition and is undisputed.The division into four strophes, h o w
ever, is mine, and therefore need not be accepted without question.
In w . 1-2 w e notice t w o verbs in the imperative, followed by a
wish. This volitive* quality sets off the first strophe from the
second, w h i c h contains positive sentences. In this indicative*
19
m o d e they point to attributes of the deity; hence, there are n o

actions here, b u t rather three ways of saying "is." Speaking to ( p e o
ple) has b e e n replaced by a hymnic speaking about (God).
Verses 5 - 6 are again different in tone, as they form a rhetorical
question. T h e four versets are parts of a single syntactic u n i t . T h e
point of the question is that G o d is incomparable. In v. 6b w e r e c
ognize the very first merism* of the Bible (as w e find it in
Gen.1:1), pointing to the domains of G o d and man: heaven and
earth, respectively. This pair has b e e n placed in a remarkable posi
tion: the t w o halves do correspond to God's activitiesi.e., being
e n t h r o n e d and looking d o w n b u t they have been cut loose from
these and placed together as the final line of the strophe. In this
way, the p o e t has avoided writing a three-part verse, w h i c h w o u l d
run: " w h o is likeYahweh, our God, / w h o sits o n high, in heaven, /
and looks far d o w n , o n earth?" His actual point is slightly differ
ent. F u r t h e r m o r e , h e wanted to stick w i t h his bicolic* design, and
has created a third quartet of cola.
1
T h e center of this foursome, w . 5b6a, is taken u p by a spec

tacular vertical axis linking the provinces of G o d and m a n . T h e
axis is e m b e d d e d in descriptions of G o d , and in the t w o halves of
the spatial m e r i s m . T h e words for G o d and for cosmic space form
t w o pairs, w h i c h provide a g o o d balance and a perfect finish to
the strophe. T h e only remaining question n o w is w h y the p o e t
has delayed using the terms of space until v. 6d, and there presents
t h e m together. T h e answer is that in so d o i n g h e has t h e m w o r k
in t w o ways: n o t only as an explanation and topographical i n d i
cation of God's actions (being e n t h r o n e d / s e e i n g ) , b u t also as a
gauge of God's uniqueness. Strictly speaking, the point of the
strophe is: neither in heaven n o r o n earth do w e find anybody
comparable to H i m . T h u s , w e may also reorganize the quartet,
and interpret it as:
W h o is likeYahweh our God, / in heaven and on earth?
There is nobody who sits so high / and looks down so far!
R e a d i n g on, w e reach strophe 4 and see six rather than four versets.These are largely adjective clauses, and w e are struck by at least
three transitive* verbs indicating sovereign action. Although w e all
k n o w the answer to the rhetorical question in the exact center of
20
the p o e m ("nobody," of course!), the poet has decided to seize his

opportunity and add an answer of his o w n after all. H e again p r e
sents a series of actions o n God's part, w h i c h at last govern the
object omitted in v. 6: here we see the people, m o r e specifically
the weak and needy, w h o appear in the position of beneficiaries.
T h e three transitive verbs demonstrate the constitutive power of
God's liberating initiative. G o d proves to b e a totally c o m m i t t e d
person, instead of a neutral physical p h e n o m e n o n . His proper
name occurs, in descending frequency, three, two, one, and zero
times in strophes 14. His activity shows a reverse development: it
started at zero and reaches its m a x i m u m in strophe 4.
T h e strophes not only show variation of tone and m o d e (in the
verbs),but also form a quartet on their own level,in an AB-B7V pat
tern: first, they view the earth/heaven, next heaven/the earth. T h e
characters w e meet in t h e m are arranged in a similar crosswise struc
ture: the people are exhorted to action in strophe 1 and liberated in
strophe 4, while G o d is praised in the central strophes 2 and 3.
T h e lyrical world as evoked by this p o e m is o n e of sheer space,
and t h e reader is provided w i t h plenty of space thanks to the inter
secting horizontal and vertical axes, w h i c h have b e e n dynamically
positioned by the poet. In the second strophe, v. 3 shows the h o r
izontal axis at its widest by tracing the course of the sun from East
to West. Verse 4 duly follows w i t h the vertical axis, for a m o m e n t
showing us G o d e n t h r o n e d high above the h u m a n struggle. B u t
not for long: in v. 6b t h e hymnic question that constitutes the poetic
axis and points to God's uniqueness reverses the order
earth/heaven, so that o u r attention is bent back toward the earth,
following God's gaze. N e x t , strophe 4 fills u p the plane of our his
tory w i t h the images of God's intervention.
In this plane, too, the horizontal and vertical axes are contrasted.
T h e p o o r are raised from the dust, and w e can see h o w this sym
bolizes the reversal of their fortunes; they are n o w able to
straighten their backs.The horizontal orientation of w . 89 is n o t
prominent, but certainly recognizable and lends an aspect of har
m o n y to the people gathered there. T h e y are presented in the
plural (princes, children), by w h i c h the poet takes us back to the
beginning. In this way h e effectively rounds off his song w i t h a
form ofinclusio*, a frame. O n l y after w e have crossed the finish d o
21
w e realize that there are excellent reasons for the call to "praise
G o d " in v. 1: these are given in the long final strophe.
T h e prosody* of Psalm 113 cannot b e called representative of
biblical poetry, for a positive reason: this p o e m is one of the top five
as regards regularity. By way of exception I will demonstrate this by
a count of the syllables in the original Hebrew, so that these exact
figures may again give the reader an impression of the precision the
poet can employ at will. T h e left-hand column shows the n u m b e r
of syllables per word o n either side of the caesura* (indicated by a
slash), and the middle column adds up the totals for the versets:
verse
1
2
3.2.2 / 3.1.1.2
1.1.2.3 / 3.2.2
7 + 7 = 14
7 + 7 = 14
strophe 1 = 28
3
4
3.1.1.3 / 3.1.2
1.1.1.2.2 / 1.3.3
8 + 6 = 14
7 + 7 = 14
strophe 2 = 28
5
6
1.3.4 / 4.2
4.2 / 3.3
8 + 6 = 14
6 + 6 = 12
strophe 3 = 26
7
8
9
3.3.1 / 3.2.2
4.1.3 / 1.3.2
3.2.2 / 1.3.3
7 + 7 = 14
8 + 6 = 14
7 + 7 = 14
strophe 4 = 42
T h e total n u m b e r of syllables is 28 + 28 + 26 + 42 = 124. W e may

b e allowed to rewrite this as 40 (a very biblical number, the total
of w . 57) plus 3 x 2 8 . T h e greatest regularity is found at verse
level: eight out of nine verses contain fourteen syllables, a total that
in five cases has been reached, moreover, by doubling the sacred
n u m b e r seven. T h e minimal variation in colon length, w h i c h
n o w h e r e exceeds a range o f 678 in the p o e m , is n o t represen
tative either: there are quite a n u m b e r of psalms using a range of
five to twelve syllables (as a measure of colon length); there is usu
ally considerable variation within o n e p o e m .
T h e old definition o f H e b r e w poetry

Until some thirty years ago, Old Testament scholars entertained a
rather inadequate view of H e b r e w poetics. Exegetes worked with a
22
seriously flawed definition of poetry, and I fear that it is still floating

about in a n u m b e r of heads. Nevertheless, their view of H e b r e w
verse contains two small grains of truth, which are worth m e n t i o n
ing. I will therefore use the old formula as a starting point for a quest
for a comprehensive definition: a formula that will do full justice to
the true riches and complexity of the p o e m , rather than reduce it.
T h e old definition rests on two pillars, as it holds that the b i b
lical p o e m is d e t e r m i n e d by a) meter, and b) the parallel arrange
m e n t of versets (for w h i c h the technical t e r m is parallelismus
membrorum). In h o w far is this correct?
I will discuss the first pillar, that of meter, only briefly as the details
are relevant only to readers of Hebrew. In the nineteenth century,
biblical scholarship reached an important negative conclusion: h o w
ever strong the impression of rhythm emanating from the verses in
the H e b r e w Bible, they are obviously subject to rules totally differ
ent from those governing the metrics of G r a e c o - R o m a n poetry and
its various branches and offshoots in the poetry of the European lan
guages. H o m e r and Virgil, Sophocles and Plautus used quantitative
meter, based o n an unambiguous distinction between long and short
syllables. In Arabic, too, poets have the option to work with verse
feet that may be determined quantitativelyArabic is related to
H e b r e w within the Semitic family, and it was the world language
with which Jews in the Middle East, N o r t h e r n Africa, and the Iber
ian peninsula came into contact more than a thousand years after
the canon of biblical books had been finalized.
In classical Hebrew, the distinction between long and short syl
lables does n o t work. At the end of the nineteenth century, schol
ars concluded that the H e b r e w poetic line was best described as a
string of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables: it is an accen
tual verse. W h a t we n e e d to do is c o u n t the n u m b e r of stresses
(beats) per colon, while between the beats there is a varying
t h o u g h not too large n u m b e r of unstressed syllables. A verse may
be schematically represented as separate syllables, or in a short
notation.This looks as follows (for once, I will give some H e b r e w
words in a scholarly transliterationPs. 44, v. 7):
I do not trust in my bow / it is not my sword that gives me victory.
e
ki lo b qashti ebtah / w harbi lo toshi 'eni
23
to be pronounced roughly as follows:

kee lo b kashtee ebtakh
n^kharbee lo toshee-eini
00
600
606
6600
60
A n " o " represents a syllable; accents indicate a beat or stress. T h e

practical short notation for this w o u l d be 3 + 3 , w h i c h has led the
Germans to call this sort of line a Doppeldreier. Frequent patterns
are 2 + 2, 2 + 3, or conversely 3 + 2, 3 + 3 , 4 + 4, and 4 + 3 or
the reverse. Half-verses often differ by o n e accent or beat (one
point). A pattern such as 3 + 3 for a two-part verse (a bicolon)
may be nicely varied by 2 + 2 + 2 in a tricolon (three-part verse),
so that the total of six syllables remains the same.
I realize that all this is n o t going to help the user of a Bible trans
lation m u c h . A n d there are two m o r e pieces of bad news. First,
scholars are often bitterly divided on the correct scansion*, as of
course borderline cases constantly crop upfor instance, about
the question w h e t h e r a specific secondary stress may b e viewed as
a metric accent, i.e., a beat. Second, there is the question that
strikes at the very roots of the problem: can w e speak of metrics at
all in connection w i t h H e b r e w verse? T h e interpreters w h o s e sen
sitivity to verse I admire almost all answer in the affirmative, but
there are r e n o w n e d scholars w h o radically deny the possibility of
d e t e r m i n i n g any meter at all. In short, there is a v e h e m e n t discus
sion about the point, or lack of it, of scanning H e b r e w verse, and
it is highly unlikely that the debate will ever reach a consensus.
T h e consequence of this battle is that this first pillar of the clas
sical definition is tottering, and has probably fallen already. W h a t
can w e do? M a k i n g a virtue out of necessity, I can point to two
escape routes. In the first place, this b o o k exclusively deals w i t h
Bible translations. A rendering of a H e b r e w p o e m in English can
n o t h o p e to approximate the r h y t h m and m e t e r of the original,
due to the e n o r m o u s gap between source and target languages,
and the fact that H e b r e w uses far fewer words. Consequently, w e
had better leave the entire complex of metrics and scansion aside.
Yet, the text that is left in translation still shows two faces. Even
t h o u g h meter has gone, there is still a powerful rhythm, w h i c h is
even stronger in H e b r e w and is not denied even by scholars w h o
24
have n o time for metrics. T h e r h y t h m is kept reasonably intact

thanks to parallelismus membrorum, w h i c h will be discussed in the
next section; I will return to r h y t h m in due course.
T h e second escape route from the y e s / n o metrics deadlock is a
r o u n d a b o u t one. It is possible to circumvent the entire issue, and
go back to counting the original syllables to measure and describe
the powerful r h y t h m of H e b r e w verse. I return to Psalm 44, v. 7:
the 7 + 8 = 15 syllables that I just presented as an accentual verse
were also 15 in the old H e b r e w from centuries before C h r i s t .
S o m e 65 percent of the cola in the b o o k of Psalms are seven, eight,
or nine syllables long. R e c e n t investigations have shown that the
poets themselves counted their syllables, and often used the sylla
ble totals to make patterns in their verses and strophes. H e n c e , the
poems have an explicit and precise numerical aspectin Hebrew.
As this is taking things t o o far for most readers, I refer the Hebraists
a m o n g t h e m to n o t e 2 o n page 232 for m o r e information. Still, in
the previous paragraph I have lifted a corner of the veil: the fig
ures for Psalm 113 are a g o o d example of numerical precision.
2
Parallel a r r a n g e m e n t o f versets
T h e second pillar of the obsolete definition is k n o w n a m o n g
scholars as parallelismus membrorum. T h e Latin plural " m e m b r a " has
the same m e a n i n g as the Greek plural "cola"; the singular " c o l o n "
means "a member, a part."
This way of arranging verse parts is n o t u n k n o w n to us. Take
for example the most straightforward example from our o w n
literature:
Here lies Fred:
He is dead.
4
Words and syllables coincide; this 3 + 3 is a miracle of efficiency,

certainly if you realize that even a haiku still needs seventeen syl
lables. T h e lines start w i t h an alliteration because of the h, and their
first words, here /he, indicate the spot and the man. T h e verbs are
intransitive* and static: they indicate duration and condition rather
than action; the consonant s provides assonance*/phonetic c o h e
sion. By their rhyme, the line endings best demonstrate the i m p o r
tance of sound. T h e rhyme Fred/dead invites us to semanticize*:
25
w e make a semantic link b e t w e e n t w o words that was n o t there

before, and find that the m a n becomes fused w i t h his horizontal,
still position. It is a kind of identification that leads to the point of
the p o e m : an attitude of complete acceptance of the end, and o n e
of great sobriety and dry h u m o r .
This preliminary exercise shows h o w each w o r d in o n e line has
its counterpart in the other, in the same position even, and also
h o w essential is the function of the sounds. O n l y if w e pay close
attention, and appreciate even the smallest detail, d o w e fully real
ize h o w m u c h sheer technique has gone into this. A n d then I a m
n o t even talking about everything w e d o n o t see, i.e., everything
that has been left out.
Back to the biblical verse (in the sense of poetic line). T h e
importance of parallelismus m e m b r o r u m has b e e n clear since the
middle of the eighteenth century, w h e n the English bishop R o b e r t
Lowth wrote a b o o k about it. His discussion of the p h e n o m e n o n
has long set the t o n e for the study of biblical poetry. H e described
parallelism at verse level, distinguishing three types: if the parallel
versets say the same thing, Lowth called it synonymous parallelism;
if o n e is opposed to the other w e have antithetical parallelism; and if
there is a different relation, it is called complementary or synthetic. This
is demonstrated by examples (a), (b), and (c) below:
5
(a) Ps. 2:1
Why do nations rage

and peoples plot vain things?
(b) Ps. 1:6
Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked is doomed.
(c) Ps. 3:5
When I cry aloud to Yahweh,

He answers me from his holy mountain.
T h e first notable aspect of example (c) is that it contains a c o m

p o u n d sentence, the parts of whichsubclause and main clause
neatly coincide w i t h the cola, and present the actions of the
speaker and his G o d . H e n c e , in this case the complementary aspect
has b e e n realized mainly by sentence structure and consecution
(progress of the action). In example (b) w e immediately recognize
the simple opposition g o o d / b a d . W h i l e the righteous is " k n o w n "
by G o d , something w h i c h to an Israelite implies attention and
26
support, the wicked dies a miserable and lonely death, as a result

of w h a t seems a quasi-autonomous process: the intransive verb
does n o t m e n t i o n an agent. Consequently, w e have a second c o n
trast, conveyed by the difference b e t w e e n the verbs: the first is
transitive, the second is not. In example (a), the synonymy is based
o n t w o w o r d pairs. T h e terms in o n e colon are illustrated and
explained by the terms in the other colon.
Lowth's division of "parallelism of the versets" into three types
has b e e n influential, and there are still theologians w h o consider it
adequate e n o u g h to w o r k with. Yet, the triad s y n o n y m o u s /
antithetical/complementary cannot withstand critical scrutiny.
Already if w e take L o w t h seriously at the level of his o w n words,
we immediately see that the label " c o m p l e m e n t a r y " is a basket
t e r m that covers everything that cannot be called synonymous or
contrasting. T h u s , the t e r m is exposed as a counsel of despair, and
this realization immediately strikes at the root of the entire triadic
structure.
W e n o w have entered the path that leads toward an adequate
definition of H e b r e w poetry, and in order to clear it, m o r e radical
criticism of Lowth's three-part structure is needed. I see three
main areas of objection: an approach that m o u n t s an epistemological attack o n his terminology, a strictly literary counter-campaign,
and an insight of a structural nature. In the following explanation
I will make use of examples (a), (b), and (c) above, all taken from
the b e g i n n i n g of the Psalter.
I will play the amateur philosopher for a m o m e n t and look at
the binary division, synonymous versus antithetical, from the p e r
spective of observation and epistemology. If you call the segments
of a verse synonymous, you obscure the fact that actually they are
not the same. Because their words are never identical, they do n o t
really have the same meaning, and this opens up a crack b e t w e e n
them. It is this crack that invites us to open the d o o r wider. By
" w i d e r " I m e a n the following: in a case of synonymous parallelism
we first notice, as L o w t h did, the great similarity in meaning. W i t h
out losing sight of the resemblance, w e nevertheless should n o t
stop there and think w e have finished. T h e similarity b e t w e e n the
two cola, as for instance in the case of Psalm 2:1a and l b in e x a m
ple (a), becomes a j u m p i n g - b o a r d or take-off point: against the
27
b a c k g r o u n d of the similarities, subtle differences begin to stand

out. T h e nervous bustle of the peoplesthey rage, as example (a)
saysis further clarified in the B-colon, w h i c h disqualifies their
activity as vain plotting. W e n o w understand that the verse as a
w h o l e w i t h its " w h y " (which does double duty, i.e., governs b o t h
cola) is n o informative question, but a rhetorical and caustic one.
T h e r e are thousands of verses that at first sight seem to consist of
synonymous cola, but u p o n closer scrutiny t u r n out to cover p o t
holes of difference. This is not to say that w e should start express
ing the relation b e t w e e n the similar and the different in figures or
percentages; poems wilt w h e n subjected to this sort of boorish and
w o o d e n treatment.
L o w t h s second t e r m deserves similar criticism. If you call t w o
elements X and Y antithetical, you have in fact already seen or
assumed a significant relation b e t w e e n the two. O n l y w h e n X and
Y have something in c o m m o n is it possible and meaningful to
speak of an antithesis b e t w e e n t h e m . This dialectic consideration
may b e illustrated by example (b):"Yahweh knows the way of the
righteous, but the way of the wicked is d o o m e d " a verse that
forms the conclusion of t h e first Psalm. T h e entire p o e m has b e e n
based o n the opposition b e t w e e n g o o d and bad, to such an extent
that there are only few cola in w h i c h the righteous or the wicked
are presented with their o w n qualities, but many cola w h e r e they
appear as the opposite of the other, by means of the w o r d "not." I
will print the negations in strophes 1 and 3 in italics, and follow
the JPS here, w i t h some small adaptations.
6
28
verse
Psalm 1
strophe
la
Happy the man
b
c
d
2a
b
who has not followed the counsel of the wicked,

who has not taken the path of sinners,
and has not joined the company of the insolent;
but finds his delight in the teaching of Yahweh,
and studies that teaching day and night.
3a
b
c
d
Yea, he is like a tree planted beside streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season,
2
whose foliage never fades;
whatever he does, prospers.
4a
b
5a
b
Not so the wicked

3
rather, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment,
and the sinners will not [survive] in the assembly
of the righteous.
For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,
6a
b
T h e poet's moral preferences are made clear by the fact that he

grants the short middle strophe to the righteous, and honors h i m by
speaking figuratively. T h e long strophes flanking the center, h o w
ever, show a remarkable reciprocity: the first strophe "defines" the
righteous by contrasting h i m with the wicked, and the opposite
happens in the third strophe. This is a balance of mutual exclusion.
W i t h this symmetry the composition as a whole reveals that the
g o o d / b a d antithesis has a basis: one solid set of values that is firmly
oriented toward the "law" (torah, strictly speaking "teaching") of
God. T h e opposition between b l o o m and destruction is traced back
in the final verse to the j u d g m e n t of one person, the deity. T h e
p o e m is an arena w h e r e the forces of inclusion and exclusion engage
in battle, but the conclusion of the song is to opt for the Torah.
T h u s , the antithesis did not have the last word. If w e look at the
concluding bicolon from a more verse-technical point of view, w e
also notice that there is n o t only opposition: b o t h versets employ the
same word "way" and subject it to a subde change in syntax*. In
v. 6a, the way is the object of God's care; in 6b it is promoted to the
29
function of subject. This, however, is a last piece of irony directed

against the wicked, as their paths will lead t h e m to destruction.
T h e conclusion of this first exercise in radical criticism must b e :
in every case of synonymous parallelism differences remain visible
b e t w e e n cola that partner each other, and in every case of antithe
sis or rivalry b e t w e e n adjoining versets there is a c o m m o n basis,
or w e still see elements that the cola have in c o m m o n .
R e c e n t scholarly efforts in the United States have produced a sec
o n d avenue of criticism against Lowth's triad, m o r e linguistic and lit
erary than the first type. "Biblical parallelism is of one sort . . . , or a
h u n d r e d sorts; but it is n o t three." It would be wise to use the t e r m
"parallelism" as a very broad category, and then make subdivisions
within this wide concept. C o n t e m p o r a r y research into the factors
contributing to parallelism of versets has uncovered so many dif
ferent linguistic devices at the poet's disposal that Lowth's division
into three has b e c o m e o u t m o d e d : it is arbitrary, and far too r o u g h .
7
O n the level of the poetic line alone, at least four layers, or gate
ways into the p o e m , may b e distinguished. Parallelism may be based
o n phonological or morphological, lexical or semantic text data.To
put it in plain English: the poet may create parallelism by means of
the tools of sound and grammatical form, and by means of vocab
ulary and meaning. Surprisingly enough, w e can already see this in
the six short syllables by Walpole. " H e r e lies Fred; he is dead."
Phonology is represented by the poet's acoustic tools: alliteration,
assonance*, and rhyme; the balance of the syllables is also a factor.
Morphology, or the study of linguistic forms and structures, ana
lyzes the poet's choice of grammatical forms: the lines are o p e n e d
by words with a fully or partially demonstrative function (here/he),
after that w e get intransitive verbs in the present tense (lies/is), and
finally two nouns indicating the m a n and the main predicate to b e
applied to him: dead. These aspects are implied in the vocabulary,
and the w o r d order also provides parallelism. T h e circle is closed
w h e n the established parallelism invites us to semanticize, to p o n
der w h e t h e r there is any difference left b e t w e e n " F r e d " and "dead."
In t h e next chapter, these various linguistic layers will also b e
discussed, o n the basis of poetic lines from the Bible. H e r e I will
n o t e only h o w limited Lowth's m o d e l turns out to be: it neglects
or ignores the contributions of phonological or grammatical
30
factors, and concentrates almost exclusively o n the level of v o c a b

ulary and w o r d meanings.
N o t i n g these defects takes us to the third approach of radical
criticism, w h i c h will uncover even m o r e serious defects. This line
of criticism originates from my o w n structural view of poetry, as
demonstrated in almost every chapter of this b o o k . I hold that for
any p o e m there is m u c h m o r e to be probed than just the layer of
words and their meanings, and that a complete ladder of paral
lelisms should b e climbed if w e want our attention and e m o t i o n
to cover the possibilities and effects of p o e t r y in a satisfactory way.
I purposely use "parallelisms" in the plural here: there are par
allelisms at virtually all levels of the text, and they require detailed
elaboration in the following chapters.To p u t it differently: the text
is a hierarchy of layers, each layer having its o w n characteristics and
rules and making its o w n particular contribution to the overall
effect of the w o r k of art o n the reader.
This textual hierarchy consists of eight layers in the case of short
and m e d i u m - l e n g t h poems, and nine in the case of long p o e m s as
D e u t e r o n o m y 32 or Psalm 8 9 . T h e y may b e represented as a series
of steps:
levels in the poem
step no.
the poem as a whole
sections
stanzas
strophes
verses
versets
words
syllables
sounds
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
T h e five lower levels constitute the traditional field of linguistics and

style analysis. I have inserted a blank line to show the boundary with
the larger textual units. Levels 69 have only recendy b e c o m e avail
able for systematic research, thanks to the fast developments in lin
guistics and the study of literature during the twentieth century. For
the poets of ancient Israel, it was a standard part of their craft to w o r k
at perfect expression and form on all these levels.
31
A n e w , c o m p r e h e n s i v e definition
T h e p o e t sets out to w r i t e a verse. T h e r e is a m o r e than 95 p e r
cent chance that it will b e b i - or tri-partite. To fill that space, and
to remain w i t h i n the poet's o w n cultural environment and its lit
erary rules (which will t h e n be understood by readers), the poet
thankfully exploits parallelism as a means to balance the m e m b e r s
of the verse and control the subject matter. T h e poet creates equiv
alence by introducing "parallelism of members."
9
At this point in the first stages of the poet's creative w o r k I will

switch to the domain of sentence structure, and describe in syn
tactic terms the four possibilities the poet may choose from:
1) A n attractive and obvious decision is to fill the verset (colon)
u n d e r construction w i t h o n e short sentence of t w o to five words.
T h e compactness of expression of the H e b r e w language makes
this easy. In this case, clause (a simple, n o n - c o m p o u n d sentence)
coincides w i t h colon. W h e n the poet repeats this and creates a dis
cernible cohesion w i t h the aid of sound, grammatical form, or
w o r d meaning, a complete verse has b e e n b o r n , a bicolon that in
characteristic H e b r e w fashion realizes "equivalence" by the paral
lelism of its members. This situation occurs thousands of times in
the H e b r e w Bible.
2) T h e p o e t may also decide to employ a c o m p o u n d sentence.
This is a syntactic c o m p l e x consisting o f a main clause and o n e
or m o r e subclauses. If the sentence is c o m p a c t e n o u g h , it may fit
into o n e colon, b u t this is rarely the case. W h a t the p o e t usually
does is neatly allocate o n e colon to every part of the c o m p o u n d
sentence, and because t h e same t e r m clause is used to indicate the
parts of a c o m p o u n d sentence (or period), situation 2 is often just
a n o t h e r instance of the equation " o n e clause = o n e colon." A sim
ple example of this arrangement is the o p e n i n g of Psalm 1. T h e
p o e t immediately starts his main clause, w h i c h is nominal (i.e.,
does n o t contain a verb): " H a p p y the man"fortunately, most
translations manage to avoid inserting " i s " or " b e " (subjunctive
m o o d ) . T h i s main clause is v. la, and it completely coincides w i t h
t h e sentence core (subject plus predicate). T h e p o e t continues
w i t h an adjectival clause in order to tell us w h a t sort of m a n he
has in m i n d , and uses this clause to fill the B - c o l o n . N e x t , h o w
ever, a spectacular decision follows: the p o e t adds m o r e adjectival
32
clauses.There are n o less than four, two negative followed by t w o

positive clauses:
v. la
b
c
d
v. 2a
b
Happy the man

who has not followed the counsel of the wicked,
who has not taken the path of sinners,
strophe 1
and has not joined the company of the insolent;
but finds his delight in the teaching of Yahweh,
and studies that teaching day and night.
T h u s , this o n e move o n the part of the composer creates many

forms of equivalence or balance: each of the three full lines c o n
tains equivalence of the versets, and there is also equivalence at the
level of the verse as a w h o l e . Moreover, in the same move, this syn
tactic design creates a higher textual unit, as the three poetic lines
in w . 12 form a ready-made strophe. T h r e e lines about scum in
the plural are framed by three positive lines (la and 2ab) about the
m a n (singular) w h o remains o n course thanks to "the teaching of
Yahweh" (two m o r e singular forms). In this way, the shape of the
strophe suggests an encircling: the scum are kept in check.
3) T h e poet may also decide to w r i t e a l o n g n o t c o m p o u n d
sentence that exceeds the b o u n d a r y of a single colon. In that case,
the p o e t will usually arrange the material so that the sentence core
is in o n e colon, possibly accompanied by a direct object, and any
further adjuncts occupy the other colon; this happens, for instance,
in the tricolic verse that depicts the "raging of the peoples" in
Psalm 2:
v. 2a
b
c
The kings of the earth take their stand

and regents intrigue together
against Yahweh and his anointed.
Cola a and b contain the first main clause (again: clause = colon)
and the core of the second main clause, after w h i c h the C - c o l o n
is filled u p w i t h the adjunct that concludes the second sentence.
T h e poet, by the way, thinks of m o r e than just syntax, and at the
end even manages to effect a form of balance: h e places two people
in the C - c o l o n , the deity and the king, and this pair is intended to
counterbalance the w o r d pair kings/regents. H o w d o G o d and
33
king fare in the rest of Psalm 2? If w e read on, w e find that the first
strophe ( w . 13) prepares the reader for a harsh confrontation, and
that the bosses o n earth are in for some hard knocks.
4) T h e independence of the colon is n o t affected if the p o e t
includes t w o different predicates. In that case, the verset contains
t w o short sentences. This situation is n o t u n c o m m o n ; take for
example the B - c o l o n of a tricolon from Psalm 2:
1 0
v. 7
Let me tell you of Yahweh's decree;

He said to me:You are My son,
I have fathered you on this day.
Here, the king is being addressed by G o d , and w h a t h e hears is that

G o d has elected h i m "today." To this end, the poet puts terms of
elementary kinship in God's m o u t h : the words " s o n " and
"fathered" are metaphors that vividly and "physically" express
proximity. T h e p r o n o u n s m e / m y and I / y o u effectively serve to
link the sentences 234, a nice t o u c h that again expresses p r o x
imity and reciprocity.
To recapitulate: the versemonger has four possibilities to fill a
colon. T h e poet can use a phrase (usually a syntactic adjunct); a
short independent sentence; often t w o short sentences; or a part
(clause) of a c o m p o u n d sentence. W h a t I described as option 1 may
n o w safely be called the central option because, of the four possi
bilities, a simple (main) clause coinciding w i t h the colon is the r e p
resentative situation: a complete sentence is finished within a single
colon. Labeling the simple sentence (the only case of sentence =
colon) the central option or starting point of verse making also
receives support from statistics: this type of simple cola constitutes
the majority of cases. O p t i o n s 2 and 3 b o t h imply that the syntac
tic unit extends beyond the boundaries of a single colon. This
means that the sentence continues across the caesura, a form of
border crossing that is our first acquaintance with enjambment*.
It is time I presented an adequate definition of a H e b r e w
p o e m . In m y b o o k Reading Biblical Narrative, t h e c o u n t e r p a r t to
this volume, I have explained h o w the narrator uses m o r e than
o n e ingredient: n o t only language, but also time. Every sentence
in a story has a c o m p l e x relationship w i t h time, if only because
34
the tension discourse t i m e / n a r r a t e d time is always there. A simi

lar circumstance applies to the poet, w h o is n o t only engaged in
shaping a c o m p l e x message t h r o u g h a subtle selection of linguis
tic tools, but is also constantly watching the proportions of the
textual units. T h e cola fit a specific verse m o d e l , t h e p o e t keeps
the verses within the prescribed boundaries of the strophe, and
the strophes, too, follow an articulation w h o s e extent is controlled
by t h e poet.
This last statement may b e put differently, using the vocabulary
of equivalence and parallelism. Parallelism is not restricted to the
level of the versets; w e also observe it in verses, strophes, and stan
zas. In the same way that equivalence provides cohesion for the
cola and knits the verse together, this is also the purpose of the
compositionliterally " p u t t i n g t o g e t h e r " o f the higher textual
levels. Equivalence of verses guarantees the internal cohesion of
the strophe, and by creating a specific balance b e t w e e n strophes
the p o e t is able to shape stanzas. In all these forms of articulation,
however, time again plays a part.
T h e sentences of a story take u p discourse (narration) t i m e
the time it takes to recite or read t h e m a n d refer to narrated
(story) time. Analogously, w e might n o w say of the p o e t (who his
torically speaking was often a singer, for instance during worship,
and w h o s e transmitted text makes the voice of the poet-singer
audible even for us): the verses take up singing t i m e t h e time it
takes to recite or read t h e m a n d the proportions of cola and
verses, of strophes and stanzas lend structure b o t h to this singing,
and to m e a n i n g and content of the song = p o e m . T i m e is present
here in the form of proportionality. T h e measures of all textual lev
els together, from syllables through to stanzas or sections, I s u m
marize in the w o r d prosody.
This Greek w o r d originally means the "progress of the singing."
In practice it is often reduced to metrics, b u t this betrays rather
sloppy thinking. In m y view, the concept of prosody deserves a
broad definition w h i c h takes into account the various levels of the
text, i.e., covers its hierarchical structure. In that case, prosody
implies that the p o e t watches and controls the dimensions of the
textual units, and as such means regulating and controlling quan
tity, at all levels of the text.
35
I will n o w link this u p w i t h the w o r d quality.This w o r d may be

used effectively to refer to the poem's main task: conveying m e a n
ing and sense. It is the poet's j o b to relate quality to quantity. H o w
ever, since this sentence may equally well apply to the r u n n i n g of
a supermarket, w e n e e d to narrow d o w n this statement and apply
the abstract concepts of quality/ quantity in a truly literary w a y W e
are approaching the definition of poetry.
Such a definition will w o r k only if it takes into account b o t h
ingredients used by the poet: language and prosody, or observing
proportion during the creation of m e a n i n g and sense. M y defini
tion of a H e b r e w p o e m , then, is as follows:
A poem is the result of
(on the one hand) an artistic handling of language, style and
structure, and
(on the other hand) applying prescribed proportions to all
levels of the text,
so that a controlled combination of language and number is
created.
I will end this chapter in the same way as I began it. W h e r e p o e t r y
is concerned, literary sensitivity and an o p e n m i n d are m o r e valu
able than constructing definitions. Love and concentrated atten
tion are far superior to theories. Nevertheless, it will be a challenge
in the following chapters to show h o w m a n y insights and tools
may be gained from a view of the p o e m as a well-constructed
hierarchy.
3
A text model and how to use it
Language
and number
(continued)
A m o d e l o f t h e biblical p o e m
Poetry is primary literature; poetics, being a scholarly discipline,
produces secondary literature. M y decision to give priority to lit
erary sensitivity over theorizing about p o e t r y remains valid w h e n
I construct a m o d e l of the H e b r e w p o e m . T h e three main collec
tions of biblical poetry are the books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Job.
T h e advantage they offer over the p o e t r y in the books of the
Prophets is that w i t h these three, w e k n o w w h e r e w e are: there are
hardly any instances w h e r e the boundaries of the literary units are
uncertain, as almost all the poems have b e e n correctly demarcated
by the tradition. In these collections, the following m o d e l applies;
these rules are also useful w h e n reading p o e m s from the Prophets,
even t h o u g h the m o d e l is employed less rigidly there. A p o e m has:
1
2
2
2
2
to
or
or
or
4 beats/stresses per colon

3 cola per verse
3 verses per strophe
3 strophes per stanza
These characteristics n e e d some clarification. T h e m o d e l should

n o t b e viewed as a closed system, and cannot b e taken as an
absolute standard. T h e r e is n o call for mathematical rigor in the
playful world of poetry.
M y discussion starts at the beginning, w i t h the verset. If, like
me, you have the courage to believe in metrics in H e b r e w p o e t r y
you may continue to use the t e r m "beats" to indicate the length
of a verset. Should you consider metrics nonexistent or improbable,
however, there should b e n o problem; after all, the words still have
stresses, and these can b e counted. According to the model, each
colon has two to four stresses, but this is n o t an absolute limit. It
38
does apply to the overwhelming majority of cases, but every o n c e

in a while w e c o m e across a verset w i t h only o n e main stress or
beat, or, conversely, w e find a verset containing five stresses. All
this applies only to the original H e b r e w text, and is consequently
of n o great importance for this book; the reader may file it away
in a footnote.
T h e next layer is that of the verse in the literary sense: the full
poetic line. T h e verse almost always consists of t w o or three cola,
never more. Sometimes, however, w e e n c o u n t e r a verse that c o n
sists of only o n e c o l o n . T h e b o o k of Psalms contains t w e n t y - o n e
of these versets functioning as verses. T h e r e are n o n e at all in Job,
and almost n o n e in Proverbs. Such m o n o c o l a are literally marginal
p h e n o m e n a , usually functioning as markers at the b e g i n n i n g or
end of a higher-level textual unit such as a strophe or stanza.
O f m u c h greater importance is the proportion of t w o - p a r t to
three-part verses. T h e vast majority of verses are bipartite, i.e.,
bicola. This is clear from the percentages of tricola: almost 12.5
percent of the verses in the Psalms are tricola, in J o b only 8 p e r
cent, and in Proverbs even less, 4 percent, w h i c h means many of
the p o e m s it contains are completely bicolic.
W e ascend to the level of the strophes. These usually consist of
two or three verses, but some shorter or longer strophes do occur.
T h e Psalter contains forty-one one-line strophes; a few examples
are: the hymnic verse that opens Psalm 8 and returns at the end,
or the "verses" (here: biblical verses) 7 and 16 that articulate Psalm
50 in three parts; the ending of Psalm 90 (v. 17, a tricolon), or the
refrain verses 57:6 = 12 and 59:7 = 15.1 estimate that J o b contains
some ten strophes consisting of only o n e poetic line, and Proverbs
even less.
Every n o w and then an extra-long strophe materializes. I could
point to five four-line strophes in the Psalms, and J o b 3 contains
t h r e e . At the top of the list w e find t w o strophes consisting of as
many as five verses; these are Psalm 18:21-25 and Psalm 1 1 5 : 4 - 8 ;
the latter is a passage about the gods outside Israel, w h i c h I will
quote here:
2
v. 4
v. 5
Their idols are silver and gold,

the work of men's hands;
they have mouths, but cannot speak,
A Text Model and How to Use It
v. 6
v. 7
v. 8
39
they have eyes, but cannot see,

they have ears, but cannot hear,
they have noses, but cannot smell,
their handsbut they do not touch,
their feetbut they cannot walk,
they can make no sound in their throats,
Those who fashion them, shall become like them,
all who trust in them.
T h e indentation of the B-cola (and the surplus in v. 7 w i t h its

remarkable C - c o l o n , w h i c h is n o t there for n o reason) here r e p
resents the typography as offered in several translations. I have,
however, added something extra by having "verses" 57 indent
o n e m o r e level. As a threesome they are clearly distinguished from
v. 4 and v. 8, since they are an obvious enumeration, and w i t h all
these nonfunctioning b o d y parts constitute attractive polemics*.
T h e surrounding verses have clearly b e e n synchronized. All refer
to people and contain the point: w h o w o u l d be so naive as to w o r
ship their handiwork? T h e C - c o l o n of v. 7 concludes the central
series w i t h a slightly different pattern, and together w i t h (the
" m o u t h s " in) v. 5a makes a frame around the core of the evidence.
At the last m o m e n t , it seems as if the p o o r wretches want to cry
o u t in distress after the merciless trouncing by the poet, but they
cannot manage thisthey really are d u m b .
This core of three verses relates to the framing verses 4 + 8 in
the same way that an example relates to a general rule. We may
therefore also view the frame as a split-up short strophe, the halves
of w h i c h n o w function as an envelope, while the enumeration ( w .
57) is a regular three-line strophe. Something similar applies to
Ps. 18:2125. Viewed in this way, these five-line strophes are
exceptional and creative applications of the standard dimensions
for the strophe (two or three poetic lines), rather than breaks in
the p a t t e r n .
7
I will n o w leave the exceptionsthe frayed edges that p u t the

strict rules of the m o d e l into perspectiveand again look at the
bulk of the strophes. It seems sensible to adopt labels for t h e t w o line and three-line strophes. F r o m n o w o n I will call the main
g r o u p S(hort)-strophes, and the small g r o u p of strophes contain
ing three verses L(ong)-strophes.These abbreviations enable us to
40
record the structure of a p o e m in shorthand: Psalms 1 and 113, for

instance, w h i c h have already b e e n quoted in their entirety, may
n o w b e w r i t t e n as LSL and SSSL, respectively. W e n o w see at a
glance that the short and metaphorical strophe that forms the c e n
ter of Psalm 1 has a symmetrical frame, and that Psalm 113 places
its only L-strophe at the end, by way of climax. A n example from
Job, w h e r e the biblical verse usually coincides w i t h the poetic line,
looks like this (ch. 9):
cola
syllables
L L L S
6 6 6 4
47 51 44 33
98
77
/
/
L L L L
6
6 6 7
48 50 48 50
98
98
/
/
S L L L
4
6
6 6
32 46 48 51
78
99
I have added the n u m b e r of cola per strophe, and the figures for
the strophes (the n u m b e r s of their original, i.e., pre-Masoretic syl
lables). T h e slashes in the diagram indicate that this p o e m of thirtyfour verses consists of three parts. T h e notation in capital letters
immediately shows that the text has a completely symmetrical
structure, and that t h e only t w o S-strophes frame the center. T h e
twelve strophes have b e e n grouped in pairs, so that the three sec
tions contain six stanzas. T h e precision of the prosodic design is
revealed in the stanzas w h e n w e count the original syllables; these
totals are given in bold typeface.
Let us return to the c o m p o n e n t s of the model. It is a great pity
that o u r Bible translations achieve precious little in the way of
indicating strophes. People just did not realize they existed, in the
old days, and then of course nowadays there is the dying-out breed
of scholars w h o do n o t wish to know. In the many translations dat
ing from the middle of the twentieth century the demarcation of
strophes by means of blank lines is utterly arbitrary and even absent
most of the time; often a blank line has been inserted to mark a
stanza boundary, i.e., a higher textual level. M o r e recent transla
tions are little better, sometimes worse if o n verse level they d o n o t
indent B-cola and C-cola. O n l y in the very rare instances w h e r e
the text really is completely straightforward do the translations
manage adequately. In t h e so-called Bible de Jerusalem, a translation
supervised by t h e Dominicans of the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem,
41
the translators were obviously o n the l o o k o u t for strophic units,

but they nevertheless often get it w r o n g .
Finally, w e climb u p o n e m o r e level, to the stanza. This h i g h level textual unit is usually a collection of t w o or three strophes.
H e r e , too, the dividing line between strophe and stanza is n o t a
firewall: at times, o n e long strophe will coincide w i t h a stanza. A n
example of this is the middle strophe of Psalm 10, v. 911. These
verses depict the absolute nadir for the harassed p o o r and consti
tute an L-strophe, and hence, a stanza.This unit is part of the highly
regular structure of Psalms 9 - 1 0 , w h i c h together form o n e p o e m ,
and apart from this strophe consist exclusively of stanzas of t w o
S-strophes (= four poetic lines) each.
8
At the other end of the standard dimensions w e find stanzas

containing four strophes. D o w e really? I k n o w of some: stanza IV
of Psalm 69, for instance, comes immediately after the center
(= stanza III, the prayer for salvation of w . 1521) and distributes
its verses 2229 over four S-strophes in w h i c h the poet asks G o d
to punish his enemies; this stanza is in part a curse. A n d lo and
behold, there is o n e single stanza in the Psalter (none in J o b or
Proverbs) containing as many as five strophes: this is Ps. 18:816, a
passage k n o w n as the t h e o p h a n y * . T h i s text is a g o o d example of
the thesis that recognizing the structure is the instant proof of the
correct strophe division:
42
v. 8a
b
c
v. 9a
b
c

Then the earth rocked and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens shook,
rocked by his indignation,
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
devouring fire came out of his mouth,
live coals blazed forth from him.
v. 10a
b
v. 11a
b
He bent the sky and came down,

darkness was beneath his feet.
He mounted a cherub and flew,
gliding on the wings of the wind.
v. 12a
b
v. 13a
b
He made darkness his screen:

dark thunderheads, dense clouds of the sky.
Out of the brilliance before him
fiery coals blazed.
v. 14a
b
v. 15a
b
Then Yah weh thundered from heaven,

the Most High gave forth his voice.
He let fly his shafts and scattered them,
he discharged lightning and routed them.
v. 16a
b
c
d
The ocean bed was exposed,

the foundations of the world were laid bare
By Yahweh's mighty roaring,
at the blast of the breath from his nostrils.
strophe 4
strophe 5
strophe 6
strophe 7
strophe 8
H e r e w e have five S-strophes, b u t the first o n e has b e e n weighted

d o w n : the verses are tripartite, so that the unit contains six rather
than four cola, the same length as a regular L-strophe elsewhere.
T h e strong cohesion w i t h i n this spectacular passage may be
sketched in a few strokes. Strophes 4 and 8 show h o w the entire
cosmos is in disarray as a result of God's anger, and strophes 5 and
7 present h i m as a warrior descending in order to intervene o n
earth, o n behalf of King David. It is David w h o is the speaker in
this l o n g Song of Thanksgiving, and h e is so focused o n the inter
vention of the G o d w h o has affiliated himself to h i m that h e does
not even grant his enemies an antecedent*: he quickly disposes of
t h e m by means of the short " t h e m " in verse 15, at the m o m e n t
w h e n they enter the picture as the target of God's missiles. In the
center w e find the mystery of the light that should b e surrounded,
if not protected, by darkness in order to describe the appearance
43
of G o d . In short: the strophic structure in this stanza follows an

A B X B ' A ' pattern, and this concentric design is the best possible
guarantee for the unity of the stanza.
T h e A B X B ' A ' pattern is a concentric design: anger and earth
quake constitute the correspondence A - A ' , war and God's m o v e
m e n t from heaven to earth are B - B ' , and X is the u n i q u e pivot
w i t h its paradoxical view on G o d . This first climax of the song
inspired the poet to create even m o r e rings w i t h w h i c h to sur
r o u n d the theophany:
v. 7a
b
c
d
In my distress I called onYahweh;

cried out to my God.
In his temple he heard my voice,
my cry to him reached his ears.
strophe 3
[here vv. 816: the theophany = strophes 48]

v. 17a
b
v. 18a
b
He reached down from on high, he took me,

he drew me out of the mighty waters,
He saved me from my fierce enemy,
from my haters, who were too strong for me.
strophe 9
W e d o see t w o strophes here, b u t they b e l o n g together as i n e x

tricably as answer belongs to question, and neither corresponds to
preceding/following strophes. I therefore see t h e m as the result of
(again) a splitting-up: together, strophes 3 and 9 constitute t h e
stanza of distress and salvation. N o t until after God's intervention
is finished does David b o t h e r to use some verse space to refer to
the victims in words: " m y fierce e n e m y " together w i t h " m y
haters" form an obvious w o r d pair in v. 18. T h e balance b e t w e e n
the t w o strophes is reflected in the subject of the action: in stro
p h e 3 , David is the " I , " addressing G o d , whereas in strophe 9 G o d
as t h e powerful agent is the subject, while David is object and
beneficiary.
As a stanza often contains six to ten versesand t w o or three
stanzas will in this way quickly add u p to a p o e m of fifteen or
t w e n t y versesthere are few p o e m s that contain a textual unit
o n t h e level b e t w e e n t h e stanza and t h e p o e m itself. O f t h e 148
p o e m s in the Psalter, a b o u t 120 can b e p r i n t e d o n o n e page (in
H e b r e w , w h e r e a c o m p l e t e verse fits o n o n e line). T h e r e are,
44
however, a n u m b e r of m u c h longer p o e m s , for instance, D e u t e r

o n o m y 32, Judges 5, and Psalms 18, 6 8 , 69, 7 8 , and 89; these in
t u r n g r o u p their stanzas in (what I call) sections. T h u s , t h e S o n g
of D e b o r a h a c c o m m o d a t e s its fifty verses in t w e n t y strophes,
w h i c h together f o r m seven stanzas; the latter units are arranged
into three sections.
9
At this point, a critical reader w o u l d b e perfectly justified to object

that this m o d e l is a product of m o d e r n scholarship, being forced
o n to the text like a straight]acket. It is a pleasant surprise, t h e r e
fore, to find this poetic m o d e l neatly b o r n e o u t by the so-called
alphabetic acrostics of the Bible.
T h e H e b r e w alphabet consists of t w e n t y - t w o characters d e n o t
ing consonants. T h e vowel and accent signs w e n o w find in the
Bible were added by the Jewish tradition o n e or t w o thousand
years after its composition, in order to ensure an exact recording
of the correct classical pronunciation (in the synagogue). T h e first
four consonants are called aleph, beth, gimel, and daleth, words w e
recognize through their Greek corruptions alpha, beta, gamma, and
delta. Sometimes, poetsand also writers from Ugarit, three c e n
turies before Davidregarded constructing a text based o n the
letters of the alphabet in order as a challenge: the first verse had to
start w i t h an aleph, the second w i t h a beth, etc., right d o w n to v.
22, w h i c h would start w i t h the last consonant taw and conclude
the p o e m . In this way, an alphabetic acrostic has b e e n created.
(Such acrostics were w r i t t e n in English by Lewis Carroll and
Edgar Allan Poe.)
T h e r e are a dozen of these acrostics in the Bible, and their d i m e n
sions reveal exacdy the contours of the text model. T h e y differ
widely as regards length, and precisely because of this they d e m o n
strate that the poets did indeed work with cola, verses, strophes, and
stanzas. T h e alphabet provides an acrostic arrangement:
per colon, in Psalms 111 and 112,
per poetic line, in Psalms 25, 34, and 145, and also in
the concluding poem of Proverbs, the praise of "the
capable wife," 31:1031,
per strophe in Psalm 37, and in four of the five poems
which make up the short book of Lamentations,
and per stanza in the longest psalm, 119.
45
This is a remarkable g r o u p of p o e m s , and incontrovertible p r o o f

that t h e poets k n e w exactly w h a t constituted a colon, a verse, a
strophe, and a stanza. Psalms 111 and 112 are adjacent in t h e
Bible, w h i c h is n o coincidence, as they have b e e n completely
synchronized. T h e i r themes are c o m p l e m e n t a r y : Psalm 111
praises G o d s uprightness, and Psalm 112 mirrors this by placing
t h e u p r i g h t m a n alongside it. B o t h p o e m s e n d w i t h a double t r i colon as t h e final strophe, and they are so perfectly t w i n n e d that
they have exactly t h e same length: b o t h have 168 syllables in
t w e n t y - t w o cola.
T h e poems in Lamentations have b e e n constructed in such a
way that the letter from the alphabet at the top (Greek aero-) of the
strophe always opens an L-strophe in chs. 1 and 2 and an S-strophe
in ch. 4. Chapter 3 also contains L-strophes, b u t the special situa
tion here is that the acrostic consonant appears three times in every
strophe: at the b e g i n n i n g of each verse in the strophe that it gov
erns. T h e first strophe opens all of its three verses w i t h an aleph,
the fourth strophe contains the daleth three times, etc.
Finally, o n stanza level there is the acrostic Psalm 119a rather
special text, w h i c h at first sight seems fairly indigestible as it is so
very pious. R e a d in the original language, however, the p o e m is
very stimulating, a multicolored pyrotechnic of variations and
other formal devices glittering against the background of a baf
fling synonymy. W i t h its 176 poetic lines, this Psalm is the longest
in the entire Psalter.The Unes have been g r o u p e d into t w e n t y - t w o
octets and are almost all bicolic. In each stanza (i.e., always eight
verses), every line starts w i t h the acrostic consonant in question.
O f the t w e n t y - t w o octets, nineteen have a rigidly binary structure
in halves of 4 + 4 verses, w h i c h w e may call substanzas and w h i c h
themselves may b e divided as 2 + 2 verses. T h u s , the substanza
consists of two S-strophes.
I will n o w draw t w o conclusions from the presentation of the

m o d e l and its illustrations. First, the numbers two and three prove alldefining on the four central levels of the poem as a hierarchical structure:
colon, verse, strophe, and stanza, i.e., o n all levels above that of the
w o r d and below that of t h e p o e m as a w h o l e , or its sections. These
are the very layers w h e r e language acquires its literary added value
46
from the poet. Second, t h e m o d e l also reveals that three building

blocks are fundamental:
the colon (to prosody),

the verse (to semantics* or meaning),
and the strophe (to the rhetorical or argumentative
design).
T h e verset or colon is already fundamental, as in general it is the

smallest independent text unit by virtue of having a predicate
(= it contains a verb, states something): it is a unit of m e a n i n g that
may be understood in itself. To the poet, attempting to control
proportions, it is also fundamental as a first building block of
prosody, since it is exactly colon length (= the n u m b e r of syllables)
that received particular attention from the H e b r e w poetssee
below.
T h e verse is fundamental to poetic semantics, as this is the level
w h e r e for the first time a systematic exploitation and application
of parallelism takes place, the "parallelism of the members." This
p h e n o m e n o n will b e discussed in detail in the next chapter.
A p o e m is at t h e same time, however, a particular f o r m of p e r
suasion or argument: n o t the sort of a r g u m e n t that allies itself
w i t h logic, or a discourse governed by a plot, w h i c h arranges
events thematicallythese are characteristics reserved for narra
tive p r o s e b u t nevertheless a string of language acts in a p a r t i c
ular order (often not immediately clear), the aim of w h i c h is to
persuade. This last w o r d ties in w i t h the classical definition of
rhetoric: the art of persuasion (by means of language). In their
o w n way, poets are just as c o n c e r n e d w i t h this as the philosopher,
the w r i t e r of a newspaper article, or a Speaker of the H o u s e of
Representatives.
T h e H e b r e w poet produces lyrical (in the Psalms and the ora
cles, and in the snatches of p o e t r y that lard the long story from
Genesis through to Kings) or didactic poetry (in the representa
tions of the W i s d o m literature, Proverbs and Job). T h e H e b r e w
poet, too, wants to persuade, by means of poetry, by the c o n d e n s
ing of language. Rarely, however, does the p o e t leave this to o n e
single verse; h e n c e the scarcity of one-line strophes. T h e p o e t
shores u p the verse w i t h o n e or t w o m o r e verses, and c o m b i n e d
47
into a strophic unit these represent a step or phase in the poet's

argument. This is eminently clear in the b o o k of Job, w h i c h of
course is o n e long debate, first b e t w e e n four and later b e t w e e n six
speakers, about the most profound existential questions. T h e poet
of J o b has his characters present their arguments by strophe. A n
example of this will b e discussed in chapter 9. Elsewhere, too, the
strophe serves as the rhetorical building blockas may b e c o n
firmed by rereading the texts already discussed from Psalms 1,2,
18, and 113 (and Ps. 114 further down) or David's Lament.
T h e perfect tool to forge verses into a strophe that will w o r k as
a unit is offered by semantics*: applying parallelism o n verse level,
i.e., o n e level higher than Lowth's parallelismus m e m b r o r u m . In
the next chapters w e will see h o w the p o e t uses this device.
I have pointed to three building blocks, thus distancing myself
from the unfruitful discussion that sometimes erupts b e t w e e n
scholars, about w h e t h e r the basic c o m p o n e n t of the H e b r e w
p o e m is the colon or the verse. This shows that these scholars are
looking for only o n e c o m p o n e n t ; actually, there are three, each o n
its o w n level.
G o i n g back to the basic level of the verset w e m e e t a second series
of crucial numbers. As these are found by c o u n t i n g the syllables in
the original, pre-Masoretic H e b r e w from the first millennium
BCE, I can offer n o m o r e than a cursory discussion of t h e m in this
b o o k . The numbers 7-89 are also essential, and demonstrate that the
colon is thefundamental building block of Hebrew prosody. This is proved
by a surprising circumstance o c c u r r i n g in n o fewer than eightyfive psalms (eighty-three poems): these p o e m s score an integer for
the average n u m b e r of syllables per colon; this is usually eight,
sometimes seven or nine. This highly remarkable finding can b e
explained only by assuming that the poets themselves c o u n t e d
syllables.
As w e have seen, a simple example is Psalm 1, w i t h 144 syllables
in sixteen cola; the average (number of syllables per colon) here is
the integer 9, instead of the fraction that w o u l d b e likely to occur
had the poets failed to count their syllables and left their n u m b e r s
to chance. W e arrive a fraction if a p o e m has for instance 168 syl
lables in t w e n t y - t w o cola: this division yields 7.63, the fraction that
10
48
applies to Psalms 111 and 112. T h e 9 that w e have just discovered

to b e the n o r m in Psalm 1 is at the same time a signal for the c o m
plete Psalter. T h e 9 is the ceiling: n o psalm exceeds 9, although
there are a dozen that score exactly that.
If the n u m b e r of syllables in the Psalter (the actual text, n o t
including inscriptions and the like), i.e., a total o f 4 5 , 7 2 5 , is divided
by the total n u m b e r of cola (5,712), the result is also 8deviating
only from the integer in the third decimal (i.e., 8.005). J o b and
Proverbs even exclusively aim for the 8 as the n o r m figure. S o m e
of their poems score exactly 8; the average n u m b e r of syllables per
colon in the others is always close.
All this w o u l d seem to indicate that the n u m b e r 8 deserves the
title of "central n o r m figure of prosody." This is the beacon that
the poet bears in m i n d w h e n constructing the cola. It completely
dominates the longest psalm by linking up with the alphabet and
the acrostic arrangement, so that this technical tour deforce (as w e
have seen) consists of t w e n t y - t w o o c t e t s .
11
It is totally unnecessary for poets to give all their cola the same
length (= n u m b e r of syllables); it is equally unnecessary that a large
n u m b e r of cola actually realize the n o r m figure. Rather, in p r a c
tice poets employ a w i d e range of colon lengths, but at the same
time take care to have an exact average (i.e., an integer instead of
a fraction).
This range of figures (indicating the n u m b e r of syllables per
colon) may b e beautifully demonstrated by Psalm 97; it is an
example of the precision w i t h w h i c h the poets w o r k e d a preci
sion they did not need to maintain o n syllable level, but w h i c h they
occasionally liked to realize, as a challenge. If w e read v. 5 of Psalm
97 as the tricolon that it actually is, this song contains twenty-eight
cola, w i t h 224 syllables, and thus realizes the n o r m figure 8. T h e
way in w h i c h this happens is rather unusual:
1 colon has 5 syllables
2 cola have 6 syllables
14 cola have 8 syllables,
1 colon has 11 syllables
i.e., a total of 112
49
This concentric regularity is built up of seven symmetrical layers.

O n t h e axis w e notice that exactly half of the total of twenty-eight
cola realize the n o r m figure 8. These fourteen cola contain exactly
as many syllables as the other fourteen together. Meanwhile, the
n u m b e r 7 is also active in various ways. To n a m e only t w o : the
n u m b e r of cola o n either side of the normative axis is 7 + 7; if w e
multiply 7 by the n o r m figure, w e get 5 6 a figure of w h i c h 112
and 224 are multiples. This figure is the total o n b o t h sides of
the a x i s .
12
I have drawn t w o conclusions, establishing the p r o m i n e n c e of

the n u m b e r s 2 and 3 , and the fact that there are three building
blocks. I will draw a final conclusion from these two: that the poets
paid meticulous attention to the numerical aspect of their work,
and that c o m p o n e n t II will prove to b e essentialthe figures for
the main textual levels, or rather the care taken about the correct
proportions, w h i c h these figures represent and constantly exude.
T h e reader's c o n t r i b u t i o n ; basic t o o l s
Poets spend great care and love o n their work. W h o are w e n o t to
follow their example? W e are the readersbut what exactly is read
ing? R e a d i n g is not a passive business; while w e read, w e d o not
merely undergo something. Even the description "receptive" for
this activity is inadequate, as w e do m o r e than just receive. W h e t h e r
they realize it or not, readers, w h e n engaged in the act of reading,
are extremely involved: they infuse a text with meaning.
O u r interest is part of the living text; in our capacity as readers
i.e., through our reading activitywe are a part of the structure of
the w o r k of art, however strange this may sound. O u r involvement
as conferrers of meaning may b e given its due recognition as fol
lows. A text that is not read is a cluster of latent meanings. It can
not exercise any influence; its meanings cannot have any effect. T h e
unread text leads the life of a ghost in the underworld. N o t until it
is read does the text b e c o m e a " w o r k " in the full sense of the word.
It needs readers in order to come alive; as soon as w e start listening
to a text, but only then, it starts to speak.
Imperfect listening leads to bad articulation and erroneous
interpretation; good listening leads to correct understanding. T h e
50
reader w h o is unfamiliar with the rules governing the text will

produce an i n c o m p e t e n t reading, preventing the text from attain
ing its full potential. C o m p e t e n t readers k n o w h o w to handle the
conventions and techniques employed in the text, and manage to
do full justice to it.The meanings that lay d o r m a n t in the t e x t - n o t yet-read are activated by the act of reading. W h a t was latent
becomes patent in a mysterious process: a fusion b e t w e e n the
meanings hidden in the text and the m e a n i n g being conferred
during the act of readingor, n o t to put t o o fine a point o n it,
conferred by the reader. T h e p o e m comes to life only through us,
and in n o other way. This saddles us w i t h a great responsibility for
the soundness and life of t h e text.
Because of their semantic density, poems are often hard to
understand. We as readers w o u l d therefore d o well to exercise
some patience. W e n e e d n o t set ourselves the goal of understand
ing everything in a single sitting, or even of getting "the message."
It is better still if w e manage to rid ourselves of the m o d e r n desire
for instant satisfaction. T h e p o e m suffers if w e focus o u r reading
o n determining o n e m a i n point, preferably within a short time.
We will, however, reap its rewards if w e manage to discard the
image w e have formed of the text after a few reading sessions and
start afresh, looking for n e w meanings; these will certainly appear,
in p r o p o r t i o n to our openness and alertness to surprises.
In o u r quest for m e a n i n g w e do well to accept the basic c o m
ponents in their proper value; in the case of literature this means
understanding, and profiting from, the fact that the raw material
here is language.The language aspect is basic, and w e will be m o r e
flexible if w e k n o w h o w to use the simple instruments that
demonstrate or explain the workings of language. W e really can
not do w i t h o u t the basic terms of grammar, as verse after verse w e
will b e confronted w i t h the dialectics and tension b e t w e e n sen
tence and verse structure.
In the following, I will n e e d grammatical terms every n o w and
then to b e able to describe efficiently what is happening in a verse.
M a n y readers will k n o w these terms; they may skip the next para
graph. T h o s e readers, however, for w h o m grammatical analysis is
not a part of their daily routine also deserve to be enlightened; I
will refresh their m e m o r i e s by means of a few simple examples.
51
Take for instance a sentence such as: "I have listened to you." In
a syntactic analysis,"I"is called the subject,"have listened" the pred
icate, and " t o y o u " is the object (governed by a preposition). In the
H e b r e w text, this is a direct object (no preposition here) and the
entire sentence occupies just one word, but otherwise the syntactic
functions remain the same.The subject-predicate combination I call
the sentence core. This core is often explained or modified by an
adjunct: of time, place, or mode. Adjuncts may refer to various sen
tence components. In "Anna eats cornflakes with sugar," the adjunct
"with sugar" qualifies the object: the cornflakes. But in "Anna eats
cornflakes with a fork," the adjunct refers to the predicate: it explains
h o w she eatsin this case, which implement she uses.
Grammatical analysis can be very useful. Its instruments enable
us to discover h o w sentence and verse (or colon) are related, and
w e b e c o m e m u c h m o r e sensitive to the r h y t h m and character of
the sentences: are they long or short, d o they describe or report,
beg, c o m m a n d , or complain? Grammatical analysis sharpens our
observation of discrepancies and transitions. In this way, w e learn
to recognize strophe boundaries, and sometimes w e are even able
to correct the verse division in o u r Bible translation. T h e conclu
sion of Psalm 69 is a g o o d example. B o t h the original text and
most m o d e r n translations represent w . 3637 as a tricolon plus a
bicolon:
v. 36a
b
c
v. 37a
b
For God will deliver Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,
so that they may dwell there, and inherit it;
the offspring of his servants shall possess it,
and who cherish his name shall dwell there.
T h e Masoretes (the rabbis responsible for the transmission of the

biblical text) and the translators have here let themselves be fooled
by the transition by means of "so t h a t " and the w o r d "there,"
w h i c h refers back to Judah; and even m o r e by the position of " t h e
offspring of his servants." This subject does n o t appear until the
fourth line, but is actually already active in 36c. I will first switch
the order to bicolon + tricolon, and t h e n make some minimal
adjustments to the English:
52
v. 36a
b
c
v.37a
b

For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
So that they may dwell there, and inherit it:
the offspring of his servants shall possess it,
and who cherish his name shall live there.
For m y defense of this adaptation I use such elementary tools of lin

guistic study as the differences between singular and plural, and
between subject and object. Two lines have been devoted to G o d
and his transitive actions: 36a + b. These are the only two lines to
contain proper names. N e x t , n u m b e r and subject are turned around:
there are n o w three lines dealing with the people, and their status as
beneficiary is raised to that of subject. A quick switch from linguis
tics to literature proves the decisive factor: w e observe the effect of
parallelismus m e m b r o r u m , and note a neat pattern in the verbs of
the tricolon: two intransitive verbs frame two transitive ones. This is
an A B - B ' A ' pattern, and it governs the series dwell-inherit / p o s
sessHve.The intransitive verbs "dwell" and "live" are an official word
pair, as are the transitive verbs "possess" and "inherit."
We also need to be aware of linguistic aspects w h e n w e observe
the contest b e t w e e n sentence and verse structure. In D e u t e r o n
o m y 32, Moses recites an awesome didactic p o e m and starts off
straight away w i t h a well-wrought L-strophe containing the o p e n
ing exhortation:
v. la
b
v. 2a
b
c
d
Give ear, O heavens, let me speak,

let the earth hear the words I utter,
May my teaching come down as the rain,
my speech distill as the dew,
like showers on young growth,
like droplets on the grass.
T h e core is simple and consists of t w o short sentences: the c o m

m a n d "Give ear, O heavens!" and Moses' wish that " m y teaching
may bear fruit." W e are not, however, meant to smother p o e t r y in
such simplifications, b u t w e should analyze and enjoy h o w the
core has b e e n w o r k e d up, unfolded, and decoratedso that w e
may t h e n discover that this elaboration opens up all sorts of w i n
dows and dimensions t h r o u g h w h i c h we may catch sight of the
added literary and spiritual value of the p o e m .
53
In the first poetic line, the elements of the half verses have b e e n
arranged according to an abc / / a'b'c' pattern. W h a t u n d e r c was
still a verb, "let m e speak," has already in the second colon b e c o m e
nominal, "words." This in t u r n enables an inclusio of the verse by
parts of the body: l a starts off w i t h ears and thus straightaway
anthropomorphizes the heavens; l b ends w i t h Moses' m o u t h . In
this way, a balanced c o m m u n i c a t i o n also has b e e n achieved: t h e
m a n speaks, and the surrounding world listens.
Parallelismus m e m b r o r u m enables the p o e t to divide the world
into t w o areas, i.e., the merism "heaven and earth." R e r e a d i n g the
verse, w e realize that these represent the domains of G o d and of
man, respectively, and that here already the question is implied
w h e t h e r there will be h a r m o n y b e t w e e n the two. T h e i r "vertical"
relation is still effective in 2a and 2c, since the rain comes d o w n
from heaven. In this way, Moses suggests at the same time that his
lesson is of heavenly quality. This is n o t arrogance o n Moses' part,
since in the preceding chapter, D e u t e r o n o m y 3 1 , w e have b e e n
prepared for the song by some explanatory prose telling us that
G o d himself has composed it, and that h e also c o m m a n d e d Moses
to d o something that is u n c o m m o n in ancient Israel: record the
text in writing.
Verse 2 starts w i t h t w o m o r e lines/cola containing verbs, i.e.,
the n e w sentence core (two parallel lines, because of duplication),
b u t 2cd n o longer contains any verbs. W e notice that the sentence
runs o n and reaches a broad conclusion in an (again double)
adjunct. After this initial excitement the strophe lands, as it were,
in t h e quiet of green pastures. This is also the result of consider
able enjambment: the sentence transcends n o t only a colon
boundary, but also a verse boundary. T h e cola of 2ab constitute n o t
only the numerical center; they are a sort of anchor or point of
attachment for two p r o m i n e n t quartets arranged along vertical
lines: t h e terms for the didactic p o e m , and the fourfold application
of simile*.The interlacing of the t w o quartets in the middle makes
for a tightly constructed first strophe:
54
I speak
my words
my teaching
my speech
>
>
>
>
<
<
<
<
rain
dew
showers
droplets
T h e first t w o terms (rain/dew) appear at the ends of their lines,

and are the objects of the act of listening; their synonyms, t h e n e x t
t w o terms (showers/droplets), o p e n their lines and are the s u b
jects of the act of distilling, c o m i n g d o w n = m a k i n g fertile. T h e
first t w o cases of simile, " r a i n " and "dew," appear at the ends of
the same t w o lines (2ab), b u t are upgraded to the plurals " s h o w
ers" and "droplets," w h i c h t h e n occupy front positions in lines
2cd, and also acquire the "addresses" ("targets") y o u n g g r o w t h
and grass. T h u s , v. 2cd is rilled to the b r i m w i t h the terms of t h e
comparison. T h e t w o poetic lines of v. 2 also show the following
structure:
my teaching
my speech
rain
dew
showers
droplets
young growth
grass
In the pair " r a i n / d e w " w e again see the above/beneath contrast

implied in heaven/earth, but our feet move closer and closer to the
g r o u n d in the final verse 2cd. This concluding verse also harbors
a covert suggestion: Moses, at that m o m e n t addressing the nation
in a subtropically w a r m spot, quietly hopes that his audience may
b e as receptive to his words as the y o u n g growth and grass are to
the rain.
In o u r interaction w i t h the poet's language, another set of ele
m e n t a r y distinctions is also very effective: the various g r a m m a t i
cal persons. M o r e differentiated than English, H e b r e w has at its
disposal the first, second, and third persons in singular and plural;
there are ten different forms in all, as gender is indicated not only
for the third, but also for the second person:
singular
plural
I
we
you (m) / you (f)

you (m) / you (f)
he / she
they (m) / they (f)

o u
55
a s
and there are forms for m y / o u r , " y " o b j e c t / y o u r (singular and

plural, m and f), his/her, and " t h e m " (direct and indirect object, m
and f). F u r t h e r m o r e , the conjugated verb forms largely reflect the
same distinctions, by means of prefixes or suffixes.
W h e n Israel or Jerusalem are addressed by the prophets as a lady,
and sometimes as beloved or whore, the second-person feminine
is used; w e find this in passages from Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
Lamentations, and the occasional psalm. T h e Song of Songs c o n
sists of constantly alternating speeches by a boy and a girl, t w o
lovers, addressing each other. T h e girl speaks slightly m o r e verses
than the boy. W h e n he speaks to her instead of about her, the same
second-person feminine is again used.
T h e distinction between the grammatical persons is of great help
to us for the articulation of the p o e m . In the Song of Songs it is by
far the most important signal, as the speaking voice changes rapidly:
more than forty times in this small collection of love poetry. W h e n
someone says "Flee!" in the imperative masculine (8:14), the reader
of the H e b r e w immediately knows that the girl is speaking. T h e
verb form is the same as that in 2:17:"turn around, my beloved, swift
as the gazelle," etc. (The Song of Songs will be discussed in m o r e
detail in ch. 10.) W h e n w e hear a feminine form, the boy is speak
ing. A translation should indicate the changes of voice correctly by
always announcing the speakers by " H e " or " S h e " in the margin.
In the Psalms, too, the change of persons is an important signal
w h i c h often helps in distinguishing the strophes. T h e r e are rather
a lot of poems that cover a triangle: the lyrical I (the speaker or
poet)his Godthe enemies. A n obvious structure is then for o n e
strophe to say: I a m complaining; the next one: they vilify m e ; and
for another strophe to implore: save m e ; and this variation in per
sons is accompanied by other differences. In the strophe about the
enemies w e w o u l d expect the speaker to report in the past tense,
and in the strophe about his own misery to describe his pain and
anger in the present tense, while the verb will have the form of a
wish or c o m m a n d in the strophe addressed to G o d . These lament
ing psalms c o m e in t w o types: the complaint of a single p e r s o n
for instance, Psalm 7 1 a n d the complaint of the peoplefor
instance, Psalm 44 or 74. In the latter case, the p o e m will n o t b e
about calumny or illness, but about disaster o n a national scale,
such as war and destruction. Contrasted w i t h this genre are the
56
songs that praise or thank G o d , and in w h i c h the lyrical I (some

times a " w e " ) usually faces only o n e other character. This is, of
course, G o d , mostly addressed in the second person, but in the case
of a song of praise h e may also figure in the third person.
T h e benefit of a bit of grammatical analysis, and paying atten
tion to grammatical persons, immediately becomes clear w h e n w e
look at this short p o e m :
verse
Psalm 114
la
b
2a
b
When Israel went forth from Egypt,

the house ofJacob from a people of strange speech,
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3a
b
4a
b
The sea saw them and fled,

the Jordan ran backward;
mountains skipped like rams,
hills like sheep.
5a
b
6a
b
What alarms you, O sea, that you flee,

you Jordan, that you run backward?
Mountains, that you skip like rams,
hills, like sheep?
7a
b
8a
b
Earth, shake at the presence of Yahweh,

at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turned the rock into a pool of water,
the flinty rock into a fountain!
strophe
This text has a strictly binary structure: 1 p o e m , 2 stanzas (halves),

4 strophes, 8 verses, 16 cola.The first half speaks about history and
contains only third-person forms of the verb, in the past tense. T h e
second half, conversely, is d e t e r m i n e d by the second person of the
address, and by its questions and commands represents a dynamic
present. These changes in tense and person already suggest a divi
sion into two stanzas. Yet, m o r e is n e e d e d to confirm this. W e
should start looking for the demarcation of the strophesis the
above division correct?
Possibly the most striking aspect of Psalm 114 is the fact that the
third strophe uses almost the same words as strophe 2, albeit in the
interrogative.This duplication is a very broad, and hence crass, form
57
of repetition. In b o t h units, w e meet four "characters" from nature

( w . 34 plus 5-6).These are framed by t w o S-strophes referring to
a miracle.Thus, w e may easily establish that the p o e m as a w h o l e is
o n e big chiasm, since its strophic units follow the A B - B ' A ' pattern.
T h e p o e m sings of the exodus, the m o m e n t in history that saw
the birth of the people of Israel as a political and spiritual entity. It
is, however, preferable to speak of a p e r i o d rather than a m o m e n t ,
as the song presupposes a broad "definition" of the exodus, in three
stages:
phase 1 is the journey out (from the hard labor in

Egypt),
phase 2 is the journey through the desert (forty years,
according to the tradition),
phase 3 is the journey into the promised land (called
Canaan at the time, later Palestine).
This series of three phases is subtly reflected in the p o e m . T h e

transition from phase 1 to phase 2 is pointed out o n the map, as it
were, by the reference to the sea; this is the (northern tip of) the
R e d Sea, w h o s e b e d ran dry w h e n the Israelites left Egypt, and
w h i c h shortly afterwards buried the pursuing Egyptian cavalry
u n d e r its waters (as narrated and sung in the b o o k of Exodus, chs.
1415).The transition from phase 2 to phase 3 is demonstrated by
the exact NorthSouth course of the Jordan. T h e choice of sea and
river in v. 3 n o t only is very precise, but also implies that the poet
cleverly connects the dimensions of time and space. As a pair, sea
and river evoke the complete three-stage structure of the exodus,
thanks to their position o n the c o n t i n u u m of space and time.
I will briefly survey the strophes. T h e cohesion of the first
strophe is already guaranteed by the sentence structure: this verse
pair constitutes o n e c o m p o u n d sentence. T h e strophe is also
remarkable because it connects the b e g i n n i n g and the end of the
j o u r n e y : v. 1 describes the actual departure; v. 2 mentions the
settlement in the promised land. By immediately pointing to
the t w o extremes of the expedition, the p o e t has already presented
the w h o l e of the three-part event in the first strophe, in the line
of a merism. This leaves the other three strophes free to occupy
themselves w i t h m o m e n t s from the middle phase, the j o u r n e y
t h r o u g h the desert.
58
T h e song has b e e n meticulously constructed in other ways, too.

In the " o u t e r " strophes, the device of double duty is applied o n c e
per verse: the predicate of the A - c o l o n is also active in the B-colon.
We see this in each pair of lines; the predicates " g o forth" and
" b e c o m e " also apply to w . l b and 2b, and "shake" and " t u r n i n t o "
are also effective in w . 7b and 8b. T h e "inside" strophes, however,
do something exceptional by b o t h m o r e than duplicating the use
of a virtual predicate! W h a t in v. 3a is first said of the seai.e., that
it saw the crossingapplies just as m u c h to the river in 3b and to
the mountains in 4ab. A n d the lively question opening v. 5, w h i c h
may be freely rendered as " W h a t o n earth is w r o n g w i t h y o u ? " is
of course also asked of the Jordan, etc. T h e question is given only
once, but applies to four subjectswhat density and efficient use
of language! T h e following diagram again notes h o w carefully this
o n e device has b e e n applied t h r o u g h o u t verses and strophes; an
" o " indicates a virtual predicate, and an " x " the visible (I a m
t e m p t e d to say, physical) presence of the verb:
strophe 1
strophe 2
strophe 3
strophe 4
x o x o
x o o o
x o o o
x o x o
Let us look once more at the cohesion of the strophes. T h e c o r r e

spondence between the " i n n e r " strophes (2 and 3) as a B - B ' pair is
crystal clear: it is an instance of perfect mirroring. T h e c o m b i n a
tion A - A ' for the "outside" strophes (1 and 4) is ensured n o t only
by the fact that they b o t h refer to a miracle, but also by the pres
ence of two characters that are missing from strophes 23: G o d and
Israel, in their qualities of powerful savior and chosen people. T h e
n a m e Jacob ( l b and 7b), and the Israel of la, represent the entire
people (ideally consisting of twelve tribes). Things are slightly dif
ferent in v. 2, w h e r e a rare form of parallelism is employed in w h i c h
b o t h members are explicitly meant to include each other:
v. 2a
b
Judah became His sanctuary,

Israel His dominion.
H e r e , J u d a h represents the s o u t h e r n k i n g d o m , w h i c h was t h e

d o m a i n of the Davidic dynasty, and Israel in v. 2b refers to t h e
59
n o r t h e r n k i n g d o m (of t h e ten tribes, after the schism). O f course,

the verse is n o t saying that only J u d a h has b e c o m e hallowed
g r o u n d for G o d , to the exclusion of the ten tribes, or that G o d
w a n t e d to b e the ruler of the n o r t h e r n k i n g d o m only. W h a t actu
ally happens here is that the t w o names infiltrate each other,
although the division into cola seems to pull t h e m apart. T h e
verse m e n t i o n s t w o dimensions: politics (power) and religion. To
all the people of Israel (albeit t o r n into t w o halves after S o l o m o n ) ,
b o t h areas remain active and important. W i t h its u n i q u e t e c h
nique o f an inclusive alignment o f cola, the verse proclaims that
G o d is t h e creator and sovereign of b o t h dimensions, but the s u b
tle construction also suggests that the sovereignty of this Savior
and G o d of the covenant far exceeds t h e schism and is a crucial
uniting factor. T h e d i c h o t o m y of the poetic line implicitly and
lovingly relativizes the schism w i t h i n t h e nation: the parallelism
poetically restores unity, and forcefully defends the view that
Israel as a spiritual unity was a w h o l e , and should remain a
w h o l e a truly paradoxical relationship b e t w e e n verse form and
the intention of the p o e m .
Strophes 2 and 3 are masterpieces thanks to metaphorics,
a n t h r o p o m o r p h i s m , and personification: the poet has equipped sea
and river, mountains and hills w i t h eyes in order to see, and they
observe so well that they acutely realize w h a t is happening here: a
ragged b u n c h of semi-nomads are trekking through the cruel
desert, and n o o n e dares to lift a finger against t h e m . T h e eye
witnesses understand that there is only o n e explanation: the
overwhelming power of the only true G o d . T h e y want to do an
a b o u t - t u r n in n u m i n o u s dread, and rear up in frightall perfectly
reasonable. In strophe 3 , the liveliness of this a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c
treatment of the landscape is raised another n o t c h w h e n the poet
addresses sea and mountains: they are even p r o m o t e d to conversa
tion partners! This type of personification, however, at the same
time implies that the p o e t changes the dimension of time w i t h a
magic wand. W h a t thus far has b e e n represented as history (in the
first half), reported in the past tense, n o w becomes, by the ques
tioning of sea and rocks, the presentnot only for the speaker, but
also for that other character silently involved, the reader. A n d this
means that the miracle of the liberation from Egypt is not really
60
finished; it is n o t a closed b o o k , b u t living reality for the p o e t and

his audience.
In the final strophe the awe for the Savior is still prominent. T h e
speaker commands the earth to "shake." T h e choice of this word,
for w h i c h I a m responsible, is a n o t totally convincing attempt to
preserve a salient ambiguity in the original text. T h e c o m m a n d
employs h o m o n y m y : t w o roots in H e b r e w that sound the same,
but of w h i c h the o n e means " w r i t h e , shiver in fear or agony," and
the other "perform a r o u n d dance." Poets like these ambiguities,
and so did the maker of Psalm 114. T h e earth has to tremble in
awe, as well as perform a chorus dance "at the presence of the G o d
of Jacob." Together, these actions are the best acknowledgment of
G o d . T h e t e r m " e a r t h " is an extension of the words that have b e e n
used earlier for the landscape: it summarizes sea and river, m o u n
tains and hills. T h e magic of the poetic w o r d has t u r n e d all of
nature into an eyewitness of miracles, from w h i c h it should n o w
draw the consequences: adoration and worship.
T h e final strophe recollects h o w it was possible to survive a
forty-year trek t h r o u g h the desert: o n the water that G o d allowed
to b e struck from the rock. T h e opposition r o c k / w a t e r expresses
the miracle, and the close-knit symmetry of the cross construction
A B - B ' A ' invites us to make a metaphoric link w i t h the o p e n i n g
of the p o e m . T h e fact that life-giving water may b e drawn from
unsympathetic rocks also serves as an image for the chosen p e o
ple, w h o will live by leaving harsh Egypt and the chains of slavery
b e h i n d i t . T h e o n e is just as m u c h of a surprise as the other.
Parallelism: cola and verses
T h e poet's main strategy for shaping his verses is of a semantic

nature. It is a special kind of repetition-and-variation w h i c h w e
have m e t before, and w h i c h is called parallelismus m e m b r o r u m .
T h e clarity of Bishop Lowth's description of it has, for t w o c e n
turies, also had the negative effect of encouraging people n o t to
look further than their noses (i.e., the verse). Scholars looked at
the poetic line, asked themselves w h e t h e r the semantic links were
based o n correspondence or opposition, and called the result syn
o n y m o u s or antithetical parallelism. All analysis was, however,
"horizontal," i.e., it considered only the parts of a single verse,
h e n c e mostly the bicolon.Yet, w e quickly discover that this view
is far t o o narrow. Take for instance the following three popular
verses from Psalm 137, the song in w h i c h "by the rivers of Baby
lon, there w e sat down, and wept, and hanged o u r harps u p o n the
willows":
v. 5
v. 6
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand wither;
let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
This is the slightly old-fashioned English from the R S V . Together,

these poetic lines form an L-strophe. It is immediately obvious that
the four cola of w . 56b have b e e n arranged chiastically, because
"forget" is identical w i t h " d o not remember," and the center of the
quartet has b e c o m e a closely knit pair because of the three b o d y
parts in uncomfortable situations. T h e p o e t feels himself b e c o m
ing physically ill at the very t h o u g h t of giving u p his roots. T h e
62
conclusion of the strophe is a climax resulting from a sort of spa

tial collision. In 6c the speaker tries for the third time to express
the inexpressible by means of the conditional conjunction ("if"),
and for a m o m e n t his subclause seems to drag us d o w n w i t h it in
" d o n o t set above," but that is it: the positive terms of v. 6d propel
h i m and us in the other direction, upwards.This final colon u n a m
biguously reveals w h a t the capital of his h o m e l a n d J u d a h really
means to him: it is his supreme source of inspiration. T h e p o e t is
w r i t i n g a "song of Zion," whereas h e has just refused to submit to
the pressure from the Babylonian victors and has answered their
request for a song w i t h " H o w can w e sing a song of Yahweh / o n
alien soil?" T h u s h e manages effectively to sing of his situation of
n o t - w a n t i n g - a n d - n o t - b e i n g - a b l e - t o - s i n g w e r u n into another
paradox.
T h e cross construction A B - B ' A ' for the quartet of cola in w .
56b demonstrates that the "parallelism of the m e m b e r s " as a p r i n
ciple of repetition and ordering is certainly not restricted to the
single verse, and easily transcends the verse boundary. It is also
obvious that the bicolon in v. 6cd is inextricably linked to the p r e
vious t w o verses, o n the basis of semantic repetitions (i.e., again
parallelismus m e m b r o r u m ) . W i t h respect to the parallel ordering
of versets, this means that this alignment may just as easily d e m a r
cate a textual unit of a higher level: a complete strophe. W e have
n o w shaken off a few Lowthian chains and gained unrestricted
access to the p h e n o m e n o n of parallelismus m e m b r o r u m .
Yet, w e have n o t finished w i t h the bishop entirely. It was he
w h o pertinently observed that the parallelism of cola may already
b e established by o n e single word pair. W h e n w e read about the
destruction of Jerusalem (on w h i c h Lamentations looks back):
Lam. 2:17ab
Yahweh has done what he purposed,

He has carried out the decree that he ordained,
litde practice is required to see that every element of o n e verset

has a counterpart in the other. Here, parallelism is based o n the
m a x i m u m n u m b e r of w o r d pairs, as was also the case in David's
lament. Lowth, however, observed that o n e pair is already e n o u g h
to establish parallelism. A bit further o n in Lamentations the p o e t
says of God:
Parallelism: Cola and Verses

3:7
63
He has barred every exit for me,

he has chained me in heavy brass chains.
T h e repetition of " h e has . . . m e " is a part of the verb form in the

original language, and this predicate is the only element that has a
counterpart in the other colon. O n c e w e have made the c o n n e c
t i o n w i t h considerable support from prosody: the suggestion of
cooperation emanating from the lengths of the t w o clauseswe
find that there is another, antithetical relationship. T h e w o r d "exit"
betrays n o t only the speaker's position (he has n o w h e r e to go, see
also v. 9), but also his desire to escape.This longing to move is n o w
thwarted by solid matter: h e is chained up!
G o i n g o n e step further, I quote another verse of w h i c h the
halves have, at first sight, only one element in c o m m o n :
Ps. 3:5
When I cry aloud to Yahweh,

He answers me from His holy mountain.
We quickly notice, however, that there is a simple but effective r e c

iprocity in "I . . .Yahweh" plus " h e . . . me." It often happens that a
reader first sees o n e such p e g to hold o n to, and then finds that
there is m o r e going on, noticing m o r e subtle or hidden points of
contact b e t w e e n the cola. T h u s , we may listen to old Jacob w h o ,
o n his deathbed, blesses all his sons o n e after another, that is, gives
t h e m strength for the future. In Genesis 4 9 : 5 - 7 , however, the for
mula h e utters about S i m e o n and Leviabout t h e m , i.e., h e uses
the third person, an option that already betrays distancechanges
into a real curse:
Gen. 49:6b
For in their anger they slay men

and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen.
In the original language the verse has exactly 8 + 8 syllables. N o r

mally, m e n and oxen w o u l d not constitute a w o r d pair, but here
they do. This is because the opening words of each verset straight
away establish the parallelism. T h e poet has placed the adjuncts
disqualifying the sons in front, a syntactic decision for the sake of
expressiveness.The synonymy of "their anger" and "their w a n t o n
ness" is evident, thus m a k i n g m e n / o x e n a pair of complements.
Outside the context of the p o e m , n o clear connection exists
64
b e t w e e n slaying and cutting hamstrings either, but n o w that the

parallelism has already b e e n established these t w o verbs b e c o m e
obvious partners in violence.
Another, simple example of parallelismus m e m b r o r u m b e c o m
ing active and visible o n the basis of o n e obvious word pair is the
repetition of the w o r d " w a y " in the concluding verse of Psalm 1:
Ps. 1:6
ForYahweh knows the way of the righteous,

T h e duplication of " w a y " is immediately obvious, but straight after

that w e see that the opposition r i g h t e o u s / w i c k e d also produces a
w o r d pair, and w e next enjoy the subtle difference b e t w e e n the
transitive verb representing care and contact, and the intransitive
predicate in the final colon, w h i c h contains o n e character less.
T h e relation w o r d p a i r p a r a l l e l i s m
S o m e twenty to thirty years ago the " w o r d pair" was the center of
scholarly attention. As it is the principal c o m p o n e n t in the cre
ation of parallelism b e t w e e n versets, an extensive h u n t was started
to build u p a collection. This collector's mania suited a p e r i o d in
w h i c h scholars followed largely atomistic methods. Researchers
sifted through separate words, sunk their teeth into grammatical
details, or focused o n textual criticism, all because of the many
flaws in the transmitted text. T h e exegetes did not realize at that
time that outside the world of biblical scholarship, research into
productive theories w i t h respect to the textual whole, c o m m u n i
cation processes, pragmatics, the text-reader interaction, etc. had
long since begun. Biblical texts were primarily studied diachronically: o n e hypothesis after the other was drawn u p concerning the
origin of the texts, their previous forms, the history of their trans
mission, and so forth. A valiant search also was conducted to dis
cover " t h e writer's intention," as if it were even remotely possible
to ascertain this if the text itself did not make it fully implicit. All
this effort was based o n the misguided conviction that a correct
understanding of the text could not be achieved w i t h o u t first
k n o w i n g h o w it originated, and that such a detour t h r o u g h the
reconstruction of the text's history even constituted the principal
65
access to its meaning. Scholars also speculated about the p o e t s

methods: his predecessors were supposed to have accumulated a
complete stockpile of w o r d pairs, from w h i c h poets then drew in
order to assemble their lines. T h e theory was that d u r i n g this
process of tinkering and fiddling w i t h words, parallelismus m e m b r o r u m arose by accident or as a kind of by-product.
In short, the illusion was as follows: parallelismus m e m b r o r u m
is the result of (using) w o r d pairs, and w r i t i n g poetry becomes p o s
sible only after a linguistic c o m m u n i t y has scraped together or
t h o u g h t u p a sizeable collection of w o r d pairs.This line of t h o u g h t
in t u r n stimulated the exegetes to continue their h u n t for w o r d
pairs ("another o n e for m y list!").
T h e s e lists of collected w o r d pairs do have some function, b u t
only if w e radically t u r n t h e t h e o r y that " w o r d pairs make p a r
allelism" upside d o w n . Actually, the situation is exactly t h e
reverse: parallelism attracts w o r d pairs, and these n e e d n o t be
taken from some artificially created inventory; the vast majority
are simply available in everyday language. Even if you are n o t a
poet, y o u will still b e able to conjure u p a plentiful array of w o r d
pairs: f a t h e r / m o t h e r , light/dark, g o o d / e v i l , above/below, left/
right, arms/legs, and so on; and t h e n there are such nice c o m b i
nations as " h i d e n o r hair" or "all and sundry." This radical rever
sal consequently means that the w h o l e (of t h e verse or strophe)
controls t h e parts and allocates their functions to t h e m , rather
than t h e o t h e r way r o u n d . O f course, it is t r u e that t h e parts c o n
tribute to t h e w h o l e , b u t these have b e e n chosen and arranged
from t h e start w i t h an eye to the overall structure. T h e w h o l e is
m o r e than t h e s u m of its parts, as h e r m e n e u t i c s (the art of
explaining) has k n o w n for centuries.
1
Parallel and concentric arrangements

After this short excursion, I will further explore the possibilities
of parallelismus m e m b r o r u m . W i t h i n the demarcation lines of
prosodyand here I m e a n especially the limited dimensions of
cola and versesthere are two ways to arrange w o r d pairs or other
obvious correspondences: a parallel pattern, w h i c h w e may n o t e
d o w n as abc/abc, or a concentric arrangement, w h i c h w o u l d b e
66
abc/cba. This could result in tedious monotony, were it n o t that

language offers many forms and devices o n different levels, and the
p o e t is their p r i m e manipulator.
For instance, the p o e t could write: " h e led m e in darkness, /
b r o u g h t m e in gloom," a neatly parallel bicolon; each half-verse
has its o w n sentence core, and the structure is a b / a ' b ' . T h e maker
of Lamentations apparently t h o u g h t this yielded t o o m u c h syn
onymy, and w r o t e the line as follows:
3:2
He has led me and brought me

in darkness and gloom.
This solution, w h i c h repeats the verb in the first half-verse and

renders the darkness inescapable by duplicating it in the other halfverse, makes G o d m o r e of a conspirator. T h e pattern here is
a a ' / b b ' , w h i c h implies that the parallelism is n o w already active
w i t h i n the colon. In 3:56, too, the predicate is doubled in the first
half-verse, w i t h the adjunct being varied in the other:
You have heard my voice: do not shut your ear
to my groan, to my cry.
C o m p a r e this w i t h the following variant, o n e verse further o n in
Lamentations, in w h i c h the " I " of the A - c o l o n is transformed into
a second person, thanks to an e m b e d d e d speech in the B-colon:
3:57
You are near the day that I call upon you,

You say: fear not.
In these examples the c o m p o n e n t s have b e e n arranged in a paral

lel structure. T h e other obvious order is, conversely, concentric
(abc/cba) or chiastic (ab/ba). This is a form of m i r r o r i n g that
occurs often and may have varying effects. T h r e e of these effects
have to do w i t h balance created by symmetryfor instance, the
cycle of nature (a), a tightly closed unit, finished and perfect (b),
or its opposite: contrast or irreconcilable difference (c). S o m e
examples follow; let m e start in o u r o w n age, w i t h the following
lines from T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets:
What we call the beginning is often the end,
And to make an end is to make a beginning
67
In t h e overture to Ecclesiastes w e find the following observation,

n o t m e a n t to cheer:
(a)
Eccl. 1:5
the sun rises and the sun sets,

and panting hurries to the place where it rises.
It is clear that the p o o r creaturethe " p a n t i n g " turns it into a p e r

sondoes n o t have a moment's rest and like the Black Q u e e n in
Through the Looking Glass is h u r r y i n g n o w h e r e fast.
In 1:7, w e read:
all streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
a chiasm that depicts half of a cycle, and especially the pointlessness
of it. T h e r e is an attractive similarity w i t h l:8ab, w h i c h should p e r
haps be classed u n d e r "being tightly closed."The verse should have
the refractory quality that a very literal translation brings out, but
this is unfortunately absent in the existing translations:
(b)
All words/things are wearisome,

man can not state them.
T h e closure of the a b / b ' a ' pattern can w o r k out favorably or unfa

vorably. T h e actual word order in Psalm 22:13 is as follows:
Ps. 22:13
Surrounded I am by many bulls,

buffaloes of Bashan have encircled me.
T h e animals are a m e t a p h o r for the poet's enemies; shortly after

wards, in v. 17a, they are dogs. A n o t h e r example of a chiasm in a
m i n o r key occurs a bit further d o w n in this psalm, w h i c h starts
w i t h the w e l l - k n o w n " M y God, m y G o d , w h y hast t h o u forsaken
me?"
Ps. 22:16
Like a shard my vigor dries up,

my tongue cleaves to my palate.
Being encircled, however, also may m e a n being protected, of

w h i c h a chiasm is the perfect expression in a major key. T h u s ,
David says of G o d " w h o girded m e w i t h m i g h t " in Psalm 18:
68
Ps. 18:34

who made my feet like a deer's
and on my heights has made me stand
an image of power and sovereignty that is the exact opposite of

that in 2 Samuel 1:19, w h e r e (as w e heard) the mighty have fallen,
" y o u r gazelle/jewel [disguise and m e t a p h o r for Jonathan], O
Israel" lies slain o n the heights of the land.
G o d is a shield, the lady called W i s d o m says in Proverbs 2,
Prov. 2:8a
guarding the paths of justice,

the way of those loyal to him he protects.
In Psalm 89, a p o e t loyal to David's dynasty addresses the follow

ing words to G o d , about the power of chaos:
Ps. 89:10
You rule the swelling of the sea,

when its waves surge, you still them.
A concentric structure is eminently suited to show compelling

coherence. T h e prose narrative of the paradise story is illuminated
by a poetic line (Gen. 2:23) that has a lot to say about the balance
b e t w e e n m a n and w o m a n w o r d s that in H e b r e w sound roughly
like 'ish and 'isha. After the w o m a n has b e e n created, the m a n
expresses his recognition and concurrence in these words:
this one | shall be called | 'isha | because | from the 'ish | taken was |
this one,
in an abc x c'b'a' pattern that revolves around the hinge of the
motivating conjunction "because." (The | separates the various
c o m p o n e n t s , as in the next example.) T h e symmetry represents
balance and reciprocity. T h e same symmetry, this time w i t h o u t the
pivotal "x," in Genesis 9 declares that murder may be avenged only
by the life of the killer. For the sake of structure I will translate
literally:
Gen. 9:6
Whoever sheds | the blood | of a man

for that man | his blood | will be shed.
T h e symmetric precision shows that the " m a n " w h o is the victim

in t h e first half-verse is identical w i t h "that m a n " in the second
69
half-verse. This means that n o additional group or individual is

introduced in the second colon, as implied by the standard trans
lation, w h i c h runs: "by m a n shall his blood b e shed." As soon as w e
start w o n d e r i n g by w h o m else (an ant? an elephant?) w e realize
that the rendering "by m a n " is a stopgap, w h i c h in an erroneous
translation has b e e n placed in front in the B - c o l o n . A n o t h e r d r a w
back is that in this way a third party is suddenly introduced. T h e
translation "for that man," meaning as a compensation for the life
taken, is as part of the abc-cba symmetry a perfect expression of
talio (retaliation): the legal principle that by the symmetry of "an
eye for an eye" says that unrestrained revenge is sinful; the p u n i s h
m e n t should fit the c r i m e .
2
Case (c), a chiasm expressing opposition, also requires illustra

tion. In Proverbs 8 , W i s d o m says:
Prov. 8:7
For truth is uttered by my palate,

abhorrent to my lips is wickedness.
T h e abstract nouns, representing totally non-abstract behavior,

encircle the parts of the body; they cannot b e united and thus have
b e e n driven to the edges of the poetic line, as far apart as possible.
A n o t h e r sharp contrast is expressed by the prophet w h o despairs
of his life and his mission, since n o o n e is willing to listen to h i m .
Jeremiah 20 contains g r i m words, strongly reminiscent of the p r o
logue to J o b :
Jer. 20:14
Accursed be the day that I was born,

the day my mother bore me, let it not be blessed.
W e also c o m e across a chiastic distribution of the curse/blessing

opposition in Genesis 12:3, w h e r e G o d provides Abraham w i t h a
n e w life by sending h i m away from his familiar surroundings. T h e
deity employs poetry to protect A b r a h a m from the great insecu
rity that might prove daunting:
Gen. 12:3
I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you, I will curse him.
T h e people w h o prove forthcoming are presented in the plural;

the wicked are described in the singular. W h a t about Abraham? If
70
w e consider h i m for a m o m e n t , w e find that h e is implicitly h o n

ored as the n o r m : he is p r o m o t e d to the standard w h i c h G o d will
observe. T h r e e biblical books further d o w n , G o d has n o t forgot
ten his o w n poetic line. H e forces a prestigious divinercalled
Balaam and contracted by the king of M o a b to curse the people
of Israel w h o are passing t h r o u g h t o do the very opposite of
w h a t h e had been ordered, the result being that the m a n speaks a
p o e m full of blessing some three or four times: N u m b e r s 2 3 : 7 - 1 0
and 1824, 24:39 and, in a slightly looser connection, also w .
1524. O n behalf of the G o d of Israel w h o subjugated h i m , Bal
aam says of the people:
N u m 24:8a
b
c
d
e
9a
b
c
d
God who brought him out of Egypt

is for him like the horn of the wild ox.
He shall devour enemy nations,
crush their bones,
and pierce them with their arrows.
He crouches, he lies down like a beast of prey,
yea, like the lionwho dare rouse him?
W h o bless you: blessed
and who curse you: cursed!
T h e verse of curse and blessing, reminiscent of God's blessing for

Abraham, n o w has a parallel structure: the 2 + 2 words of the o r i g
inal H e b r e w text are neatly aligned as a b / a ' b ' . In v. 9ab, o n the
other hand, w e observe a chiastic construction, w h e r e the devour
ing beast is framed by the polar expressions of lying d o w n and
being roused. T h e relationship between w . 8c and 8de is also
expressed in a crosswise construction, but this time it is mainly sen
tence structure that is responsible.The king of M o a b can n o longer
get a w o r d in edgewise, as his position, b e t w e e n wild oxen and
lion, is not exactly enviable. T h e poet leaves us readers w i t h a
puzzle: w h o exactly is the subject of w . 8 c - 9 b , G o d or Israel? T h e
schoolmaster wants a definite answer; the lover of poetry is happy
to leave b o t h options open.
T h e rigorous design often discerned in the poetic lines s o m e
times yields an unexpected bonus: it enables the specialist to repair
the occasional mishap. In Psalm 44:23 most translations meekly
71
follow the verse division as handed d o w n in the rabbinical tradition.

Below, I quote two complete strophes from the R S V , and would like
to draw attention especially to the transition from v. 2 to v. 3:
Ps. 44:2a
b
c
d
3a
b
4a
b
c
d
5
We have heard with our ears, O God,

our fathers have told us,
what deeds thou didst perform in their days,
in the days of old:
thou with thy own hand didst drive out the nations, but
them thou didst plant
thou didst afflict the peoples, but them thou didst set free.
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm give them victory
but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy
countenance
for thou didst delight in them.
Thou art my King and my God;
who ordainest victories for Jacob.
T h e subject is the promised land, and the point is also clear: it is a

gift from G o d , and Israel should not regard taking possession of it
as a military feat o n w h i c h it can pride itself.The first strophe looks
far back into history, the second strophe draws the lesson and c o n
cludes w i t h an appeal for renewed s u p p o r t . T h e conclusion of v.
2 is suspiciously shortonly three syllables in the original
Hebrew, w h i c h is n o t e n o u g h a n d the o p e n i n g of v. 3 seems t o o
long. This impression is correct: if w e look at v. 3ab closely, w e
observe a strictly regular a b c / / a ' b ' c ' pattern, and the striking fact
that each colon has a predicate consisting of two verbs. T h e ele
m e n t " w i t h thy o w n h a n d " belongs to the conclusion of v. 2I
a m n o t the first o n e to make this observation.Translated extremely
literally, this is the text of v. 2cd + 3ab:
3
2c
d
3a
b

in the days of old, thou, with thy own hand.
thou didst drive out the nations, but them thou didst plant
a
b
c
thou didst afflict the peoples, but them thou didst set free
a'
b'
c'
72
This arrangement h o n o r s n o t only the strict design of v. 3ab, b u t

also that of v. 2cd.We may n o w observe h o w beautifully the c o n
tents of v. 2cd have b e e n balanced: a striking duplication of the
root " d o , p e r f o r m " broadens the predicate in the A - c o l o n , and
another, expressive repetition answers this device by also e x p a n d
ing the subject: " T h o u , w i t h thy o w n hand." T h e reverse of this is
that the B - c o l o n does n o t need a predicate. T h e decisive factor,
however, is the circumstance that the t w o cola n o w show the c o m
pelling structure of a chiasm: subject and predicate frame t h e t w o
temporal adjuncts, thus forming a perfect conclusion to the verse.
Finally, the short motif " w i t h thy o w n h a n d " anticipates strophe
2, w h e r e it is meticulously worked out by means of the opposition
" n o t by your o w n sword, b u t by his hand." T h e connection in itself
creates a n e w parallelism, this time o n strophe level, and this form
of alignment is also brought out m u c h m o r e clearly if w e repair the
verse b o u n d a r y and move God's hand back to the end of v. 2.
In English w e sometimes hear the expression "a voice crying in
the wilderness," w h i c h w e assume is from the Bible. Wellyes and
no. T h e words occur in the N e w Testament, in M a r k 1:3 and J o h n
1:23. T h e Gospel writers t o o k these words from Isaiah 40 and
applied t h e m to J o h n the Baptist, but they treated the quotation so
freely that the dividing line between the cola was lost. T h e
p r o p h e t a poet n o w called Deutero-Isaiah, as h e lived two c e n
turies after the actual (first) Isaiah and had lived through the entire
exile (which ended in 538 BCE)immediately in his overture (Isa.
40:111) proclaims to the Judaeans a message of comfort and
return from exile, and says: "Hear, a voice cries" (v. 3a). This is an
introductory colon, w h i c h remains outside the highly regular stro
p h e design, b u t this is of less importance than what it is the a n o n y
m o u s voice (an exile? an angel?) has to say in 3bc.This is a bicolon
of 4 + 4 words (and the same n u m b e r of beats, for supporters of
scansion,like myself),in w h i c h I have indicated the two phrases per
colon by a | ; I have retained the original w o r d order o n purpose:
Isa. 40:3bc
In the desert prepare

make straight in the desert
|
|
the way of Yahweh,

a highway for our God.
W e have here a m a x i m u m parallelism of the m e m b e r s , based o n

four w o r d pairs. Before the break, the correspondence is chiastic
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(ab-b'a'), after the break it is parallel: cd-c'd". Consequently, the

correct translation of the verse is:
Isa. 40:3
A voice cries:
"In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
Thus, there is n o "voice crying in the wilderness" at all in the orig

inal poem! As it was not Mark's and John's business to write a text
b o o k o n verse structure, they took the poetic license to introduce a
n e w connection between two adjoining words. This sort of liberal
adaptation of the Scriptures was certainly not u n c o m m o n a m o n g
their Jewish contemporaries.
4
T h e appearance and function o f saying things twice

T h e vast majority of verses are bicola, and it is useful to keep the
bicolon in m i n d w h e n p o n d e r i n g the question of the actual func
tion of parallelismus m e m b r o r u m . T h e old approach, w h i c h goes
back to L o w t h and was until recently the exclusive preserve of t h e
ologians, betrays a hint of intellectualism and a Western sense of
superiority: w h y should things always b e stated twice? Isn't that a
bit primitive? This attitude is incorrect, and can b e w e e d e d out
only if w e take the poetic aspect of p o e t r y seriously and cease to
make it subservient to historiography, theology, or other disci
plines that feel slightly uncomfortable w i t h literature.
T h e bipartite design that a verse often shows is rarely an
example o f mathematical balance. Often, verses will have their
center of gravity in t h e A - c o l o n , b u t equally often t h e focus is
o n t h e B - c o l o n of a verse. I will explain b o t h situations. T h e
m a i n p o i n t of a verse is clearly in t h e A - c o l o n if (a) that verset
contains t h e sentence core, and the second half-verse does n o
m o r e than c o m p l e t e t h e information in t h e verse by means of an
adjunct, o r a slightly less obvious strategyif (b) t h e p o e t
applies gapping: h e constructs t w o sentences coinciding w i t h t w o
cola, b u t places a predicate only in the A - c o l o n . In that case, t h e
verb is still virtually present in t h e B - c o l o n b u t does n o t take u p
any space. T h e slot reserved for the predicate there m a y t h e n b e
filled w i t h s o m e t h i n g new, or w i t h a w o r d repeating a n o t h e r
74
c o m p o n e n t (subject, object, or adjunct). W e have already seen

this in
2c
d

(case b)
in the days of old, Thou, with thy own hand.
Since the predicate has b e e n left out of the B - c o l o n (= v. 2d) there

is r o o m for a bit m o r e attention to the subject. A n d because those
words ( T h o u , w i t h thy o w n hand) take u p only four syllables in
Hebrew, the adjunct "in their days" may be expanded to "in the
days of old." A simpler application of (b) is the following:
Lam. 5:2
Our heritage has passed to aliens,

our homes to strangers.
In v. 6, however, w h e r e the predicate has also b e e n left o u t of the

B-colon, w e see the gap filled, not w i t h a merely decorative t e r m ,
but w i t h an object:
Lam. 5:6
To Egypt we hold out a hand,

to Assur, for our fill of bread.
Case (a), only an adjunct in the second colon, is less exciting. T h e r e

are t w o examples a bit further d o w n in the same chapter from
Lamentations; these are verses that together make u p an
S-strophe:
Lam. 5:9
10
We get our bread at the peril of our lives

because of the sword of the wilderness.
Our skin glows like an oven
with the fever of famine.
It is not the desert that is the oven here, but our o w n skin. A n d the
word "famine," elsewhere a recognized word pair if combined with
"pestilence" or "the sword" to depict the disasters of war or damna
tion, here does double duty as the counterpart to b o t h "sword" and
"bread"which at the same time serves to frame the strophe.
In other cases, the center of gravity of the verse is placed in the
B-colon. For this, a neat formula has b e e n devised, saying: " A ,
what's more, B." In other words: the first colon states (describes,
demands, complains of) A, but the second colon says something
75
even stronger. This is an important rule of t h u m b that has all sorts

of applications. C o m p e t e n t readers use it in order to d e t e r m i n e in
each case the exact relationship b e t w e e n the second half-verse and
the first.The B - c o l o n can d o all sorts of things w i t h the statement,
contribution, or information of the A-colon: expand it, intensify
it, underline it, embellish it. These are all variations w i t h i n a
process of amplification, and there is a w h o l e range of devices at
the poet's disposal to lend shape to this intensification in the
B-colon. A n u m b e r of examples are listed below, and I invite the
reader to start p o n d e r i n g straight away w h e t h e r the B - c o l o n is
" m o r e " than the A-colon:
(a) Prov. 2:14
(about bad company)

who rejoice in doing evil,
and exult in the treacheries of evil men.
(b) Prov. 3:7
Do not be wise in your own eyes,

Fear Yahweh and shun evil.
(c) Song 2:3
Like an apple tree among trees of the forest,

So is my beloved among the youths.
I delight to sit in his shade
and his fruit is sweet to my palate.
(d) Ps. 37:21
The wicked man borrows and does not repay,

the righteous is generous and keeps giving.
Those blessed by him inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
22
(e) Ps. 61:5
That I might dwell in your tent forever,

take refuge under your protecting wings.
(f) Ps. 18:42
They cried out, but there was none to deliver,

to Yah weh, but he did not answer them;
I ground them fine as windswept dust,
I trod them flat as dirt of the streets.
43
T h e s e are six examples o u t of t h o u s a n d s , a n d they require lit

tle c o m m e n t . In (a) w e see h o w d o i n g evil is e x p a n d e d i n t o t h e
c o n c r e t e plural " d i r t y t r i c k s " (translated freely), a n d especially
that t h e p e r p e t r a t o r s are as b o l d as brass: they are actually
76
c h e e r i n g . In (b), t h e verse grows from o n e t o t w o predicates,

and t h e B - c o l o n gives c h a p t e r a n d verse (figuratively speaking):
it places God's p r o p e r n a m e o p p o s i t e t h e " e v i l " that w o u l d
result from " b e i n g wise in one's o w n eyes," if t h e w a r n i n g was
not heeded.
In (c), the strophe from the Song of Songs, the first bicolon is
occupied by o n e long sentence, a c o m p a r i s o n . T h e rule "A, what's
more, B " is active in v. 3cd, since the desire to sit in his shade is
surpassed by the indicative, the concrete elements "fruits" and
"palate," and the sensory/sensual aspect of the second colon. T h e
S-strophe I have given u n d e r (d) arranges its quartet of cola chiastically according to t h e difference of good/evil. In v. 21 a subtle
moral assessment takes place.To return w h a t o n e b o r r o w e d is only
to b e expected; n o special merit is attached to it. A "righteous
m a n " (tsaddiq), however, w h o goes o n giving, does far m o r e than
is asked or expected of h i m . In v. 22 a pleasant rule is followed by
an extremely harsh one. In example (e), "take refuge" is m u c h
m o r e specific than "dwell," and the singular " t e n t " is overtaken by
"your wings," n o t only because these are plural, but also because
they follow the explicit "protecting," and contribute to the c o n
notation of shelter.
In (f) w e have a full S-strophe, in w h i c h the established King
David speaks of the war, his enemies, and God's support of h i m .
T h e crying out of v. 42a is also present in the B-colon, but (only)
n o w accompanied by an address: G o d himself, by way of his proper
n a m e . T h e anonymous "there was n o n e to deliver" of the A - c o l o n
is replaced by the m u c h m o r e painful non-reaction of the deity. In
the next verse David can reap the rewards: the B - c o l o n of v. 4 3 is
even m o r e humiliating than the A-colon.
Every once in a while w e are able to understand h o w poets
w e n t about their w o r k , and h o w they c o m b i n e d pleasure in vari
ation w i t h amplifying and intensifying meaning. In David's
lament w e soon hear w h a t obsessed the speaker: the fact that the
Philistine h o m e front was celebrating the great victory of its army
over Saul and his troops. David finds the very idea unbearable, and
h e tells t h e messengers w h o h e is at that m o m e n t imagining, but
w h o in reality have l o n g since reported the victory to the Philis
tine cities:

2 Sam. 1:20
77
Tell it not in Gath

do not proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
This is a full S-strophe w h e r e in b o t h verses the rule "A, what's

more, B " is active. " E x u l t " is stronger (louder) than "rejoice," and
the n a m e "Philistines" is replaced and explained by " u n c i r c u m
cised," a pejorative t e r m suggesting uncleanness.We immediately
notice the sharp differences in length: the line about Ashkelon is
m u c h longer than that about Gath, also in the original language.
This time, it is especially the two prohibitions (v. 20ab) that enable
us to track the options the poet had at his disposal, by asking o u r
selves: W h y did the p o e t (the historical David, or the author w h o
centuries later portrayed the character David in the books of
Samuel) choose the names Gath and Ashkelon?
T h e enemy lived scattered over five cities, the names of w h i c h
w e all k n o w : Gath, Gaza, Ekron,Ashdod, and Ashkelon. (Three of
t h e m still/again appear o n the m a p of Palestine.) T h e names in the
middle of this list have t w o syllables, but the surrounding ones have
o n e and three syllables.The difference in length b e t w e e n Gath and
Ashkelon in David's verse is a first and very simple application of
the "A, what's more, B " principle and does n o t yet add any liter
ary quality to the verse. W e also notice, however, that Ashkelon
beats Gath by having "streets" granted to it by the poet, and that
the verb in this verset describes the contents of the message m o r e
explicitly: instead of merely "telling," the B - c o l o n c o m m a n d s to
"proclaim" (= " b r i n g g o o d tidings").
T h e s e are already three points in favor of t h e Ashkelon-verset,
w h i c h is e n o u g h . B u t this does n o t m e a n that (the colon c o n
taining) Gath has lost! This name, the only n a m e of o n e syllable,
was chosen for at least t w o reasons.The sounds of " G a t h " exactly
m i r r o r the veto o n "proclaiming" (in t h e original H e b r e w taggidu). A n d t h e n there is the political angle: at the m o m e n t David
is reciting the p o e m , three days after t h e battle, h e is still vassal to
Achish, the king o f . . . Gath! T h u s , in a sense, he starts w i t h his
o w n position, and the prohibitions and curses that then follow
betray a t u r n i n g point in his life. T h e i r negativeness is a signal of
78
distance; by c o m m e m o r a t i n g Saul and J o n a t h a n in this beautiful

song, David separates himself from his embarrassing position and
opens u p for himself t h e way to the t h r o n e of Judah. O u r c o n
clusion must be that although the line about Ashkelon realizes the
"A, what's m o r e , B " principle o n three counts, the choice of Gath
is a striking instance of polyvalence w h i c h keeps t h e verse bal
anced: the n a m e is here a n o d e of meanings thanks to (another)
three aspects, i.e., the prosodic (the minimal single syllable), the
e u p h o n i c (via strong alliteration), and the political (David
resigns).
This simple exercise makes thoroughly clear that the old p e r
spectiveparallel half-verses were assumed to "really o n l y " say the
same thing twicefalls far short of the mark, and blocks our view
of all the subtle details. W e have n o w reached the point w h e r e w e
can formulate w h a t exactly parallelism achieves.
T h e function o f "parallelism o f the m e m b e r s "

T h e first thing a parallel construction does is to introduce a form
of repetition. As a result, the reader immediately notices or recog
nizes a correspondence b e t w e e n the c o l a w h e t h e r this c o n n e c
tion is based o n antithesis or synonymy does n o t c o n c e r n us now.
N o t i c i n g the correspondence b e t w e e n the A - c o l o n and B-colon,
however, is only the beginning. This form of repetition and equiv
alence serves as a foundation for observing and enjoying differ
ences. T h e similarity b e c o m e s the background against w h i c h
disparity announces itself: the folds of difference in the half-verses.
If w e let our attention penetrate into these folds, w e find ourselves
o n the track of n e w meanings.
T h e dynamics and surprises of parallelismus m e m b r o r u m may
also be expressed in a metaphor. This way of constructing verses is
like a pair of binoculars. S o m e centuries ago, the lenses of a field
glass were set in cylinders w h i c h could be slid in and o u t b u t
w h i c h remained a single t u b e t h e watch o n a ship looked
through it w i t h o n e eye. Today's field glass is a binocular: w e look
through t w o cylinders, w i t h b o t h eyes, so that w e have the advan
tage of seeing depth. O u r eyes, w i t h or w i t h o u t binoculars, see "in
stereo." T h e effect results from the fact that o n e eye has a slightly
different angle of incidence than the other and hence produces a
79
rninimally different image; these two pictures are easily super

imposed and assembled into o n e image inside o u r brain.
Parallelismus m e m b r o r u m does something comparable: this
shaping device creates t w o subtly different images o n o n e line (the
full poetic line). As this is d o n e w i t h the tools of language, w e have
every opportunity to consider b o t h pictures separately and let
t h e m sink in.This is w h e r e the m e t a p h o r ceases to b e appropriate:
the point of the similarity b e t w e e n A and B is their very differ
ence! O n l y those w h o look closely and have patience will discover
and savor the role played by dissimilarity, its surprises, and its r i c h
ness of meaning.
6
These dialectics of the equal and the dissimilar, of similarity and

difference, make us realize the limitations of such old labels as
"synonymous or antithetical," and especially h o w they may lure
the reader into the trap of an either-or situation. In Proverbs 2:13
is a t w o - p a r t verse in w h i c h W i s d o m warns us against the w r o n g
company:
Prov. 2:13
of those who leave the path of rectitude,

to follow the ways of darkness.
Is this is a case of synonymous or antithetical parallelism? S o m e

followers of L o w t h will opt for the antithetical, pointing to the
opposition of the straight paths and the dark ways, and of leaving
(= n o t treading on) and following. A n o t h e r follower, however, will
maintain that b o t h cola say the same thing: are they n o t " m e r e l y "
variants of each other? A third will latch o n to the w o r d " t o " and
point out that the verse indicates an a b o u t - t u r n in behavior. A pity
only that the original H e b r e w phrase b e rendered just as easily as
"by following" or even "and follow."
T h e reader would do better to withdraw from this yes-no c o n
test. T h e r e is equivalence here, and this balance fits the p o e m as a
w h o l e beautifully. Proverbs 2 is a p o e m of twenty-two verses,
exactly the n u m b e r of consonants of the alphabet, although it is n o t
an acrostic. These twenty-two verses are divided exactly into two;
the first half, eleven verses, strikes a positive note, the second eleven
are in a m i n o r key. T h e positive half consists of t w o stanzas, w . 16
and 711 (four strophes: one SL and o n e LL combination), w h i c h
constantly recommends the reader to follow W i s d o m s counsel;
80
those w h o do this will b e under God's protection.The negative half

intends to do the same, but is full of apotropaic and cautioning
terms: o n e should t u r n against evil. This part consists of five stro
phes, arranged as SS plus SSL, in two stanzas, w . 1215 and 1622.
T h e L-strophe at the end returns to a positive tone. T h e stanzas r u n
parallel, because of their complementary openings:
Prov. 2:12
to save you from the way of evil men,

from men who speak duplicity
(in w . 1315 expanded into a series of plural forms)

2:16
to save you from the strange woman

from the alien woman whose talk is smooth
(after w h i c h w . 1 7 - 1 9 e x p o u n d o n her unfaithfulness, and the

accompanying dangers).
It happens only rarely that a sentence transcends and ignores a
strophe b o u n d a r y (in typographical terms, a blank line). It is even
m o r e rare for a sentence to r u n across a stanza boundary. Yet,
Proverbs 2 is a spectacular example of exactly this.The entire p o e m
is an extreme instance of talking in synonyms, separated into p o s
itive and negative terms. Just about every verse is a variation o n
the t h e m e of " l o o k for wisdom," or conversely, "avoid evil." As this
synonymy goes o n and o n , the text may b e read as o n e large syn
tactic unit, and a simple adjunct consisting of a preposition and an
infinitive, " t o save you," may b e c o m e the marker of a n e w stanza.
Still, it is exactly the duplication of those words, i.e., the parallelism
b e t w e e n w . 12 and 16, w h i c h encourages us to place the stanza
b o u n d a r y immediately before it, although the adjunct appears to
be separated from the sentence core by this blank line.
Linguistic forms, and variation in repetition

R e a d i n g and experiencing the articulation of complete verses
b e c o m e s easier if w e are aware of the linguistic foundation of the
variations. Poets explore all the nooks and crannies of their native
language system, and adroitly exploit the many contrasts and dif
ferences for their parallel constructions. I have collected some
81
examples below, o n w h i c h I will c o m m e n t briefly. T h e first series

(a t h r o u g h f) contains instances of the poet's using differences in
grammatical form.
(a) Ps. 34:2
I bless Yahweh at all times,

praise of him is ever in my mouth.
(b) Ps. 34:19
Yahweh is close to the brokenhearted

and he delivers those crushed in spirit.
(c) Songs 1:2
let him give me of the kisses of his mouth,

for your love is more delightful than wine.
(d) Prov. 1:8
My son, heed the discipline of your father

and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.
(e) Isa. 44:26
(f) Deut. 32:7
(It is I,Yahweh, who have made everything . . . )

who confirm the word of my servant
and fulfill the prediction of my messengers
Remember the days of old
consider the years of generation after generation;
ask your father to inform you,
your elders, to tell you.
In (a) and (b), the main difference is that the o n e colon uses a verb
to express w h a t in the o t h e r colon is expressed by a n o u n : " I bless"
versus "praise," and "close" versus " h e delivers." In the first verse
from the Song of Songs (c) w e see that the grammatical person
shifts straight away: the " h i m " of the A - c o l o n is the second p e r
son in the B - c o l o n . T h e girl manages to maintain t h e distance of
the third person for only o n e colon, and t h e n she "has t o " b e c o m e
m o r e personal: she wants to start addressing her lover as soon as
possible.The semantic point of contact o f t h e t w o sentences is n o t
expressed, and is a subtle one: the oral activity of kissing b e c o m e s
the tasting of w i n e in the second half-verse, and as a result of the
comparison drawn by t h e girl, the w i n e is a half-metaphor.
In (d), the m a n / w o m a n difference is exploited ingeniously
so that the synonymy does not degenerate into monotony. T h e
words "discipline" and "instruction" are masculine and feminine
in the original Hebrew, and in gender correspond to father/
mother. F u r t h e r m o r e , the half-verses relate to each other as plus
82
to minus: the positive advice is in the B - c o l o n underlined

by the two-minuses-make-a-plus formula. In (e), the singular
"servant" becomes the plural "messengers," while " w o r d " is nar
rowed d o w n to "prediction," so that w e as readers dare to c o n
clude that the messengers G o d mentions in this oracle are
prophets. In (f) w e see a double application of "A, what's more,
B." T h e days b e c o m e years, the father is accompanied by the elders
(plural).
(about evildoers:)
they say: how could God know;
is there knowledge with the Most High?
(g) Ps. 73:11
(h) Prov. 3:1
My son, do not forget my teaching

and let your mind retain my commandments.
We n o w reach the d o m a i n of sentence structure and syntactic

variation. Example (g) offers an alternation of verb and n o u n
(both from the root " t o k n o w " ) , and the simple w o r d " G o d " is
replaced and colored by o n e of his titles. T h e verse contains an
e m b e d d e d speech consisting of t w o sarcastic questions, a lively
direct quotation of these unsavory types. Example (h) reveals a
minus-plus order and t w o transitions: from second to third p e r
son, and, in the case of the object, from singular to plural. O l d
Isaac's blessing of Jacob starts off as highly synonymous (i),but the
poetic line 29cd smartly switches the positions of subject and
object around and places Jacob (in the second person) chiastically
around the brothers (plural, a collective); they are encircled by
their boss:
(i) Gen. 27:29a
b
c
d
(j)
P s
6 : 6
(k)Job 5:14
People will serve you,

and nations bow to you;
be master over your brothers,
and your mother's sons will bow to you.
No, there is no praise of you among the dead,
who would acclaim you in Sheol?
(about the fall of those in power:)
By day they encounter darkness
and at noon they grope as in the night.

(1) Ps. 33:10
11
(m) Ps. 125:1

2
83
Yahweh frustrates the plans of nations,

he brings to naught the designs of peoples;
what Yahweh plans endures forever,
the designs of his heart from generation to
generation.
Those who trust in Yahweh are like Mount Zion,
that cannot be moved, enduring forever.
Around Jerusalem there are mountains,
andYahweh enfolds His people
now and forever.
Example (j), from Psalm 6, not only switches from n o u n to verb

in its predicate, but also shifts m o d e : the first colon is a statement,
and the second is a rhetorical question. Example (k) is a c o m p l i
cated mixture of lexical and semantic w o r d pairs. T h e lexical pair
is the d u o day/night, w h i c h frames the verse as a w h o l e in an
inclusio. O n either side of the caesura this couple is chiastically
replaced by another pair of opposites, darkness/noon. At the same
time, however, two parallel pairs semantically support each other:
d a y / n o o n at the b e g i n n i n g of each colon, and darkness/night at
the end. T h u s , the verse appears to offer us an intricate puzzle,
w h i c h it does n o t do for nothing. T h e confusion it threatens to
land us in reflects the confusion that will seize the "bigwigs" as
soon as G o d strikes t h e m : they even lose their grip o n the ele
m e n t a r y distinction b e t w e e n light and dark.
Example (1) contains an ab-a'b' series in two verses.This parallel
construction, however, also contains the opposition between the
peoples, whose plans are frustrated, and God's plan, w h i c h will
endure; this contrast is further illustrated by the juxtaposition of
two transitive verbs (of destructive action) w i t h the quiet and m o r e
nominal character of the intransitive predicates in Psalm 33:11 .The
opening of Psalm 125, example (m), presents four proper names in
a chiastic alternation: Yahweh + Zion-Jerusalem + Yahweh. This
crosswise construction already betrays h o w inextricably the capital
o n M o u n t Zionitself a m e t o n y m y for the Judaeansis linked to
God. This is outdone, however, by the mere contiguity (in a paratactic arrangement via the conjunction "and") of cola 2a and 2b.
This design creates a simile (comparison): in the same way as the
84
mountains encircle the city, God's protection surrounds the people.

O n this basis the poet concludes that people w h o trust in G o d are
as solid as the m o u n t a i n a conclusion he moves to the front.
In this chapter w e have already seen m o r e than a dozen passages
w h i c h are longer than a single verse, and w h i c h even constitute
w h o l e strophes. This abundance of examples makes clear that par
allelism works n o t only o n the level of the colon, but also o n that
of the verse. T h e definition of parallelismus m e m b r o r u m should
certainly be expanded to include verses as well. As a textual unit,
however, the verse is n o t covered by the t e r m "member," so that
in addition to "parallelism of the m e m b e r s (= cola) " w e should also
grant full recognition to "parallelism of poetic lines (= verses)."
This figure also has a valid claim to a place in the m o d e l of the
H e b r e w p o e m . I will conclude this chapter w i t h a few examples.
W e have just read v. 7 from Moses' long didactic p o e m , D e u t e r
o n o m y 32. T h e biblical verse itself was an S-strophe arranging its
full lines in parallel, in w h i c h the audience was encouraged to go
and ask their father/the elders about the lesson from the past. T h e
p o e m goes o n to provide its o w n panoramic answer to this ques
tion, and looks back to the beginning of history in three strophes,
t w o long and o n e short ( w . 8-12):
Deut. 32:8a
b
c
d
v. 9a
b
When the Most High gave nations their

inheritance,
and set the divisions of man,
He fixed the boundaries of the peoples
in relation to Israel's numbers,
ForYahweh's portion is his people,
Jacob his own allotment.
v. 10a
b
c
d
He found him in a desert region,

in an empty howling waste,
He engirded him, watched over him,
guarded him as the pupil of his eye.
v. 1 la
b
c
d
v. 12a
b
Like an eagle who rouses his nestlings,

gliding down to his young,
so did he spread his wings and take him
bear him along on his pinions,
Yahweh alone did guide him,
no alien god at his side.
strophe 5
strophe 6
strophe 7
85
T h e three verses of strophe 5 are governed by a threefold

" p e o p l e s / p e o p l e " in the A-cola, and a threefold " i n h e r i t a n c e /
portion/allotment." T h e n u m b e r of the sons of Jacob, w h i c h at the
end of Genesis amounts to seventy, will b e the measure for the
division of the world. T h e climax of the first L-strophe is the elec
tion of o n e people, w h i c h becomes God's o w n property. This is
the reason w h y the six cola are balanced as 3 + 3: the first three
refer to the masses, and the second series deals with the o n e
people. This latter series stands out by containing proper n a m e s
another threesome.
T h e short strophe 6 progresses like a narrative. Half o f it is
about finding, and terrifies by three fearsome terms of space. After
this, t h e care taken of the foundling is all the m o r e comforting;
there are also three verbs that take G o d as their subject. T h u s , t h e
halves of this unit, t w o bicolic verses, also have b e e n well syn
chronized and justify the demarcation of the strophe by their
cohesion.
T h e long strophe 7 can immediately b e identified as a unit
because it is an elaborate metaphor. T h e image of the eagle fills n o
fewer than four cola, w h i c h by H e b r e w standards is quite a lot, and
t h e n proves to b e part of a simile. T h e comparison takes u p the
complete strophe w i t h its "just as . . . so . . . " structure, and in v. 12
lands, as it were, o n the uniqueness of Yahweh.
T h e w h o l e of w . 912 deserves a title along the lines of " t h e
stanza of the election." Moses continues his didactic p o e m a
m o m e n t longer as if it were a story by means of a stanza in w h i c h
G o d strengthens and pampers the people (the nine cola of w .
1314).Then w e reach the lowest point: the luxury leads to cor
ruption, or worse, to idolatry (a n e w stanza, w . 15-18).
In t h e stanza of the election, the verses reveal a parallelism that
articulates the three strophes; their concluding lines form a series
that brings out God's intervention and c o m m i t m e n t :
v. 9a
b
For Yahweh's portion is his people,

Jacob his own allotment.
v. 10c
d
He engirded him, watched over him,

guarded him as the pupil of his eye.
v. 12a
b
Yahweh alone did guide him,

no alien god at his side.
86
T h e first of these three verses is static; the second full of action and
of a narrative character. T h e third concluding verse already looks
back again, and makes the stanza end o n the exclusiveness of this
deity called Y a h w e h . T h e r e is, however, a snake in the grass: the last
colon denies that an alien god helped him, and w i t h this the p o e t
anticipates the drama w h i c h will be unfolded four verses further
d o w n (idolatry and punishment), and w h i c h will almost lead to
the total destruction of Israel (in w . 2 2 - 2 5 ) . T h e only thing that
will eventually stop G o d from totally annihilating the people is the
realization ( w . 2631) that if h e does so, his enemies in the area
will brag, and foster the illusion that Israel was destroyed by t h e m
and their strong arm. This prospect revolts G o d so m u c h that h e
abandons his original plan and eventually takes pity o n the afflicted
people ( w . 3 6 - 4 2 ) .
T h e concluding verses of strophes 57, w h i c h I have here w r i t
ten o u t again, are also interesting, since they demonstrate that the
" A , what's more, B " rule is also active o n the level of verses and
strophes. T h e intensification that the poet so often achieves in
consecutive cola may b e achieved just as well by means of poetic
lines. Finally, this w h o l e chapter may be reread w i t h an eye o n
prosody: all the material discussed here also demonstrates that par
allelism, b o t h of cola and of verses, is a powerful mechanism for
regulating proportions. T h e p o e t employs such maneuvers as par
allelism, inversion, w o r d pairs, and binary differences in linguistic
forms while never for a m o m e n t losing sight of proportions. Lan
guage obeys number, and n u m b e r intensifies language.
5
The strophe
The w o r d "strophe" comes from Greek and means " t u r n " or

"twist." It is by n o means obvious that a Greek t e r m should offer
an appropriate label for textual units in the Semitic languages of
the ancient N e a r East. In our case, however, it does. T h e r e are
plenty of twists in classical H e b r e w literature, and the technical
term "strophe" is eminently suited to biblical poetry, w h i c h is
characterized by rapid shifts and changes. Tone, verb tense, g r a m
matical person, genre, subject material, or m o o d all constantly vary,
and all these changes are reflected in the structure of the strophe.
We are able to discern these shifts by means of the strophic char
acteristics of the text.
T h e isolated strophe does not occur in the p o e t r y books of the
Bible, b u t it does appear in the prose passages. Along the route
from Genesis through Kings w e c o m e across medium-sized p o e m s
every n o w and thenfor instance, the Song of H a n n a h in
1 Samuel 2 or David's lament in 2 Samuel 1and w e occasion
ally even discover a very long p o e m , such as D e u t e r o n o m y 32,
fudges 5, or 2 Samuel 22. This type of p o e t r y is articulated in the
same way as the psalms into strophes and stanzas. I also n o t e t w o
verse-filled chapters that I w o u l d rather call a chain of strophes
with the occasional stanza: the blessings for the tribes of Israel in
Genesis 49 (spoken by Jacob, shortly before his death) and D e u t e r
o n o m y 3 3 (spoken by Moses, shortly before his farewell). M o s t
poetry w i t h i n a prose setting, however, is short: just o n e or a few
verses.We are then confronted with a short or long strophe w h i c h
at the same time is a complete p o e m . T h u s , Genesis 2:23 is an
S-strophe, and Genesis 9:67 and 12:13 are b o t h L-strophesI
have already discussed a verse from each of these passages. Lamech's
song of revenge, Genesis 4:2324, also consists of three verses. A n d
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the oracle that R e b e c c a receives in Genesis 25:23, w h i c h describes

the tumult in her w o m b (an alarming pregnancy), consists of t w o
bicola in a design that quickly becomes clear to the reader:
Gen. 25:23
Two nations are in your womb,

and two nations will issue from your body.
One nation will be mightier than the other
and the older shall serve the younger.
This is the a n n o u n c e m e n t of the arrival of the twins Jacob and

Esau. As they will b e ancestors, they are here presented u n d e r the
guise of t w o collectivesthe people of Israel versus their n e i g h
bors from E d o m . T h e first verse promises the m o t h e r a n u m e r o u s
progeny, but the second verse carries a message of inequality by
specifying a master-servant relationship. A n d the surprise has b e e n
saved for the end, w h e n the natural order is reversed. Like a stinger
in the tail, this last verset n o t only presents the point of the oracle,
but by its choice of the adjectives "older" and " y o u n g e r " also
reveals that the difference will already manifest itself in t h e
individuals.
Various instances of such short b u t complete poems may b e
found in N u m b e r s , Joshua, Judges, and Samuel. T h e y obey the
rules I have already discussed, and they do their w o r k a l o n e
albeit in interaction w i t h the surrounding prose, w h i c h they inter
rupt in order to illuminate. In this chapter, however, I will focus
o n strophes from those biblical books that wholly or largely c o n
sist of poetry.
A strophe from Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, L a m e n
tations, or Song of Songs never speaks and works o n its o w n . This
is because in such cases the strophe is always a building block of a
greater whole, just a part of a p o e m , w h i c h for those books means
part of a text that consists of several strop hie units.
T h e question n o w arises: H o w may a textual unit that is n o
m o r e than part of a w h o l e nevertheless b e observed and b e dis
tinguished from its surroundings? W h a t makes a strophe a strophe?
M y answer requires t w o sections: o n e in w h i c h I analyze the stro
p h e from the inside and indicate h o w it holds its o w n , and a sec
o n d section that looks carefully at h o w the strophe stands out from
its surroundings w i t h o u t being left to fend for itself. T h e strophe
TTie
Strophe
89
has internal as well as external cohesion. Finally, I will examine the

relationship b e t w e e n these two forms of unity. T h e reader may
already suspect that this will t u r n out to b e variable.
T h e p r i v a t e life o f t h e s t r o p h e
In the textual m o d e l the numbers t w o and three are normative. At
verse level, w e have seen that they are applied disproportionately:
there are many m o r e bicolic verses than tricolic verses. This dis
crepancy disappears o n strophe level, w h e r e the dimensions t w o
and three have m u c h less unequal status. Poems consisting exclu
sively of two-line strophes are rare.
To give the reader an idea of the distribution of these numbers,
I offer some statistics that I myself have collected from the largest
collection of poetry, the b o o k of Psalms. Its 148 poems together
contain 1,193 strophes, w h i c h in t u r n may b e divided into 855
short units (S-strophes, usually two verses) versus 338 long units
(L-strophes, almost always consisting of three verses). C o n v e r t e d
into poetic lines, this means that the S-strophes (including several
dozen one-line strophes!) govern almost 1,700 verses, and the L strophes, sometimes consisting of four verses, are responsible for
almost 1,100 verses. In percentages this w o u l d be roughly 60 p e r
cent for S versus 40 percent for L.
T h e strophe is so essential to the structure of the p o e m that its
internal cohesion deserves to b e analyzed first and evaluated. This
cohesion may c o m e about in various ways. T h e strophe may
constitute one syntactic unit, for instance, one com

pound sentence or a sentence extended in a different
way,
formulate or explain one thought,
present its cola as a clear series,
be an embedded speech, for instance a quotation,
present or work out a metaphor or simile,
demarcate itself by means of inclusio.
I will discuss these possibilities o n the basis of some examples,

starting w i t h the cohesion that arises from syntactic structuring.
Psalm 18 starts with a hymnic strophe ( w . 24), w h i c h is the
counterpart to a stanza full of thanks and praise ( w . 4751, an
90
L- plus an S-strophe).These exalted o p e n i n g and closing passages

f o r m an inclusio in a major key, framing the long Song of T h a n k s
giving spoken by the established King David. Inside this frame, w e
find a w i d e range of dynamics, and w e accompany David o n a
j o u r n e y through fear and distress. As w e r e m e m b e r from the dis
cussion in chapter 2, the special stanza of the theophany (God
comes d o w n and goes to battle, five S-strophes) is enclosed by the
stanzas of distress and salvation ( w . 5 - 7 and 1 7 - 2 0 , b o t h consist
ing of t w o S-strophes). In w . 56 the p o e t constantly varies
b e t w e e n a verb in the past tense and a phrase containing a n o u n
in the plural and o n e in the singular. I give 18:5ab + 6ab below,
each o n a separate line, w i t h the slash indicating the caesura
b e t w e e n the A - c o l o n and B-colon. T h e h y p h e n indicates that a
particular w o r d group is either o n e word or o n e phrase (a c o m b i
nation of nouns) in the original language. In Hebrew, there are
exactly twelve words, evenly distributed over the cola as 3 + 3 and
3 + 3.1 have indicated the subject by N W (Nominal W o r d group)
and the predicate by v P (verbal Predicate); the w o r d " r o p e s " in the
first colon in 2 Samuel 22 appears as "breakers" = waves (the same
p o e m , w i t h a lot of variant details), w h i c h I have here adopted.
Surroundingme-were
wavesof-death
vP
NW
NW
vP
ropes-of-Sheol
encircled-me
torrents-ofcorruption
terrified-me,
NW
vP
vP
NW
before-meyawned
snares-ofdeath.
T h e numerical perfection proves to go hand in hand here with a

cast-iron syntactic design, and with the m a x i m u m use of word pairs.
We see a quartet of cola, and note that the strophe has been c o n
structed o n a total of five (!) chiasms. First, each poetic line follows
the A B - B ' A ' pattern, i.e., o n the horizontal level w e immediately
observe two crosswise constructions. Reacting "vertically," w e find
an all-governing chiasm o n strophe level, which going from the first
verse to the second moves the outside members inward and the
inside members outward. Finally, b o t h A-cola form a cross in w h i c h
The Strophe
91
the verbs encircle the nouns, and the B-cola together also form an
X (Greek chi), this time w i t h the nouns encircling the verbs.
This is an extreme example of semantic, syntactic, and n u m e r
ical density, as well as concentric symmetry; there is n o arguing
against it. It proves very little about the m o d e of existence of other
strophes, but it does show what level of precision is possible and
feasible, and also that the poet can create remarkable forms of
cohesion w h e n h e wants to. This should prevent us from taking
verse and strophe structure too lightly; w e never k n o w beforehand
w h a t w e are going to encounter, so it is g o o d to be prepared for
the impossible.
Is there really n o arguing against this interpretation of the struc
ture of this strophe? I t u r n the image inside out, because of t h e
m e a n i n g w h i c h the strophe offers t h r o u g h its multiple chiastic
construction: there is n o chance for the " I " to escape.The A B - B ' A '
structure is perfectly suited to depict and symbolize confinement
and encircling, and the p o e t here seized his chance to make this
prison unassailable for David o n three levels: the half-verses, the
poetic lines, and the strophe itself chain h i m u p in their very
design, that of concentric symmetry. In semiotics* (the t h e o r y of
signs) this sort of situation would b e called an "iconic sign." T h e
verse and strophe here are designed to b e an icon, i.e., an image
that is to represent incarceration. T h e question that remains for
David is, W h o in heaven's name is going to get h i m out of this
multiple confinement? Nobody, e x c e p t . . . and here the p o e t inter
venes w i t h his super-stanza: the five strophes about God's appear
ance from heaven constitute his final solution.
T h e strophic unit may also be the result of an extended or
c o m p o u n d sentence. W e have seen this several times already. In his
Lament (2 Samuel 1), David forbade the messengers to report the
o u t c o m e of the battle to Philistia. T h e sentence core consisted of
the prohibition, w h i c h was followed by subclauses starting with
"lest." T h e first strophe of Psalm 1, after the "happy," consists of
little else besides a chain of adjectival clauses. Psalm 114as w e
have also seenstarts w i t h a temporal clause, and completes its
first strophe w i t h the main clause that proclaims Judah-and-Israel
to b e the d o m i n i o n and temple of G o d . T h e S-strophe at the end
is also a syntactic unit consisting of o n e sentence.
92
Psalm 13 consists of three strophes, and according to general

scholarly opinion has twelve cola. This is w r o n g , and comes from
an erroneous division of v. 4, w h e r e there is actually a chain of
three subclauses starting w i t h "lest." T h e correct articulation is:
13:2a
b
3a
b
c
How long, Yahweh, will you ignore me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?
How long will I have cares on my mind,
grief in my heart, all day?
How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
4a
b
c
5a
b
Look at me, answer me,Yahweh!

My God, restore the luster to my eyes,
lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say "I have overcome him,"
lest my foes exult when I totter.
6a
b
c
But I trust in your faithfulness,

my heart will exult in your deliverance:
I will sing to Yahweh, for he has been good to me.
T h u s , there are actually thirteen cola, w h i c h by their total of 117

syllables in the original language realize the exact n o r m figure 9.
T h e first strophe is o n e of impatience and despair, presented in a
two-line and a three-line verse. T h e cola form a chain because
they are all questions; they ask " h o w l o n g " four times, and also
employ a temporal adjunct in v. 3b. This is an instance of the
strophe being demarcated by an obvious sequence. T h e middle
strophe has the same r h y t h m of bicolon-plus-tricolon. T h e r e is a
positively w o r d e d verse (4ab) containing t w o commands and t w o
vocatives for G o d , w h i c h thanks to a clever arrangement proves to
b e a neat chiasm, after w h i c h a tricolon occurs, fending off nega
tive events.Thus, this strophic unit is defined by sentence structure
and a plus-minus relationship. T h e transition to the first person
and a positive o u t c o m e mark off v. 6 as the third strophe.
A strophe also may derive its unity from the fact that it is a q u o
tation or e m b e d d e d speech. This happens twice in Psalm 132. In
w . 35 David swears an oath to God, and in w . 1 led12 G o d
answers by in t u r n swearing an oath to David; these are b o t h
L-strophes. T h e i r function will b e discussed w h e n I consider the
composition as a w h o l e , in chapter 7.
The Strophe
93
A strophe may be shaped by a metaphor; the eagle from

D e u t e r o n o m y 32 is an example. Below, I q u o t e six verses from the
b o o k of J o b ; these are strophes 3 and 4 from the p o e m J o b 14:
Job 14:7
8
9
10
11
12
There is hope for a tree;

if it is cut down, it will renew itself,
and its shoots will not cease.
If its roots are old in the earth
and its stump dies in the ground,
at the scent of water it will bud,
and produce branches like a sapling.
But mortals languish and die;
man expires; where is he?
As water evaporates from a lake
and a river dries up and is parched,
so man lies down, and will not rise;
until the heavens are no more, he will not awake,
not be roused from his sleep.
T h e third strophe of the p o e m is determined exclusively by figura

tive speech: each line contains a vegetative image. Verses 1012 offer
us a negative image, this time that of man. T h e first verse is very bare,
as if the poet wants to say: forget all metaphors, just look death
straight in the eye. Verses 1112, however, do contain another image,
this time in the form of a comparison. T h e connection with the
strophe about the tree trunk is well maintained, as w e again have
water here. T h e water in strophe 3, however, was life-giving, whereas
in w . 1112 it becomes an image for the evanescence of our lives,
and as such serves death. T h e concluding tricolon contains as many
as four negations, and uses these to strike out the euphemism "sleep."
A strophe may very well be kept together by a frame; this is a
p h e n o m e n o n w h i c h takes us to the boundaries of the unit and
h e n c e to the next paragraph, w h e r e w e shall consider h o w the
strophe is distinguished from its surroundings.Yet, such an inclusio will have its points of contact w i t h the words it encloses, i.e.,
w i t h the " c o n t e n t s " of the strophe. T h e L-strophe o p e n i n g Psalm
69 is built o n the image of m u d and water into w h i c h the " I " is
sinking, w . 23.The L-strophe w . 45 b e c o m e s even m o r e phys
ical, and already speaks of the hatred that is felt for the speaker.The
94
L-strophe w . 6 - 7 already starts a prayer. A n o t h e r t w o strophes fol

low, again in L-format, about the position of the " I " :
Ps. 69:8
9
10
11
12
13
It is for your sake that I have been abused,

shame covers my face.
I am a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to the sons of my mother;
my zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the abuse of those who revile you
have fallen upon me.
strophe 4
When I wept and fasted,

I was reviled for it.
I made sackcloth my garment,
but I became a byword among them.
Those who sit in the gate talk about me
I am the taunts of drunkards.
strophe 5
T h e keywords here are "abuse" and "taunt," and in b o t h strophes

the " I " is confronted w i t h a collective. T h e most painful c i r c u m
stance is the fact that these are n o t enemies from outside, but his
o w n people. T h e gate is the spot w h e r e the c o m m u n i t y meets and
sits in j u d g m e n t , but n o w it is a scene of debauchery, at the cost of
the " I . " In the original Hebrew, strophe 4 is marked by a frame
consisting of the 3 + 3 words of w . 8a and 10b. T h e translation
can show only half of this, in the correspondence b e t w e e n "for
y o u r sake" / " u p o n me," and especially in the keyword "abuse."
T h e word " c o n s u m e d " from v. 10a literally means "eaten." This
knowledge puts us o n the track of a beautiful, associative c o n n e c
tion b e t w e e n the t w o strophes. T h e "eating" that the speaker e x p e
rienced in v. 10a is followed in v. 11a by fasting. At the end of
strophe 5 w e discover its counterpart, the act of "drinking," p r e
sented negatively as drunkenness. This n e w inclusio, however, is
the imaginative variation of a w e l l - k n o w n word pair, eating and
drinking, and stretches b o t h activities in a direction w h i c h is d e t r i
mental to the speaker.The three cola about abuse (8a, 10b, l i b )
are supported by three cola about taunts (12b13b), so that the " I "
has totally lost his bearings.
I have also m e n t i o n e d that the unifying factor w i t h i n a strophe
may b e a single idea. A n y concept of "idea" should b e treated w i t h
The Strophe
95
extreme caution, as in the Western world the Bible has b e e n

studied for so long by intellectuals w h o s e research has been either
damaged or threatened by their worship of concepts, hypotheses,
and theories. T h a t is n o t the fault of the concept itself, however,
and of course there were plenty of ideas in ancient Israel. As an
example I have chosen a sequence of strophes spoken by the first
pedantic prig w h o confronts J o b in the long debate of the e p o n y
m o u s b o o k . Eliphaz opens the debate in J o b 4. H e first notes that
the m a n w h o was such a support to others in times of trouble is
n o w himself unnerved (strophe 1 = w . 24 and strophe 2 = w .
56)not a particularly compassionate beginning. T h e fifteen
poetic lines w h i c h fill strophes 38 are all bicolic except for t w o
verses, and this is w h a t the hero has to listen to:
96
Job 4:7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Think now, what innocent man ever perished,

and where have the upright been destroyed?
As I have seen, those who plow evil
and sow mischief, reap them.
By a breath from God they perish,
by the blast of his nostrils they perish.
strophe 3
One lion roars, the other one growls,

the teeth of the cubs are broken.
The lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
strophe 4
A word came to me in stealth,

my ear caught a whisper of it
in thought-filled visions of the night,
when deep sleep fell on men.
strophe 5
Fear and trembling came upon me

causing all my bones to quake with fright.
A spirit passed by me,
making the hair of my flesh bristle,
like a wind.
It halted; its appearance was strange to me,
a form before my eyes;
I heard a murmur, a voice:
"Can mortals be acquitted by God,
or man be cleared by his Maker?
Even his servants he does not trust,
and he finds error in his angels."
strophe 6
strophe 7
"How much more in those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose origin is dust!
They are crushed like moths,
strophe 8
shattered at daybreak or at night,
unnoticed, they perish forever.
Is not their tent cord pulled up?
They die, but not in wisdom."
Strophe 3 starts w i t h a question and ends w i t h a vengeful G o d .

T h e point of this unit is the inescapable pattern linking guilt and
annihilation. A speaker starting verses w i t h " T h i n k n o w " and "As
I have seen" increases the pressure o n the addressee. If the " y o u -
The Strophe
97
a n d - I " t o n e suggests intimacy, this is a manipulative strategy. It

obscures the fact that Eliphaz is uttering a threat; w h a t else could
the function of the m e t a p h o r governing strophe 4 be? T h e trans
lator runs into problems here, as the H e b r e w p o e t cleverly uses five
different words to indicate lions of various rank and type, whereas
English offers only one; I have had to improvise.
Strophes 3 and 4 together constitute the second stanza of the
p o e m . T h e third stanza recounts a n o c t u r n a l revelation (strophes
5 - 6 ) , and the fourth quotes its content, a message in words
(strophes 78). By introducing this revelation Eliphaz gives a n e w
twist to the business of impressing Job, and h e is n o t going to
h u r r y : h e uses four strophes this time. Strophe 5 is still seemingly
neutral, offering such "hard facts" as night, sleep, and whispering,
while strophe 6 presents t h e accompanying e m o t i o n , and t h e fig
ure that will b e c o m e t h e envoy of the revelation. T h e cohesion
of strophe 5 is easily guaranteed by the sentence structure: the
sentence has n o t finished after v. 12b, and so e n j a m b m e n t occurs.
T h e m u r m u r of 16c and " t h e w o r d " of v. 12a together form a neat
inclusion of this narrative stanza. T h e unifying factor of strophe 6
is the n u m i n o u s character of w h a t is b e i n g described.
All this is an attempt to make J o b receptive to a view of G o d
and m a n that w o u l d b e repulsive to all b u t the staunchest Calvinist. T h e negative t o n e of strophe 7 almost noticeably reeks: G o d is
presented as a being totally poisoned by suspicion. As if that were
n o t yet e n o u g h , Eliphaz employs a special argumentative t e c h
nique as the p o e m moves from this strophe to strophe 8.The rabbis
call this m o d e l qal wachomer ("from light to heavy"), and in rhetoric
it is k n o w n as a minori ad maius; it is indicated by the pivot " h o w
m u c h more."
If w e listen closely, Eliphaz's " h o w m u c h m o r e " really m e a n s
its opposite, " h o w m u c h less"a disingenuousness that is c h a r
acteristic o f his m i n d . H e argues: G o d does n o t trust his angels
(v. 18), how much less does h e trust t h e creatures o n earth! C o n
sequently, this " h o w m u c h less" is a negative a fortiori: h o w
m u c h stronger is his distrust of p e o p l e ? T h e q u e s t i o n in v. 17 is
again manipulative, a n d as t h e o p e n i n g o f t h e f o u r t h stanza it is
t h e perfect c o u n t e r p a r t or successor to t h e verse that o p e n e d
t h e s e c o n d stanza, v. 7. Because of t h e i r f o r m (a r h e t o r i c a l
98
q u e s t i o n p r e s u p p o s i n g a negative answer) and c o n t e n t (the

guilty or u n c l e a n p e r s o n ) , these p o e t i c lines b e l o n g t o g e t h e r so
that w e also recognize their c o r r e s p o n d e n c e w i t h i n t h e stanza
design.
B u t look who's talking: w h a t Eliphaz proclaims in strophe 7
that total distrust is part of God's characteris a projection of his
o w n innermost attitude to life, and h e even tries by means of ver
bal fireworks to grant this doctrine official status by presenting it
as a revelation.
Let us take a brief excursion into prosody. J o b 4 has b e e n c o m
posed in meticulous fashion: the eight strophes constitute four
stanzas, w h i c h mirror each other t w o by two. A great regularity
may b e observed o n three levels, demonstrated below by the c a p
itals S and L, and also by the syllable totals for the strophes and
stanzas. T h e figures for the stanzas have b e e n given in bold type
below the figures for the strophes:
Job 4
strophes
cola
syllables
L S L S
6 4 6 4
51 39 53 32
90
85
S L S L
4 7 4 7
34 54 33 54
88
87
If w e n o w add the stanza totals, b o t h halves of the p o e m t u r n out

to have exactly the same n u m b e r of syllables, i.e., 175; this results
in a r o u n d figure 350 for the p o e m as a w h o l e .
T h e strophes exist by b e i n g
distinguished from each other
F r o m the preceding section w e may conclude that the strophe can
easily fend for itself. This section will demonstrate that it does n o t
have to. T h e poet has many devices at his disposal to grant the
strophe internal cohesion, and the reader will do well to learn to
recognize these tools. O u r p o e t r y manuals teach us, however, that
a strophe is never alone, but always works together w i t h its
colleagues, the textual units surrounding it. T h e strophe always
functions in relation to the other strophes, w h i c h offers n e w p o s
sibilities to the "composer," the p o e t w h o assembles t h e m .
The Strophe
99
Let us first think back to the figure of the frame. A n inclusio

such as w e have seen in Psalm 69 looks inward, as it were: as a b o r
der it draws attention to the strophe itself and w h a t is inside it.
T h e r e is a reverse side to this obvious statement, however: because
of the inclusio, the strophe is also distinguished from its s u r r o u n d
ings. It seems to w i t h d r a w u p o n itself, as if saying to adjoining
units: this area is mine, n o t yours.
Internal cohesion thus may be viewed from the other side. W e
must n o w take a step backward, to create some distance and to
ascertain h o w the strophe behaves w i t h i n the tissue of relations
that make u p a p o e m . In doing so, w e e n c o u n t e r properties of
external cohesion: although the strophe remains identical w i t h
itself, it also owes its existence to differences, to its quality of being
a"twist."The strophe is marked out by b e i n g different from its sur
roundings.
T h e p o e t marks the differences b e t w e e n strophes by always
introducing n e w twists. W h a t do these changes look like? Here,
too, the p o e t can employ all sorts of linguistic, stylistic, and struc
tural devices to make the reader experience transitions. W e enter
a n e w strophe if there is a change in
the characters who populate the unit;
verb tense;
the mode of the sentences (do they report or describe?;
are they wishes or commands?);
grammatical person;
language: from verbal (reporting or desiring action) to
nominal (static, describing properties) language;
subject matter;
tone or genre.
F u r t h e r m o r e , the b o u n d a r y positions in the strophe are sensitive:
especially the b e g i n n i n g may be clearly marked, for instance, by a
striking adverb such as "Therefore," a f o r m of address (the voca
tive, in the Psalms often " O Y a h w e h " or " M y God!"), or an i m p e r
ative such as " H e a r m e " or "Save m e ! "
It is n o t difficult to illustrate each of these possibilities by dozens
of examples. This would, however, also entail quoting several c o n
nected strophes for each option, w h i c h w o u l d take up a lot of
space.There is another m e t h o d that makes this unnecessary. I have
100
chosen a substantial passage from Isaiah and a lament from Psalms,

and as I discuss each strophe briefly, most types of "twist" or tran
sition will pass u n d e r review.
T h e p o w e r f u l o p e n i n g s p e e c h o f t h e b o o k o f Isaiah
T h e b o o k of Isaiah is n a m e d after a Judaean prophet w h o was
active in the second half of the eighth century BCE. H e lived
t h r o u g h the rapid expansion of the most powerful nation of his
time, the Assyrians, in Syria-Palestine; saw the demise of the
n o r t h e r n k i n g d o m (Samaria fell in 722 BCE); and also saw the tiny
state of Judah attacked. After the war has completed its destructive
course through the land, Isaiah pronounces God's part of a dispute:
the argumentative speech w e n o w find in Isaiah 1:2-20 (a rib or
lawsuit, as it is called by scholars); this is an indictment. In his text
h e hardly mentions any name, historical detail, or concrete fact of
the kind historians love to hear, but focuses mainly o n quality. This
characteristic haswe may supposemade the text so valued that
it has survived the ages and has received a place in the canon. I will
discuss the p o e m roughly per stanza. T h e first stanza comprises
w . 24; the next t w o occupy w . 59.
Isa.l:2
Hear, O heavens,
and give ear, O earth,
forYahweh has spoken:
"I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
strophe 1
An ox knows its owner

an ass its master's crib,
but Israel does not know,
my people takes no thought."
strophe 2
Ah, sinful nation,

the nation laden with iniquity,
brood of evildoers,
depraved children!
They have forsaken Yahweh,
spurned the Holy One of Israel,
they turned their backs.
strophe 3
The Strophe
101
T h e first strophe is also the pretentious o p e n i n g of the b o o k . T h e

p o e t calls u p o n the entire cosmos to b e his witness, in about the
same way as Moses did in his didactic p o e m in D e u t e r o n o m y 32.
After the exhortation to listen, the floor is given to a character w h o
for t h e m o m e n t plays the part of the plaintiff in a trial. It is G o d
himself w h o w i t h o u t delay takes o n the part of the father and thus
justifies his expectations of the other party, w h o m h e has raised.
Developments move so fast that already in the second poetic line
w e hear the friction b e t w e e n claim and complaint. Nevertheless,
the speaker still has n o t told us exactly w h o it is h e is so unhappy
about.
T h e identity of the other party is indirectly revealed in the sec
o n d strophe. This unit differs from the preceding one in that the
subject matter has changed. T h e first half sounds like a proverb, and
in v. 3cd the accused is rather exposed; translated literally: "Israel
does not know, m y people do not understand." T h e r e is n o direct
object, i.e., the verb is here used absolutely (as the technical t e r m
goes), and not w i t h o u t reason.What this omission (ellipsis*) makes
clear is that the ignorance described is n o t related to something
specific and is therefore unlimited: their stupidity is boundless.
Changes of grammatical person and genre mark strophe 3.This
is a so-called "woe"-exclamation in w h i c h G o d is n o w a third p e r
son, and the prophet specifies the indictment: iniquity and cor
ruption, culminating in a turning away from G o d , w h i c h also
explains the criminal actions.This ending (v. 5c) is the elaboration
of v. 2e, a connection w h i c h also creates a parallelism b e t w e e n
strophes 1 and 3 that in t u r n keeps the stanza together.
C o r r u p t i o n breeds corruption. T h e p o e t - p r o p h e t abandons the
original depravity, and in stanzas IIIII speaks of the resulting
degeneracy as the manifestation of underlying evil. Stanza II
( w . 5-6) employs the language of the body; stanza III ( w . 79) is
c o u c h e d in military-poHtical terms.
102
Why do you seek further beatings,

that you continue to offend?
The whole head is ailing,
and the whole heart is sick.
strophe 4
From the sole of the foot to the skull

no spot is sound:
all bruises, and welts,
and fresh sores,
not pressed out, not bound up,
not softened with oil.
strophe 5
Your land is a waste,

strophe 6
your cities burnt down:
your soil, before your eyes
strangers consume it,
a wasteland, as overthrown by strangers.
The daughter of Zion is left

like a booth in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
like a city beleaguered.
strophe 7
Had notYahweh of hosts

left us a fugitive,
we should soon be like Sodom,
and seem as Gomorrah.
strophe 8
Isa.1:5
T h e strophes are marked by a shift in subject and tone, as well as by

the introduction of the second-person plural: the prophet addresses
his audience as separate persons. First, there is a unit which sounds
almost medical: strophes 45 about pus and festering sores (= stanza
II).This image of an ailing b o d y serves as an excellent m e t a p h o r for
the corruption of the nation: the people are critically ill. Strophe 4
addresses the people as "you," and covers the w h o l e person via
m e t o n y m y by m e n t i o n i n g head and heart. After that, the form
" y o u " disappears to make way for the almost clinical description in
v. 6. Again, the w h o l e person is dealt with, this time by a merism,
"from head to t o e " (as w e would put it).
This physical manifestation of decay is followed by a n e w twist,
w h i c h offers images of war and its effects, so that strophe 6 repre
sents the political effects of corruption: destruction of the land as
The Strophe
103
a p u n i s h m e n t for the entire nation. This stanza (the third) ends

w i t h a form of desolation that nevertheless offers a glimpse of
h o p e . Verses 89 present an image from horticulture, and by means
of a counterfactual* ("Had not . . . , w e should . . . " ) end in a dis
tant past: S o d o m and G o m o r r a h have b e e n proverbial for deprav
ity since the primeval age w h i c h Genesis tells us about. T h e y
should b e viewed as mythical-literary places rather than as names
from a historical reality.
W e have n o w looked at eight strophes. T h e y contain many cola
that are all the m o r e intense because of their shortness and that
leave us w i t h little h o p e . In the seventh strophe, however, the city
of Jerusalem appears u n d e r the n a m e of "daughter of Zion," and
in the shape of the w r e t c h e d structure of branches and leaves that
has b e e n relinquished by the farmer. This image is clarified in the
eighth strophe as "a fugitive, a survivor." T h e names of S o d o m and
G o m o r r a h convey the message that J u d a h has escaped total anni
hilation only by the skin of its teeth. This does seem to b e a posi
tive statement, and the prophet suddenly even uses the p r o n o u n
" w e " in order to get closer to his audience and to give t h e m a feel
ing of adversity shared, and of a n e w beginning. This concludes
the first section of the long oracle.
T h e Judaeans have listened to all this w i t h mixed feelings, but
breathe somewhat m o r e freely thanks to the first-person plural.
This is, however, a mistake; the p o e t has wrong-footed t h e m . H e
has inserted a h o o k linking the end of the first section to the
b e g i n n i n g of the second, by repeating the names of S o d o m and
G o m o r r a h . In v. 9, the reference seems comforting, locked inside
the counterfactual m o d e and the message that " w e " escaped after
all. In v. 10, however, Isaiah deals his audience a blow by address
ing t h e m as the "chieftains of S o d o m " : a major insult that certainly
keeps their attention from drifting. . . . Again, the shift in g r a m
matical person is the strophe marker:
104
Isa. 1:10
11
12
13a
13c
14
15
16
17
Hear the word of Yahweh,

you chieftains of Sodom!
give ear to our God's instruction,
people of Gomorrah!
"What need have I of all your sacrifices?"
says Yahweh.
"I am sated with burnt offerings of rams,
suet of fadings,
and blood of bulls;
lambs and he-goats
I do not delight in."
"That you come to appear before m e
who asked that of you?
Trampling my courts,
do not continue it!
Bringing vain oblations,
offensive incense it is to me.
New moon and Sabbath, proclaiming
of solemnities:
assemblies with iniquity I cannot abide.
Your new moons and fixed seasons
I hate with all my soul;
they are become a burden to me,
I am exhausted carrying them.
And when you lift up your hands,
I will turn my eyes away from you;
even when you pray harder,
I will not listen.
Your hands are stained with blood!
Wash yourselves, clean yourselves,
put your evil doings
away from my sight!
Cease to do evil,
learn to do good,
devote ourselves to justice!
Aid the wronged,
Uphold the rights of the orphan,
defend the cause of the widow!"
strophe 9
strophe 10
strophe 11
strophe 12
strophe 13
strophe 14
The Strophe
105
Strophes 916 may, t w o by two, b e a c c o m m o d a t e d in higher t e x

tual units, stanzas IVVI, but the stanza boundaries are n o t very
conspicuous this time, except for the line dividing v. 15 from v. 16.
T h e cola of strophe 9 are varied according to the A B - A ' B ' pat
tern. As a plea for attention, they form a strophic unit. At the same
time a parallelism is created two levels further up, as this e x h o r t a
tion is the successor o f the first strophe. T h e r e is also a p e r t i
nent/fitting variation in the repetition: it is n o t the cosmos that is
addressed here, but "you," and " y o u " had better listen very care
fully to a p r o n o u n c e m e n t , an "instruction" (torah) from G o d . B y
phrasing this as " o u r God," Isaiah for a m o m e n t retains the c o m
m o n g r o u n d that has enabled h i m to reach his obstinate audience,
but this is the end of the familiarity indicated by "our." Strophes
1011 n o w present the contents of the lesson; w e k n o w exactly
h o w far this instruction to the c o m m u n i t y extends, thanks to the
use of the first person for God, w h i c h runs t h r o u g h to v. 15. As
G o d continues to say " y o u " even after v. 15, w e also may see h i m
as the speaker of the last strophes, w . 1620.
A shift of speaker and subject marks the transition to strophe
10, a unit that focuses exclusively o n a graphic c o m p o n e n t of w o r
ship: all forms of sacrifice. A frame provides the rounding-off:
" w h a t n e e d have I" becomes "I a m sated," w h i c h is chiastically
completed by "I d o n o t delight in." In strophe 11 w e see the place
that should be o n e of sincere c o m m u n i c a t i o n , i.e., the temple
court, while strophe 12 covers the cultic calendar of the visitors.
T h e underlying t o n e remains o n e of disgust, since the persistent
criticism is that the people care only about outward forms, and the
" I " (i.e., God) castigates this hypocrisy
T h e unity of strophe 13 is already suggested by a n e w A B - A ' B '
design. Two c o m p o u n d sentences neatly coincide w i t h the t w o
verses, and their c o m p o n e n t s exactly cover the half-verses. This
arrangement is varied by a chiasm, hands-seeing/hearing-hands.
F u r t h e r m o r e , there is a surplus: line 15e about the hands being
stained w i t h blood, an extremely incriminating m o n o c o l o n , is the
final blow.
W e gradually move from the c o r r u p t "yesterday-and-today"
toward "tomorrow," as G o d n o w uses the future tense: h e prefers
to close his eyes and ears. H e even rejects prayer, a m u c h m o r e
106
direct and honest form of contact than the m u m b o - j u m b o of sac

rifice and ritual.
Strophe 14 is marked by the change to n e w linguistic forms,
and finally reveals the exact nature of the corruption: social injus
tice. G o d bursts into a chain of c o m m a n d s that occupies three
times three cola. It is the sharp staccato that at the b e g i n n i n g of
this b o o k acquired its proper form. These commands are very
direct, and they make sense only if G o d is convinced that it is p o s
sible to continue together after all. T h e circumstances that will
ensure this are the subject of the concluding verses 1820 (stanza
V I I ) . T h e escapee will b e given o n e m o r e chance:
Isa. 1:18a
b
c
d
e
f
19
20
"Let us go, let us have a tribunal,"

Yahweh says.
Be your sins like crimson,
they will turn snow-white;
be they red as purple,
white as fleece they will become.
strophe 15
If you agree and give heed,

you will eat the good things of
the land;
strophe 16
but if you refuse and disobey,
you will be devoured by the sword!
The mouth of Yahweh has spoken.
It does n o t matter m u c h any m o r e w h o is speaking. T h e first

line of v. 18 is spoken by G o d , but after that the prophet's p o i n t of
view practically coincides w i t h that of his superior. T h e very last
colon mentions Yahweh in the third person, so that we are inclined
to allot this line to the p r o p h e t . W h a t is essential, however, is to see
that this straightforward sentence concluding t h e long oracle is t h e
counterpart to v. 2c, the pivotal line of the o p e n i n g strophe. In this
way, the passage as a w h o l e has acquired a formal inclusio, as t h e
entire text begins and ends with a tricolon that concludes w i t h
"Yahweh has spoken."
Strophe 15 in t u r n has a vocabulary of its o w n . T h e first verse
reveals the status of this oracular speech: G o d has all the time
played the role of plaintiff in a court of law, and has e x p o u n d e d his
views as part of a lawsuit. T h u s , the long p o e m has a formal-legal
The Strophe
107
aspect.The strophe is characterized by a fourfold comparison built

o n neat chiasms, in b o t h 18cd and 18ef. I have retained the o r i g
inal w o r d order so that the crosswise construction remains visible:
the verbs are o n the edges, whereas the colors red and w h i t e sur
r o u n d the caesura in b o t h bicola.The phrase " B e [your sins] . . ."
has the same m e a n i n g as the conjunction "if" in the final strophe,
so that a parallelism is created b e t w e e n t h e units 15 and 16. In the
same way as the color red reminds the listener and reader of the
hands stained w i t h blood, " t h e land" and " d e v o u r i n g " remind us
of the aftermath of the war, w h e n strangers came and razed the
land.
T h e bodies of b o t h these strophes have b e e n constructed o n an
opposition. In strophe 15 (v. 18cd + ef) the t w o cola in each verse
cover the t w o halves of a radical turn, while the message of the
t w o poetic lines remains the same. Strophe 16 contains only o n e
such t u r n , and here the complete verses each express half of an
opposition: goodwill in v. 19ab versus obstinacy in 1 9 c d . T h e quar
tets 18cdef and 19abcd are framed by o n e line asserting that G o d
has spoken; this is an inclusio that unites the strophes into a final
stanza.
This p o e m constitutes the powerful o p e n i n g of the b o o k of
Isaiah. It is long, b u t its vigor and passion are reflected in and c o n
veyed by proportions that are surprisingly modest. Even in trans
lation t h e cola are still very short; there are m a n y terse strophes,
and five stanzas consist of only t w o strophes. T h e vocabulary is
extremely varied, since the p o e t draws from a m u l t i t u d e of
domains, the most i m p o r t a n t of w h i c h are law, war, horticulture,
and t h e c u l t n o t to m e n t i o n the language of a distraught sur
g e o n in stanza II. T h e imagery is very apt: t h e crib, the w o u n d s
and their bandages, t h e w i n e grower's hovel, t h e racket around the
temple, and the contrast b e t w e e n red and w h i t e . T h e r e are seven
stanzas and forty versesvery biblical figures. In the statistical
s u m m a r y b e l o w I have indicated the separation b e t w e e n w . 19
and 1018 by a double slash. This b o u n d a r y contains t h e c o n
catenating device (the " h o o k " ) , w h i c h makes sure that the far
away names S o d o m and G o m o r r a h suddenly creep unpleasantly
close to the poet's audience.
108
stanza
nos. of:
strophes
verses
cola
II
III
3
7
16
2
5
10
3
6
13
//
IV
VI
VII
2
5
11
2
6
12
2
6
14
2
5
11
In the original language, this formidable disputation takes u p n o

m o r e than 234 words.
In t h e darkest p l a c e s , i n t h e d e p t h s : P s a l m 88
This psalm is a lament of exactly forty cola. Verses 9 and 10 are tricolic; the rest are bicolic. T h e articulation in seven strophes is
inescapable, and I am filled with vicarious shame to have to report
that not a single translation or commentary presents the correct division.The only remedy for this sort of omission is subjecting the p o e m
to a sound poetics. As always, the first step in the analysis is to read
the text over and over again, and try to cover the ground exhaustively
by noting everything of any literary value. N o t h i n g short of check
ing the complete range of stylistic and structural devices will do. In
the case of Psalm 88, the next step is to examine the relative effects
of the various formal characteristics. We shall see that the strategic
placement of keywords has far-reaching consequences here. First,
however, I will start looking for "twists," referring to the list of char
acteristics I have given earlier. T h e text of w . 27 is as follows:
Ps. 88:2
3
OYahweh, God of my deliverance,

by day and night I cry out before you.
Let my prayer reach you,
incline your ear to my cry.
strophe 1
For my soul is sated with misfortune,

strophe 2
I am at the brink of the realm of
the dead.
I am numbered with those who go down
to the Pit,
I have become like a man without strength.
Among the dead released,
strophe 3
like bodies lying in the grave,
of whom you are mindful no more;
and they, they have been cut off from your hand.
The Strophe
v. 7
109
You have put me at the bottom of the Pit,

in the darkest places, in the depths.
T h e speaker marks the o p e n i n g by a vocative: God's proper name.

H e supplements this by an apposition m e n t i o n i n g that quality of
God's to w h i c h h e wants to appeal: " G o d o f m y deliverance" (JPS).
This sounds positive, b u t unfortunately it is b o t h the first and the
last fragment in this song o n the brink of the grave that indicates
any h o p e . Verse 2b contains the merism of day and night, w h i c h
tells us that the poet has time for little else b u t crying for help. In
the second poetic line, the speaker himself furnishes a label for his
text: it is a "prayer." T h e half-verses c o m b i n e the visual w i t h the
a u d i t o r y a n o t h e r aspect suggesting totality, just like the merism
of the temporal terms in v. 2b.
T h e transition to strophe 2 is clear, thanks to the shift from pres
ence to absence and the change in verb tense and m o d e . T h e
c o m m a n d s of v. 3 are followed by four cola in the past tense, w i t h
predicates, moreover, in the passive. T h e wishes expressed in stro
p h e 1 have b e e n replaced by a description of " m y " unpleasant sit
uation: I a m about to topple into the grave any m i n u t e now. A n d
w h e r e has G o d gone?
N e x t , the presence of the " I " in the text also becomes d o u b t ful.The personal p r o n o u n is conspicuous by its absence in the very
first colon of the third strophe (v. 6a). This omission is t o o m u c h
for most biblical scholars, so that they start tinkering w i t h the
Hebrew. Even w i t h o u t the visible presence of the w o r d " I , " h o w
ever, it is clear that the speaker is talking about himself, and actu
ally I consider the ellipsis of the p r o n o u n i n linguistic terms: a
z e r o - m o r p h e m e * a meaningful signal, part of a clever play o n
the contrast presence/absence in this p o e m . By dropping t h e form
" I , " the p o e t shows us that he is d o n e for. T h e absence of the p r o
n o u n is another example of an iconic* sign.The " I " surfaces only
at the e n d of the strophe, but it is the object, even the victim, of
" y o u r " cruel treatment. This " m e " anticipates strophe 4.
T h e poet is very ironical about his fate by representing himself
as "released a m o n g the dead." G o d has returned to the text, this
time as the " y o u " w h o is held responsible for "cutting off" the
p o e t w h o fills the rest of the strophe w i t h terms for the u n d e r
world (sheol in H e b r e w ) that leave n o t h i n g to the imagination. H e
110
chooses, for instance, the w o r d "Pit," and since h e had also used
this in v. 5a, he has n o w created a parallelism o n strophe level.
T h e p o e t continues w i t h t w o massive units:
8
9
10
11
12
13
Upon me your fury lies heavy,

with all your breakers you afflict me.
You make my companions shun me,
You make me abhorrent to them;
[I am] shut in, and cannot go out.
My eye pines away from affliction;
I call to you,Yahweh, each day
I stretch out my hands to you.
strophe 4
The deaddo you work wonders for them? strophe 5

Do the shades rise to praise you?
Is your faithful care recounted in the grave,
your constancy in the place of perdition?
Are your miracles made known in the darkness,
Your justice in the land of oblivion?
Strophe 4 is the middle unit of the composition and, with its eight
cola, the weightiest. Four lines are devoted to G o d and his repres
sive actions; four lines explore the misery and despair of the speaker,
w h o eventually returns to the position he t o o k at the beginning,
i.e., praying and crying for help. T h e " I " is complaining of the total
isolation into w h i c h h e has b e e n cast by n o n e other than his G o d .
H e does not complain about enemies, but about something m u c h
worse: h e has been robbed of his friends, to the extent that they are
disgusted with him. T h e words of v. 9c t u r n this alienation into a
p r i s o n . T h e strophe progresses from " u p o n m e " to " t o you."These
pronouns form a thin border around the whole.
T h e real cohesion in this loaded center comes from the outside
rather than from within. T h e b o u n d a r y w i t h strophe 5 is beyond
doubt, as this n e w unit, w . 1 1 - 1 3 , is instantly recognizable as a
chain of three verses asking six rhetorical questions. T h e speaker
impresses u p o n G o d that it is n o t a g o o d idea to push h i m into the
grave, as in that case h e (God) cannot expect h i m (the poet) to p u t
in a w o r d for h i m , let alone a w o r d of praisean attractive and
spirited manipulation of the addressee. F u r t h e r m o r e , the argument
is the most powerful application of the contrast b e t w e e n present
The Strophe
111
and absent: the " I " is n o t present at all in strophe 5! T h e ego has
n o w completely evaporated, so to speak, and the p o e t talks in
strictly general terms of the dead and their deafening silence.
14
15
16
17
18
19
As for meI cry out to you, OYahweh,

in the morning my prayer reaches you.
Why,Yahweh, do you reject me,
do you hide your face from me?
I have been afflicted and near death from
my youth,
I suffer your terrors, I am at my wits' end.
strophe 6
Upon me your fury descends,

strophe 7
Your terrors dumbfound me.
They swirl about me like water all day long,
they encircle me together.
You have put friend and neighbor far from me,
and my companions are total darkness.
T h e threshold of the final stanza is indicated by the fact that the

same " I " that was so notoriously absent in strophe 5 has been
emphatically placed in front position in strophe 6.Verse 14 is the
counterpart to the very first verse, w h i c h creates a parallel o n
stanza level. N e x t , a double w h y - q u e s t i o n follows that certainly
does n o t ask for information, but is, as elsewhere, the vehicle of
great indignation: v. 15 is a reproach, and by its choice of words
again holds G o d responsible for the speaker's isolation. In v. 16 h e
frankly states his distress.Thus, a verse in the second person (15) is
surrounded by verses of cause (distress, 16) and effect (cry for help,
14). These lines all have " I " as subject, whereas the final strophe
repeats the object form "me," in order to demonstrate consistently
the extent to w h i c h the speaker is the "fall guy."
This final strophe (w. 17-19) is characterized by a remarkable
aspect which at the same time guarantees its cohesion. In the three
successive cola 8a-8b-9a w e saw, respectively, God's anger, threaten
ing breakers (as an image of anger), and alienation caused by God;
the first words of that strophe were " u p o n me." T h e seventh and last
strophe starts in exactly the same way, and again presents the ele
ments of anger, water, and alienation. This time, however, they have
been doubled and each receive a complete bicolon of their own.
112
T h e duplication, of course, also means that strophe 7 functions as

the climax.
I have not yet m e n t i o n e d the most conspicuous markers in the
p o e m . For once I will permit myself the luxury of repetition, by
printing the p o e m again, this time in its entirety. T h e phrases I have
italicized demonstrate that the opening words of strophes 45 refer
crosswise forward and backward. T h e "dead" of v. 6a are "the dead"
of v. 11a, which is w h y I have tried to maintain the original w o r d
order as closely as possible in my translation of this colon. T h e o p e n
ing " u p o n m e " guarantees the start of a n e w strophe in w . 8a and
17a. These crosswise connections make strophes 45 the central
stanza where the main lines of the p o e m meet and are tied together.
T h e demarcation of w . 813 as t h e center w o u l d b e even m o r e
convincing if it were accompanied by cohesion in the flanks. C a n
we assume that the first three strophes are stanza I and that strophes
67 are stanza III? T h e poet again provides us with a structural
signal. T h e three-part structure of the p o e m is itself marked by
the strategic placement of a keyword: this is the series d a r k darknessthe darkest places, w h i c h in the original language also
shows m i n o r variations, b u t always o n the same root. This keyword,
too, deserves italics:
Ps.88
2
3
4
5
OYahweh, God of my deliverance,

by day and night I cry out before you.
Let my prayer reach you,
incline your ear to my cry.
stanza I
For my soul is sated with misfortune,

I am at the brink of Sheol.
I am numbered with those who go down
to the Pit,
I have become like a man without strength.
Among the dead released,
like bodies lying in the grave,
of whom you are mindful no more;
and they, they have been cut off from your hand.
You have put me at the bottom of the Pit,
in the darkest places, in the depths.
The Strophe
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Upon me your fury lies heavy,

with all your breakers you afflict me.
You make my companions shun me,
You make me abhorrent to them;
[I am] shut in, and cannot go out.
My eye pines away from affliction;
I call to you,Yahweh, each day
I stretch out my hands to you.
113
stanza II
The deaddo you work wonders for them?

Do the shades rise to praise you?
Is your faithful care recounted in the grave,
your constancy in the place of perdition?
Are your miracles made known in the
darkness,
Your justice in the land of oblivion?
As for meI cry out to you, OYahweh,
in the morning my prayer reaches You.
Why,Yahweh, do you reject me,
do you hide your face from me?
I have been afflicted and near death from
my youth,
I suffer your terrors, I am at my wits' end.
stanza III
Upon me your fury descends,

Your terrors dumbfound me.
They swirl about me like water all day long,
they encircle me together.
You have put friend and neighbor far from me,
and my companions are total darkness.
T h e articulation of the p o e m in seven strophes may thus b e n o t e d

as SSL/LL/LL, w i t h a balance of 141412 cola.
After o n e paragraph o n internal and o n e o n external cohesion,
I conclude w i t h a synthesis of these two. T h e i r relationship varies,
but they manage to w o r k together very well. If the internal c o h e
sion is considerable or compelling, as was the case w i t h w . 1113
in Psalm 88, few or n o devices for external cohesion are needed.
If, o n the other hand, the unity within the strophe itself is n o t clear
or uncertain, as in w . 810, the poet may compensate for this by
m a k i n g the unit stand o u t sharply from its surroundings. This is
114
indeed w h a t happens in these lines: w . 810 remain together

thanks to the fact that the next lines (six questions in three verses)
cohere unconditionally, and also because the trio anger-wateralienation starts w i t h the same " u p o n m e " that also opens the final
strophe and is itself repeated w i t h double force.
A n o t h e r example is the b o u n d a r y at the end of strophe 2 in the
same psalm. If n o context were given, it w o u l d be difficult to sep
arate v. 6ab from w . 45, w h i c h also speak of the i m m i n e n t death
of the " I . " Suppose, however, that w e wanted to incorporate v. 6ab
in the second strophe: this w o u l d b e instantly refuted by two char
acteristics of the text. In the first place, v. 6ab cannot be separated
from its sequel because of a strong linguistic factor: v. 6c is an
adjectival clause, and only in exceptional cases and o n the basis of
weighty arguments can such a relative clause b e separated from its
antecedent by a strophe boundary. To put it in positive terms: the
natural coherence b e t w e e n an adjectival adjunct and the sentence
core will in principle b e respected rather than broken up by the
strophe design. Second, various aspects of v. 6a offer forceful argu
ments against cutting off v. 6ab. T h e omission of " I " forms a sharp
contrast w i t h strophe 2, and it is especially the o p e n i n g phrase
about " t h e dead," strategically placed as the counterpart to " t h e
dead" in v. 11a, w h i c h ensures that all of v. 6abcd forms a unit
together w i t h v. 7, the first of a series of five consecutive
L-strophes.
Finally, I return to the middle strophe of Psalm 88. O n l y n o w
that w e see the w h o l e , and are able to appreciate the interplay of
the strophes, does the function of this center b e c o m e truly clear.
First, this fourth strophe has b e c o m e an intersection within the
p o e m thanks to crosswise repetitions linking the center to the
extreme ends. T h e first three cola (v. 8a-8b-9a) point forward to
the last strophe; the last three (the m e m b e r s of the tricolon v. 10)
point backward to the first strophe. Inside this crosswise c o n n e c
tion, however, there are another t w o cola, v. 9b and v. 9c, w h i c h
constitute the center of the center. T h e y are the nadir of the poet's
experiences, even to the extent that in 9c h e again leaves out "I
am," before telling us that h e cannot go anywhere. This renewed
ellipsis links up w i t h the previous one, in v. 6a, and provides a n e w
discovery. T h e predicates "released" and "shut i n " are an opposi-
The Strophe
115
tion, w h i c h has b e e n the subject of a curious switch. "Released,"

"free" (meaning not being a prisoner or slave) is h o w w e feel o n
earth w h e n all is well, but w h a t follows is p e r m a n e n t incarcera
tion: by death. T h e p o e t has switched these states around and made
t h e m the subject of his most expressive manipulation of the c o n
trast present/absent. W e n o w notice that, in the same way that G o d
was absent from strophe 2 and the " I " from strophe 5, death is miss
ing from strophe 4: exactly that part of the text that is framed by
t w o detailed explorations of the nether world, strophes 3 and 5
w i t h their markers " a m o n g / u p o n the dead." W h a t can this mean?
This exploration of death has a rather special status, since the
j o u r n e y through the realm of the dead is imaginary: the p o e t h i m
self is, of course, n o t dead yet. Consequently, the t w o strophes are
a poetical instance of the counterfactual m o d e . T h e verses they
encircle, however, do describe the poet's actuality.The poet is stat
ing that in harsh reality, G o d is destroying h i m by anger and a
frightening isolation. T h e result is that h e is experiencing in the
here and n o w o n e of the p r o m i n e n t aspects of death, a sense of
" b e i n g shut in," while his imagination tells h i m h e will able to feel
free only after death, w h e n God's grip n o longer keeps h i m in iso
lation. In this way, the middle strophe, the only strophe to contain
eight cola, gathers together everything that was crucial outside it.
T h e center is able to contribute to the w h o l e , thanks to the c o n
trasts w i t h its surroundings.
The stanza
Existence, length, and function

C o n t i n u i n g upward t h r o u g h the layered structure of the text, w e
find a unit o n e level higher than the strophe. N o accepted t e r m
exists to label this entity; I use the w o r d "stanza," w h i c h is as g o o d
a n a m e as any other.
First of all, the fundamental question should b e raised: does the
stanza actually exist in H e b r e w poetry? A l t h o u g h m y o w n answer
w o u l d b e an affirmative one, it cannot b e given w i t h as m u c h
assurance as in the case of the strophe. As it turns out, the stanza
moves o n a scale ranging from "hardly visible or meaningful" to
"clear-cut and essential."
T h e first indication that a "stanza" is a meaningful entity is
offered by the group of poems designed acrostically according to
the letters of the alphabet. As we have seen in chapter 3, Psalm 119
w i t h its t w e n t y - t w o octets occupies a special position. Almost
all of these have a strictly binary structure, so that the eight verses
may b e divided into t w o foursomes (substanzas), four twosomes
(= S-strophes), eight poetic lines, and sixteen half-verses. In each
octet, every line starts w i t h the same consonant: thus, the first unit
has the aleph in front position eight times (in the Semitic lan
guages a specific guttural sound, n o t a vowel), the second has the
beth, etc., until the entire alphabet has b e e n completed. T h u s , as
Psalm 119 is clearly different from the other alphabetic acrostics,
w h i c h w o r k per colon, verse, and strophe, w e must conclude that
each octet in this p o e m is something m o r e than a strophe but less
than the w h o l e p o e m , so that this m o n u m e n t a l text of 22 x 8 verses
already constitutes proof that the stanza does exist, as the unit fol
lowing the strophe in the hierarchy of t h e text structure. This
psalm also illustrates the significant status of the n u m b e r 8.
118
T h e existence of the stanza as a real entity is conclusively c o n

firmed by a second clue, provided by the obvious and convincing
structure above strophe level that many poems exhibit.Two e x a m
ples may suffice here. A n y b o d y w h o turns to a translation of Psalm
19 can seepossibly even quicker than the exegetes w h o consult
the H e b r e w textthat this p o e m consists of three parts. T h e c e n
ter, w . 8 - 1 1 , is all description and shows us the qualities of God's
word. N o action in the narrative sense of the w o r d takes place, and
many sentences are static. For example, v. 9c says " T h e instruction
of Yahweh is pure," and this middle part of the text concludes w i t h
a climax in v. 11. This is an S-strophe, w h i c h lavishes a fourfold
comparison o n the t r u t h as represented by " t h e precepts of
Yahweh":
Ps. 19:11
They are more desirable than gold,

than much fine gold;
and sweeter than honey,
than drippings of the comb.
At first glance, w e readers may think that this simile is based o n t w o

different sensory experiences, w h i c h would b e a sensible e n o u g h
conclusion. T h e first t w o half-verses describe a visual experience;
the second pair appeals to our taste buds.Then, however, w e see that
there is a connection between tasting and seeing: the color of honey
is n o other than that of gold. Four makes t w o makes one.
This admiring description is flanked by t w o framing stanzas, w .
27 and w . 1215. T h e first refers to the fact that the heavens
speak, w h i c h is all the m o r e telling because heavenly "speech" does
n o t n e e d words, and grants a superb m e t a p h o r to the sun o n its
daily run. Conversely, the stanza o n the other side of the n o r m a
tive center focuses o n the earth.There we find "your servant," w h o
hopes to b e c o m e as pure as the precepts given h i m by G o d . T h e
final verse, v. 15, devotes its text to the words of the poet, and thus
provides an inclusio: the conclusion is n o w the verbal counterpart
of the beginning, w h e r e day and night declare the glory of G o d
but mutely. T h e articulation into strophes and stanzas of the c o m
plete p o e m is as follows:
w.
S
S
L
2-3 4-5b
//
5c-7
S
8
s Ss
9
10
li
S
11
// sS
L
12-13 14-15
The Stanza
119
T h e strophes occupying the middle consist of bicolic verses. T h e y

have a prosodic aspect, w h i c h even in translation remains visible:
each of the four constitutes a quartet of remarkably short cola.
A n o t h e r example of the stanza convincingly asserting itself is
Psalm 24. L o o k i n g at the text w e immediately see that w e have
two halves here, and that w . 710 consists of t w o times t w o strik
ing tricola, exalting G o d as "the K i n g o f glory." T h u s , these t w o
S-strophes each contain six cola, w h i c h in fact makes t h e m just as
long as the regular L-strophe, w h i c h consists of three t w o - p a r t
verses.They are almost identical and constitute stanza II.
If w e n o w go back in the text and consider w . 16, w e have n o
trouble recognizing the regular L-strophe. It has b e e n used twice
there: w . 13 are three bicola; w . 46 are the same. T h e first
strophe is characterized by spatial terms, w h i c h encompass cre
ation, and ends in a question, w h i c h is then answered by each verse
in strophe 2. T h u s , o n e trio of verses exactly fits o n top of the
other, and these L-strophes together fill stanza I. This means that
the p o e m as a w h o l e is precisely balanced:
stanza I
3 + 3 verses = 6 x 2 cola
stanza II
2 + 2 verses = 4 x 3 cola
At least, that is the impression the reader might get from a first
e n c o u n t e r w i t h the source text. Close observation, however, shows
that some liberties have b e e n taken w i t h v. 4. This poetic line is a
three-part rather than a two-part verse, consisting of three clauses,
each w i t h its o w n predicate. Consequently, the second strophe
contains seven instead of six cola, and most translators have
avoided the strong pressure of regularization, or t h e desperate
longing to attain the symmetry of 6 + 6 cola for each half o f the
poem.
M a n y other poems also articulate their material into stanzas.
T h e reason is obvious. Imagine a p o e m of some thirty verses,
a c c o m m o d a t e d in six L-strophes and six S-strophes, in whatever
order or combination.This w o u l d yield a text consisting of twelve
strophic units and filling a complete page. I a m convinced that
because of their large n u m b e r such strophes would seem m e r e
fragments, and that w e would feel a void in the structure above
strophe level. Such a concatenation* of twelve little bits requires a
120
structure of its o w n f o r instance, four groups of three strophes.

A n d this is exactly w h a t happens: look, for instance, at Psalm 35
(which accommodates its thirty-four verses and fourteen strophes
in six stanzas) or Psalm 71 (thirty poetic lines, twelve strophes, six
stanzas), or J o b 6 (exactly the same figures).
N o w that w e have justified the existence of the stanza, w e will
have to consider its length. According to the text m o d e l presented
in chapter 3 , the stanza usually consists of t w o or three strophes, of
w h i c h w e have already seen several examples. Yet, as was the case
w i t h the strophe, at either end of the range of "regular" stanzas w e
also find the extreme dimensions of one, four, and five. Just as the
strophe will occasionally consist of only o n e poetic line, or c o n
versely four or five, w e also sometimes find a stanza consisting of
just one, or as many as four or five strophes. T h e circumstances in
w h i c h this will happen are unpredictable, and such cases can b e
demonstrated only after an i n - d e p t h analysis of a p o e m . T h e p r o o f
can b e based only o n individual characteristics of the text in ques
tion. I will m e n t i o n some instances, but due to lack of space I will
n o t b e able to provide detailed proof in all cases.
We w o u l d expect a stanza coinciding w i t h a single strophe to
b e truly m o m e n t o u s . A n d such proves to b e the case. T h e type of
composition that may best serve to prove that strophe and stanza
occasionally coincide is the concentric design, shaped around an
axis of symmetry. As an example I will take the A B C X C ' B ' A ' pat
tern: a seven-member structure, the middle o n e of w h i c h does n o t
have a counterpart. This usually means that the middle part is
unique, or for a different reason constitutes a t u r n i n g point in the
composition or argument. W e find such a structure in Psalm 28
(see for the correct division in ch. 12).
A comparable situation occurs in Psalm 10, w h i c h together w i t h
Psalm 9 forms a single p o e m : a text in w h i c h the oppressed m a n
hopes for God's protection against evildoers.This long text consists
exclusively of S-strophes, except for one passage, 1 0 : 9 - 1 1 . This is
an L-strophe of seven cola, w h i c h stands out sharply from its sur
roundings. O f the other strophes, there are sixteen containing four
cola and two containing five cola. T h e o n e strophe of three verses
is different for a reason. It occupies the exact center of Psalm 10,
and refers to the very nadir in the speaker's fortunes: the m o m e n t
The Stanza
121
w h e n h e looks death in the face, since the enemy is waiting like a

lion in its lair and may j u m p out at h i m at any m o m e n t .
T h a n k s to the fact that this L-strophe is at the same time also
the middle stanza in Psalm 10, b o t h halves of the p o e m (the ten
strophes of Psalm 9 and the nine strophes of Psalm 10) are bal
anced, each containing five stanzas. A n y b o d y w h o values consis
tency will then start to look for the middle stanza in Psalm 9 and
is rewarded: the strophes comprising w . 1013 are indeed the
counterpart of the center of Psalm 10.
Psalm 48 is to my m i n d the most beautiful of all the songs about
Jerusalem. T h e p o e m contains nine strophes, forming pairs of stan
zas around the single central strophe:
stanza
II
III
IV
strophe no.
no. of cola
1-2
4 + 4
3-4
4 + 4
5
5
6-7
4 + 4
8-9
4 + 4
verse nos.
2-3b
3c-4
5-6
7-8
10-1 lb
llc-12
13-14b
14c-15
Stanza I speaks of Yahweh, " o u r G o d " and " G o d , " and shows us
M o u n t Z i o n and its citadels (in strophes 1 + 2). Stanza V speaks of
Z i o n and its citadels, and o f " G o d , " " o u r G o d " (in strophes 8 + 9),
so that w e recognize a frame. Stanza II presents hostile kings, their
fleet and their terror; o n the other side of strophe 5 there is praise
for God's loyalty, and jubilation o n the part of the allies in Judah.
N o w w h a t does the middle say exactly? T h e diagram tells the
reader to go and look in v. 9.This central strophe reveals that J e r u
salem is " t h e city of Yahweh of the armies" (in the t i m e - h o n o r e d
language of the KJV " t h e Lord G o d of hosts"), "the city of o u r
God," firmly established by G o d for all eternity.
T h u s the poet has given his design an unwavering center. T h e
proper n a m e " Y a h w e h " and the indications " G o d " and " o u r G o d "
appear again, and construct a straight bridge b e t w e e n the o p e n i n g
and the conclusion of the song. T h e senses of hearing and seeing
(v. 9ab) link the terrified watching of the kings in v. 6 to the e x u
berant vocal activities of the w o m e n in Judah, o n the other side of
the firm foundation, t h e central strophe. T h e w h o l e is defined by
prosody, as the 4 + 4 strophes o n either side of the center contain
122
four cola each, but the fifth strophe is different: it contains five cola
and is the only L-strophe, thanks to the fact that v. 9e (the last
colon) is a m o n o c o l o n . It is this m o n o c o l o n (RSV: v. 9d) that for
mulates the point by stating w h a t it is exactly that " w e " have seen
and heard.
I really cannot imagine that the design of Psalm 49 is a coinci
dence: it also has nine strophes, w i t h an extra long o n e as the c e n
ter. Its verses, 1 1 - 1 3 , are flanked by two identical series, i.e., four
strophes S-S-S-L: w . 2 - 3 / 4 - 5 / 6 - 7 / 8 - 1 0 c o m e first; w . 1 4 - 1 5 b /
15c16/1718/1921 follow after the middle.The two L-strophes
at the end of b o t h series each contain six cola, but strophe 5, the
only strophe to contain two C-cola, towers above this w i t h its
eight cola and consists of exactly seventy syllables; apart from this
central strophe, the song is strictly bicolic. This time, the center is
a low point of disillusion and exposurelet the readers j u d g e for
themselves.
M y last example of a stanza coinciding w i t h a strophe is the
famous Psalm 5 1 , another composition in nine strophes. H e r e , the
poet goes o n e step further, in the sense that the middle stanza has
the dimensions of an S-strophe! Nevertheless, this unit ( w . 1213)
is clearly recognizable as exceptional, this time because of its
exalted contents: the p u r e heart and the steadfast spirit for w h i c h
the poet asks God. Here, too, there are two pairs of strophes before
and after the center: first w . 3 - 5 / 6 a - d / 7 - 8 / 9 - l l , then 1 4 - 1 5 /
1617/1819/2021, w h i c h means 5 + 5 verses before the middle
and 4 + 4 after. A detail here is that w . 1617 are n o t a tricolon
plus bicolon, but the other way round, so that 16c moves to the
position of an A - c o l o n . T h i s arrangement of 2 + 3 cola also c o n
cludes the p o e m : strophe 9.
T h e r e are also stanzas comprising m o r e than t w o or three
strophes.Take, for instance, the luxurious center of Psalm 19, m e n
tioned earlier in this chapter. This is a quartet of quartets: four
strophes of four cola each, all c o m b i n e d into o n e stanza. A n d the
p o e m that I will n o w discuss in separate halves also works w i t h
long stanzas: Isaiah 44:2445:7.1 wish to deal w i t h each half of this
p o e m separately, but before w e begin to read the first half w e must
look m o r e closely at the background of this p o e m .
The
Stanza
123
T h e C y r u s o r a c l e : Isaiah 44:2445:7
T h e N e w Babylonianswho u n d e r Nebuchadnezzar had cap
tured Jerusalem in 586 B C E and had demolished Solomon's temple
before deporting the Judaean t o p / u p p e r classwere the last
superpower in the N e a r East to speak a Semitic language, at least
for some time. Less than half a century later they were w i p e d out.
T h e Persian conqueror Cyrus captured Babylon w i t h o u t b l o o d
shed in 538 B C E and established an empire that was to last for t w o
centuries. W i t h i n a short time, he issued an edict permitting the
exiles from Judah to return to their native land. T h e great poet
w h o witnessed this is nowadays usually called Second Isaiah
(Deutero-Isaiah, cf. chapter 4), and is the author of the texts in
Isaiah 4055. M a n y of his verses have a positive tone, as h e preaches
the consolation of the return to Judah.
W h a t the reader also should k n o w is that the division of the
Bible into chapters dates from the Middle Ages and is often w i d e
of the mark. T h e p o e m I will discuss here is a g o o d (read: glaring)
example, since Isaiah 45:1 is not the start of a n e w p o e m or c h a p
ter b u t the middle of a literary unit starting in 44:24 and ending
in 45:7. B e t w e e n its tricolic ends (44:24cde, and the entire final
strophe), this oracle of salvation is strictly bicolic, w h i c h is o n e of
the reasons why, together w i t h many exegetes before me, I have
deleted colon 26d.
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The first half of the Cyrus oracle

Isa. 44:24
Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer,

who formed you in the womb,
It is I,Yahweh, who make everything,
who alone stretch out the heavens,
and unaided spread out the earth;
strophe 1
25
strophe 2
26
26c
e
27
28
who turns sages back

and makes nonsense of their knowledge;
who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the prediction of his
messengers;
who says in favor ofJerusalem: "Let it be
inhabited,
and I will raise up its ruins,"
who says to the deep: "Be dry,
I will dry up your floods;
who says to Cyrus:"My shepherd!"
he shall fulfill all my purposes,
He shall say ofJerusalem: "She shall
be rebuilt,"
and to the temple: "You shall be
founded again."
strophe 3
T h e p o e m opens w i t h a variation of the formula used by biblical

writers to introduce a speaker. This variant is characteristic of the
prophets and is k n o w n as the "messenger formula." Its significance
is considerable: the speaker w h o is handing over the floor, i.e., the
p r o p h e t w h o speaks only the first verse, uses it to indicate that the
p r o p h e t is only a messenger from G o d and that the words that fol
low have the status of a direct quote. T h u s , the words spoken by
an oracle do not originate in the brain of a man w h o proclaims
himself to be an ethical genius, and w h o has just thought t h e m up;
they are the exact words of G o d himself, and any " I " in this text
refers to the true author: G o d . This in any case is w h a t the writer
pretends; just like a narrator does, the p o e t t h e true creator of the
textestablishes a fictional world, in w h i c h the claim "this is
The Stanza
125
God's w o r d " is valid w i t h i n the boundaries of the lyrical world

evoked.
Deutero-Isaiah is a virtuoso in the field of "extension." In his
texts, w e find a great many appositions, adjectival adjuncts, and
various forms of synonymy. In his very first verse, he cannot resist
expanding the messenger formula by t w o appositions that are still
his o w n words. T h e " y o u r " betrays his o w n contribution, and
straightaway creates an audience. T h e exiles are immediately r e p
resented in the text thanks to this possessive p r o n o u n , and its sin
gular form suggests that the p o e t condenses this group to
" J a c o b " t h e individual and at the same time the people w h o s e
n a m e will emerge further d o w n in the p o e m , in 45:4.
T h e p o e t qualifies G o d straightaway as the " R e d e e m e r , " i.e., h e
w h o frees his people from slavery. T h e w o r d is reminiscent of
the birth of the people of Israel, coinciding w i t h the slave labor in
the Nile delta and their departure from the "slave camp of Egypt."
T h e Exodus is the e m b l e m of Yahweh's having redeemed the
people h e has chosen. By using the w o r d " R e d e e m e r , " the p o e t
directly joins in his audience's emotions and the outstanding fact
in their present reality: they have b e e n set free by the n e w power.
N e x t , Second Isaiah links this salvific fact to another beginning.
H e confronts his hearers with their own, physical beginnings, and
points out that they grew in their mother's w o m b due to Yahweh's
creative power. Finally, after having raised all these issues in one
poetic line, he devotes his second line (24cde) to an even more fun
damental beginning: G o d is the creator of the world itself, and
straightaway it is stated clearly that n o b o d y else was involveda fact
anticipating the poet's theme, which h e will gradually and irresistibly
unfold in the second half. Meanwhile, the language has shifted to
the first person: G o d is allowed to present his all-encompassing cre
ation himself, and from the second verse onwards is granted the
p r o n o u n "I." O n l y at the end of v. 24b, then, can we p u t a colon
(:). After it, the first person reigns supreme in this oracle, through
to the very last verset.
T h e first stanza consists of a beautiful, ascending series of 2 + 3
+ 4 verses. T h e devices by w h i c h the p o e t keeps this part of the
text together are powerful and striking.To m e n t i o n four: sentence
structure, anaphora*, inclusio, and keywords. Syntax here shapes a
126
spectacular coup d'tat o n God's part, since the entire stanza boils
d o w n to: I am the only o n e w h o works x, y, and z, for better or for
w o r s e . T h e first strophe refers to " b e g i n n i n g " three times, and thus
itself becomes the foundation of the literary structure. T h e second
strophe employs a sort of plus/minus pattern by ridiculing the
clergy outside Israel d u r i n g four cola and then devoting t w o cola
to a positive counterpart: the messengers from G o d himself, p o s
sibly his prophets. Strophe 2 opens a long string of forms that lend
an anaphoric character to the verses u p to 4 5 : 1 : in the original
Hebrew, the lines start w i t h participles, and the translation reflects
this long enumeration of qualities by a series of (adjectival)
adjuncts starting w i t h " w h o . "
T h e w h o l e of 4 4 : 2 4 - 2 8 is marked by inclusio.The text appar
ently started w i t h the clich of the messenger formula, but things
are seldom w h a t they seem. We have seen that the added phrases
about redeeming and forming were the poet's o w n , so that t h e for
mula acquires an unusual application. T h e conclusion of the
stanza, however, shows something that is even m o r e important and
refers back to the beginning. It draws our attention again, and in
even m o r e original fashion, to God's speech. F u r t h e r m o r e , God's
words are n o w directed very specifically at the lived reality of the
Judaeans. They, of course, have to cross a great river and trek
t h r o u g h the desert for days o n end before they reach h o m e , w h e r e
a depressing sight awaits them: the ruins of the capital and the
temple. Consequently, it is positively mind-boggling for D e u t e r o Isaiah's audience to hear that G o d is giving the responsibility for
the reconstruction to the Persian ruler Cyrus. T h e y cannot believe
their ears and d e m a n d another explanation. T h e y are getting one;
it is the second half of the p o e m .
Two keywords also contribute to the cohesion of the first
stanza. First, there is the verb " t o fulfill" ( w . 26b and 28b) linking
the second and the third strophe. It creates a parallel b e t w e e n the
w o r d of God's servant and the God-pleasing work of Cyrus, a par
allel that to a true Judaean, i.e., somebody w h o seesYahweh as the
only God, must appear unseemly: too m u c h h o n o r for a heathen
potentate. This Judaean listener demands a m o r e detailed explana
tion from the poet, and does n o t k n o w yet h o w soon this will
c o m e ; his ears will b u r n by the time w e get to 4 5 : 1 . T h e w o r d
The Stanza
127
"fulfill" is from the H e b r e w root sh-l-m, w h i c h will b e somewhat

familiar to us, as it is also the basis of the w o r d shalom (which will
appear in 45:7!) and of the second half of the n a m e Jeru-shalayim.
T h e root is used in a wordplay: the double "fulfill" is in league w i t h
the n a m e of the capital, used twice, and in this way the poet sug
gests that the fulfillment of God's will w o u l d first of all b e the
rebuilding of the city and the temple. H e reinforces this by another
keyword, "raise up," w h i c h in v. 26a rhymes w i t h "fulfill" (with
w h i c h it forms a word pair), and w h i c h literally becomes active in
the next strophe (26e): raising ruins. We conclude that "fulfill"
(make w h o l e = shalem) coincides with " p u t upright," and that in
all cases Jerusalem is the beneficiary.
Strophe 3 started all of its four verses w i t h "say." As a literary fig
ure, this "four" may be rephrased as 3 + 1 . T h e form " w h o says" is
part of the long enumeration in w h i c h G o d is all the time the
powerful subject of adjectival adjuncts, and is given to G o d three
times: in w . 26c, 27a, and 28a. N e x t , however, there is a surprise:
the fourth time w e c o m e across "saying," in 28c, it is an infinitive,
w h i c h moreover gets another subject: the mortal Cyrus! Again, the
Judaean listener raises an eyebrow: Is it n o t too m u c h h o n o r for
such a heathen ruler to have his c o m m a n d placed o n a par w i t h
the w o r d of God?
T h e shock and astonishment of the Judaean audience increase
only w h e n they hear the second half of the p o e m , especially its
beginning:
128
Stanza II
Isa. 45:1
3a
b
Thus says Yahweh to his Anointed,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I have gras]iped
to trample nations before him,
ungirding the loins of kings,
to open doors before him,
gates will not stay shut:
I myself will march before you
and level the ring-walls,
I will shatter doors of bronze
and cut down iron bars;
I will give you the treasures of the dark
and the riches from secret hoards.
strophe 4
strophe 5
3c
d
4
So that you may know that I amYahweh,

who calls you by name, the God of Israel,
for the sake of my servant Jacob
strophe 6
and Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
I hail you by title, though you did not know me.
I amYahweh and there is no one else,

beside me, there is no God:
I engird you, though you did not know me, strophe 7
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and where it sets, that there is none but me:
I amYahweh and there is no one else,
I, who form light and create darkness,
who make happiness and create evil,
I,Yahweh, make all these things!
T h e poet makes a n e w start in 45:1 by again using the messenger

formula. H e surpasses himself this time by using the actual formula
(v. la) like a rack o n which to hang a large n u m b e r of cola (like as
many coats), so that o n e formula n o w governs three subclauses.The
master of expansion manages to produce one gigantic period, w i t h
out the separate parts losing any of their clarity and power. T h e
reader is always able to replace each colon by an independent clause.
In v. l b there is an adjectival clause, followed by a chain of
clauses (partly final) describing four actions, all clarifying w h a t it
means w h e n G o d grasps your hand as king: the world is all yours.
The Stanza
129
To o u r imaginary Judaean listener, the o p e n i n g means a great

shock: G o d proclaims the Persian his "anointed." This means that
h e receives the official and sacred title of " K i n g " from the hands
of G o d himself-the sacred title that until n o w had b e e n exclu
sively reserved for the king of Israel! This is outrageous t e r m i n o l
ogy, and a break with such rusty religious convictions as: only w e
have b e e n chosen by G o d , the office of king is only sacred w h e n
an Israelite holds it, and so on.
Strophes 4 and 5 together make up an image by means o f w h i c h
the poet makes Cyrus's great campaign digestible to his audience
and makes it fit his o w n rhetorical purposes. W h a t are these p u r
poses? H e has created strophes 6 and 7 to tell us that. Strophe 4 is
still " o n l y " an introduction to God's real message to Cyrus, and
although the sentence goes on and on w e finally reach a colon (:)
after v. If. N o t until strophe 5 do w e hear G o d speak in the first
person to Cyrus personally. This is an escalation compared w i t h
strophe 3 , w h e n G o d talked to his messenger (the prophet h i m
self) about Cyrus.
W h e n you entered a battlefield in antiquity, you hoisted up
your long tunic w i t h your belt in order to b e able to move and
fight freely. T h e loins that in 4 5 : l d are " u n g i r d e d " indicate that
" t h e e n e m y " t h e kings confronted w i t h the fervor of the c o n
queror Cyrushas b e e n overpowered and can n o longer offer any
resistance. T h e events that in actual time preceded this ungirding
are in the text presented later, w h e n G o d reveals to Cyrus the
divine reality b e h i n d the scenes of politics and world history. In
v. 5c the exact opposite, "engirding," is used as a favorable state
m e n t about Cyrus: G o d himself puts his belt o n him. We as read
ers can, of course, reconstruct that this happened at the start of the
vast campaign in w h i c h Cyrus established the Persian empire.
After five strophes of preparation, already glittering w i t h poetic
brilliance, the point is finally presented in strophes 67. This is a
revelation offered by G o d himself, and m e a n t for Cyrus personally.
G o d explains to the king that his power and victories
however vast and numerous they areare nevertheless mere c o u n
ters in a far greater plan, and that God's handling of world history
has been motivated by his connection with that tiny people from
Palestine, almost beneath the conqueror's notice. Cyrus hears that
130
h e is only a p a w n o n the chessboard of the only true G o d . His

existence only serves God's care for "Jacob." To this end, h e is called
"by his n a m e " a n expression that means that G o d created h i m
and gave h i m his identity.
T h e actual message of the Cyrus oracle is presented by strophes
67, and the keyword there is " k n o w i n g " in b o t h senses of the
word. Small w o n d e r that this verb is placed strategically and that
its semantic field acquires weight and structure by a striking
contrast:
v. 3c
so that you may know
that I amYahweh
v.4d
you did not know me
v. 5c
you did not know me
v. 6a
so that they may know
that I amYahweh
T h e structure is chiastic.We notice oppositions of p l u s / m i n u s , of

past and present, and of Cyrus and his subjectsthe " t h e y " in
v. 6a may even be so broad as to mean " h u m a n k i n d . " These four
sentences about k n o w i n g / n o t k n o w i n g have been very cleverly
positioned. Two of t h e m provide a frame for strophe 6, firmly
demarcating this unit; the other t w o adjoin each other in strophe
7 and expand the target of God's revelation, the group around
Cyrus, to include the full extent of the creation: from East to West,
the merism says. T h u s , the first pair has b e e n driven apart to the
edges of its strophe, whereas the m e m b e r s of the second pair have
b e e n pulled together by an opposing, centripetal force, and as a
y e s / n o d u o almost clash: v. 5c and v. 6a t o u c h each other o n the
linear axis, being adjacent cola, or o n the temporal scale.
T h e inclusio of strophe 6, incidentally, includes m o r e elements:
the aspect of knowledge is twice accompanied by "calling you by
name."As a result, cola 3cd and cola 4cd form an A B - B ' A ' pattern,
and this chiasm has b e c o m e the demarcation and the strong frame
for the strophe. T h e question that remains is w h a t is inside the
frame; answer: the heart of this unit. These are cola 4ab and, as the
spearhead of the message, are far m o r e important than their frame.
Cyrus is here told w h o , according to the speaker, are the center of
history: the chosen people. T h e secret of the king's history lesson
The Stanza
131
is the t w o proper names constituting the hard core of the strophe.

T h u s , " C y r u s , m y shepherd" (44:28a) is surpassed by "Israel, m y
chosen o n e " (45:4b).
T h e concluding verses form a rare 3 x 3 design: this massive,
fully tricolic L-strophe is the climax of the message to Cyrus. It
has just b e e n explained to h i m that his political lot was d e t e r m i n e d
by the G o d of Israel, but this having b e e n established, the speaker
focuses his words o n . . . himself. T h e zenith of the revelation is a
self-revelation. This seventh strophe has significant expressions in
c o m m o n w i t h the first, so that a border for the p o e m as a w h o l e
has b e e n created. T h e message conveyed by this inclusion might
be summarized in (NewTestament) Greek as: G o d is the alpha and
the omega of history. In Hebrew, however, this is expressed by
means of other polarities: from East to West; light and dark, as
obvious reminiscences of Genesis 1; good and evil, as having b e e n
equally created by G o d . In v. 7b, shalom (peace, prosperity) and
"evil" are opposed: I assume that for the prophet's audience they
first and foremost refer, respectively, to the liberation and the n e w
future in the promised land, and to war and exile, the t w o generation period that began w i t h the destruction of Jerusalem
and w h i c h now, thank G o d , is over.
Let us look back once m o r e and trace the main outline of the
composition. T h e very first verse, the citation formula in 24ab,
proves an advance o n the messenger formula in 4 5 : 1 , w h i c h has
been expanded to n o fewer than six cola; it is truly an advance, as
the actual speech to Cyrus does n o t start until 45:2. Stanza I w i t h
its three strophes is a long r u n - u p , in w h i c h the speaker addresses
the Israelites w i t h an enumeration of his o w n qualities, perfections
that make up the foundation and the springboard for his revela
tion to C y r u s . T h e second half starts off by changing the addressee,
and after the colon (:) that ended strophe 4 uses the first person
throughout. T h e conclusion, then, of m y exploration is that this
seven-strophe p o e m exhibits a balanced construction of 3 + 1 +
3 units. T h e L-strophe 45:1 is the pivot around w h i c h the t w o
threesomes revolve:
strophes 13
address Israel
about "Cyrus, my shepherd"
strophes 57
address Cyrus
about "Jacob, my servant"
132
T h e different addressees and different subject matter t u r n out to

form an extensive chiasm, a design that at this level serves as a neat
expression of mutual c o m m i t m e n t .
A n a n t i - h y m n o n W i s d o m : J o b 28
T h e r e is o n e stanza in the entire collection of Psalms that contains
as many as five strophes: the awesome theophany of Psalm 18 (as
w e have seen in chapter 3). T h e tight A B X B ' A ' design of strophes
48 ( w . 8-16) proves that they really constituted a single textual
unit o n e level higher up. T h e poet w h o wrote the b o o k of J o b
sticks to the text model, so that his stanzas almost always contain
either t w o or three strophes. Still, in his p o e t r y there is also o n e
p o e m containing a stanza of five strophes. This is the song about
W i s d o m a n anti-hymn rather than a h y m n w h i c h takes u p
chapter 28 and occupies a central position in Job's very long, last
speech in the discussion with his three friends (Job 2631, five
poems). Here, J o b offers a razor-sharp and disillusioning view of
the relations b e t w e e n G o d , man, and the worlda structure of
separate circuits, as w e shall see.
T h e p o e m consists of three parts, since verses 12 and 20, w h i c h
are almost identical, serve as refrains and by their positions sepa
rate the stanzas. T h e y raise an interesting question for us: D o they
introduce parts II and III, or do they conclude parts I and II? This
is the subject of considerable bickering a m o n g scholars. T h e first
stanza, the most colorful picture of m i n i n g the Bible has to offer,
is as follows:
Stanza I:Job
28:1-11
strophe
verse
1
2
There is a mine where silver comes to light,

and a place where gold is refined;
iron is taken out of the earth,
and copper melted from rock.
The Stanza
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
133
Man sets bounds for darkness,

to every limit he probes
to rocks in deepest darkness.
Man opens up a shaft far from where people live,
forgotten by travelers they dangle,
far from the inhabited world they hang.
The earthfrom her, bread appears,

below her, there is churning as of fire.
Its rocks are a source of sapphires,
and there is gold dust.
The path that leads to itno bird of prey knows it,

the vulture's eye does not see it.
The proud beasts have not reached it,
and the lion has not crossed it.
Man sets his hand against the flinty rock,

and overturns mountains by the roots.
He carves out channels through rock,
and his eye beholds every precious thing.
He dams up the sources of the streams,
and brings what is hidden to light.
Let m e begin m y discussion by pointing out a peculiarity of the

original text. In w . l b , 3 - 4 b , and 9 - 1 1 the H e b r e w has only a ver
bal predicate, in the third-person masculine singular, by w h i c h I
m e a n that the subject has n o t b e e n indicated by a w o r d of its o w n ;
consequently, those lines do not contain the word " m a n " w h i c h
has b e e n used here in the translation. T h e r e are g o o d reasons for
this.
In the R S V or JPS translations, the verses are given w i t h o u t
breaks in the form of w h i t e space, so that o u r first task is to b r i n g
some order to this continuous chain: an articulation in strophes.
As is often the case, here, too, the distribution of characters is a
g o o d instrument to clear up matters. We see straightaway that w .
78 have b e e n reserved for the animals, neatly divided b e t w e e n a
few cola for the birds and a few cola for the beasts of prey o n the
ground. Furthermore, their cola b e c o m e a close-knit quartet by
the p o w e r of the repeated negation.
134
Well, surely the remaining verses are about humankind? Yes and
no. Strophe 1 is strictly c o n c e r n e d w i t h precious metals and g e m stones, and deals w i t h their location and the action (melting) by
w h i c h they are m i n e d from ore. In the H e b r e w text there is n o
m e n t i o n of "man," even t h o u g h he does the searching and m e l t
ing. All verbs are in the singular. Strophe 2 stands out straightaway
by being the only tricolic unit, and after four cola presents the first
plural forms. Nevertheless, in the original text " m a n " is still n o t
m e n t i o n e d explicitly as the subject. At the end of the strophe w e
do hear about civilization/the inhabitants of the world, but only
because it is/they are so far away . . . Society is definitely n o t a w i t
ness to the incessant toil below the ground. We will leave the ques
tion w h y h u m a n k i n d is not allowed any r o o m in the H e b r e w for
a m o m e n t i t might be a deliberate ellipsis. F u r t h e r m o r e , strophe
2 avoids all m e n t i o n of metal or gems, and this aspect also c o n
tributes to the correct demarcation of the strophes.
Verse 3 turns o n the contrast between darkness and ceaseless
searching; verse 4 contains a clever transformation of the darkness
by m e n t i o n i n g oblivion three times. M a n seems to b e an indefati
gable researcher w h o is always successful. Man's investigations
(strophe 2) are contrasted with the inability to see o n the part of
the animals (strophe 4).There is n o place in this p o e m for the D a r
winist view that m a n is little m o r e than a glorified monkey.
In strophe 3 , nature is firmly taken in hand by culture, if man's
ambitious bustle may be called that. This goes so far that v. 5a skips
a few steps. Bread appears from the earth, but there is n o m e n t i o n
of a farmer, crop, mill, or baker. These omissions may have b e e n
intended to suggest the h o t eagerness, the ambition and the rush
of m a n as an engineer. Verses 5 and 6 balance each other as they
take as their subjects the earth and its coveted minerals, respec
tively. This makes t h e m the counterpart of strophe 1.
Passing over the animals, w e e n c o u n t e r the first L-strophe in w .
911. Its length already suggests that this is the climax of the first
part. Its keywords are " e y e " and "light," "precious" and " b r i n g i n g
up." Strophes 1 and 3 have also m e n t i o n e d " b r i n g i n g to light,"
w h i c h is the purpose of the searching and churning: the minerals
that are found have a high market value. Meanwhile, the poet p e r
sists in his avoidance tactics; even now, the original text here does
The Stanza
135
n o t contain a word that exactly pinpoints the subject responsible

for the hacking and rooting around. O u r suspicions of an ellipsis
are b e c o m i n g stronger.
Strophes 1-5 all have a clear-cut direction: their subject matter
has b e e n distributed very precisely, and they are distinguished from
each other by contrasts. T h e darkness deep inside the earth and the
sharp gaze of the animals (which does not detect the valuables
being sought at all) are contrasted w i t h the effective searching and
discovering o n the part of man. T h e stanza acquires its cohesion
from a tight A B A ' B ' A " pattern ordering the strophes. T h e key
w o r d " c o m e / b r i n g to light" is a significant factor in the c o r r e
spondence A - A ' - A . " N o w o n d e r that it also provides a frame, since
it occurs in the first and last lines.
Having dug u p all this gold and silver, w e n o w take it to market
to see w h e t h e r it will b u y us some wisdom. M o n e y buys every
thing, does it not?
Stanza II: Job
verse
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
28:12-19
But where can wisdom be found,

and where is the source of understanding?
N o man can set a value on it,
it cannot be found in the land of the living.
The deep says: "It is not in me";
and the sea says: "I do not have it."
strophe
6
It cannot be bartered for pure gold,

7
and silver cannot be measured out as its price.
the finest gold from Ophir cannot be weighed against it,
nor precious onyx, nor sapphire.
Gold or glass cannot match its value,
nor vessels of refined gold be exchanged for it.
Coral and crystal cannot be mentioned with it,
but a flicker of wisdom is better than rubies.
Topaz from Nubia cannot match its value,
pure gold cannot be weighed against it.
R e p e t i t i o n and variation make the b e g i n n i n g of this stanza r u n

parallel to that of the first stanza. Again, attention is given to
136
sources, and again there is reference to a precious " m i n e r a l " a n

interesting transition to figurative speech. T h e language, h o w
ever, n o w takes t h e f o r m of a question (v. 12), w h i c h may i n d i
cate that the vast self-confidence of the clever researchers has its
limits after all.
I do not need to explain the t h e m e of this stanza: the punters
have c o m e d o w n to earth w i t h a shock, in spite of all the gold and
silver they have brought. Strophes 7 and 8 are closely linked
because of their e c o n o m i c terminology, and because here in par
ticular the poet employs such richly varied vocabulary. Strophe 6
belongs here for t w o reasons: the " i t " that appears in verse after
verse in w . 1 5 - 1 9 always refers back to "wisdom," so that strophe
6 carries an important antecedent governing the entire stanza. T h e
second link is provided by a keyword: the word "value," n o t to
m e n t i o n the various synonyms for it, occurs in v. 13a, but also in
w . 17a and 19a.
Strophe 6 offers surprises in all of its three verses. After the
rhetorical question that introduces a n e w character, W i s d o m ,
" m a n " finally appears in the H e b r e w text in v. 13.The singular also
indicates the collective: w e are talking about the w h o l e of m a n
kind. T h e cola have b e e n arranged in a chiastic design: the people
circle around W i s d o m as flies around honey. T h e "A, what's more,
B " rule of t h u m b is also active here. In the H e b r e w text, top and
b o t t o m of the verse contain masculine forms; in the middle are
t w o feminine singulars. T h e omission of " m a n " in the first stanza
of the original text proves to have b e e n n o coincidence. This ellip
sis stops in stanza II, and the gap is filled in at the m o m e n t w h e n
the many negations threaten to annihilate "man."
Finally, verse 14 is very dynamic by having its half-verses filled
w i t h 2 + 2 clauses that introduce yet m o r e n e w characters, and
even give t h e m the floor. T h e y are allowed in their e m b e d d e d
speech to tell us of their impotence. A nice touch of irony, as they
consider themselves to b e impressive personalities: they are the
mythical characters of T e h o m (primeval flood) and Yam (sea), fig
ures w h i c h for centuries have had divine status in Canaan.
T h e entire stanza is d e t e r m i n e d by an omnipresent " n o . " T h e
negation occurs 4 + 7 + 3 times in these three strophes (eleven
times in the original H e b r e w ) . M a n , w h o sought and found in the
The Stanza
137
heart of the mountain, or deep u n d e r ground, is rendered p o w e r

less in the marketplace and is n o t making m u c h progress in his
quest for wisdom. C a n n o t h i n g be done?
Stanza III:Job
verse
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
28:20-28
But wisdomfrom where does it come,

and where is the source of understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
concealed from the fowl of heaven.
Corruption and death say:
"We only have a report of it."
God understands the way to it,
and it is he who knows its source.
For he sees to the end of the earth,
observes all that is beneath the heavens
while he fixes the power of the wind,
and sets the measure of the waters.
When he made a rule for the rain
and a course for the thunderstorms,
then he saw it and gauged it,
he put it in its place and probed it.
(But about man, he said:)
See, fear of the Lordthat is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.
strophe
9
10
11
Strophe 9 is an exact parallel of strophe 6. N o t only does v. 20 say

the same as v. 12, but "all living" and the adjective " h i d d e n " in
v. 21 are the counterparts to "the land of the living" and the nega
tions in v. 13. F u r t h e r m o r e , v. 22 is a clever adaptation of v. 14.
T h e r e , w e had an A B / / A B pattern neatly distributing two speak
ers and their speeches over two half-verses; here w e have an AA +
BB. Again, these are t w o prestigious mythical characters, and they,
too, have to admit to having n o firsthand knowledge.
T h e poet cleverly exploits the difference b e t w e e n hearing and
seeing; these senses are m e n t i o n e d here and in the conclusion
drawn by the hero at the end of the b o o k (42:5), and indicate
the contrast between really k n o w i n g something oneself, and the
138
unreliability and vagueness of r u m o r s . In the H e b r e w original, v.

22b literally says: " w i t h o u r ears w e have heard a r u m o r about it."
T h u s , these ears contrast w i t h the eyes of v. 2 1 . T h e birds of v. 21
r e m i n d us of their sharp gaze and the negation accompanying it
in v. 7, and "heaven" (the sky that is their element) has n o w
b e c o m e a c o m p l e m e n t of " t h e land" in v. 13b.
Strophes 10 and 11 also have three lines each. For the third time,
the middle lines ( w . 24 and 27) are about "seeing," but this time
in a positive sense.This is because a n e w character has b e e n i n t r o
duced: the only o n e w h o is really able to see clearly, and gauge cor
rectly, in heaven and o n earthas it was put so beautifully in Psalm
113 (see chapter 2). A n d there is always an "it," in v. 2 3 still refer
ring to W i s d o m . Just as w . 12 and 20 did, this line speaks of the
places w h e r e W i s d o m is found, and also has the synonym " u n d e r
standing" (this time as a verb). So . . . W i s d o m has finally b e e n
found, and was even found at the beginning of time, strophe 11
adds. B u t it is accessible to only o n e person, G o d .
W i t h their positive statements, the verses of the last t w o stro
phes put an end to the negations that have dominated the field
since v. 12. These six verses have been arranged in an A B C - C ' B ' A '
pattern. T h e w i s d o m and understanding that in v. 28 are finally
described in positive terms are chiastically the mirror image of
v. 23ab, and thus create the correspondence A - A ' . T h e synonymy
of w . 24 and 27 is crystal clear: correspondence B - B ' . T h e same
holds for the C - C ' m e m b e r s in 2526, w h e r e the Creator is orga
nizing the weather. Verse 27 states of G o d that h e measures and
gauges, and truly probes the object; he fathoms wisdom. A deli
cate choice of words, as in strophe 2 w e also read about deep p r o b
i n g b u t w h a t was sought so eagerly has n o w amply surpassed, if
m a d e downright shameful.
T h e ending is rather special. To the question w h e r e m a n may
n o w acquire full wisdom, the answer still turns out to be: n o w h e r e .
H e will have to b e content w i t h a simple maxim, w h i c h never
theless carries considerable weight; it is the w o r d of G o d , w h o in
v. 28 is introduced as a speaking character by the poet, and thus
takes his place after D e a t h and the Primeval Flood (a h u m o r o u s
change, again in the final verse of a strophe!). T h e parallelism of
the half-verses ensures that the terms define each other. W h a t is
The Stanza
139
" t h e fear of the Lord," or, to put it in less old-fashioned terms,

"respect for Yahweh"? T h e answer is practical: refrain from d o i n g
evil. Practicing everyday ethics is difficult enough, and it is enough.
Scholars seem unable to agree o n w h e t h e r the refrain verses 12
and 20 begin or conclude stanzas. T h e application of a clear and
u n e n c u m b e r e d poetics, however, quickly solves this problem.
T h e r e are at least five reasons w h y these t w o verses should b e
regarded as o p e n i n g n e w stanzas:
The text model indicates that it is highly unlikely

that v. 12 belongs in the fifth strophe, as this unit
would then have four poetic lines, which is usually
too many.
Verses 111 are exclusively occupied with mining; it
is improbable that the poet would have awkwardly
slipped in an essentially different entity at the end.
If placed at the end of stanza I, the rhetorical question
of v. 12 would lack all rhyme or reason.
The word "wisdom" in v. 12 is the antecedent of a long
chain of the pronoun "it." If we placed v. 12 in stanza
I, the constant referring back to this antecedent (not
only the beginning of the chain, but also of a new level
of argument and reflection) would cross the stanza
boundary, which is unattractive.
The one factor that supplies the decisive counter
argument comes from structural analysis. Strophes 6
and 9, which both begin with a question about the
source of wisdom, are L-strophes whose trios of poetic
lines have been precisely aligned with the trios at the
end, constituting the L-strophes 10 and 11; in other
words, with that part of the text which, after many
negations, speaks favorably of God as an alternative,
and provides the solution to the problem.
J o b has here presented a sound and well-constructed argument.

This becomes evident w h e n I give the various factors their proper
places in a diagram:
sharp eyesight
animals
people
God
yes
yes
yes
knowledge
no
yes
yes
wisdom
no
no
yes
140
It w o u l d seem that the p o e t is something of a systematic philoso

pher. N o t only has h e analyzed this system of almost completely
separate circuits, b u t h e also has managed to give it an effective
poetic shape by employing three stanzas that cover the labels for
b o t h the columns and the rows of the diagram.
In the discussions of stanzas from Deutero-Isaiah and Job, I have
tried to demonstrate the importance of demarcating these higher
textual units, and the dangers of marking the w r o n g boundaries.
T h e s e contours may b e essential to the argument, and may thus b e
crucial to a correct and well-founded understanding o n the part
of the reader.
The p o e m as a whole
W e have looked at the smaller textual unitscola and versesand

have examined the larger entities of strophe and stanza. W e n o w
therefore find ourselves o n the threshold of the p o e m as a w h o l e .
T h e questions that n o w arise, from the perspective of the maker
of the p o e m , are:What is it that makes a text into a whole, and h o w
does the p o e t control this? T h e questions that must b e answered
from the perspective of the reader are: H o w do w e recognize a
whole? A n d w h i c h rules govern o u r interaction w i t h it?
In the twentieth century a growing n u m b e r of novelists, play
wrights, and poets n o longer have felt any n e e d to create texts w i t h
a definite, finished form. T h e y consider all rounding-off artificial
or t o o slick, n o longer realistic, or too dull. Consequently, it has
b e c o m e a n o r m a l thing for us, w h e n watching a play or film o n
television or in the theater, to ask our companions w h e t h e r this
story has "an o p e n ending."
A b a n d o n i n g or u n d e r m i n i n g "finished" forms is still a recent
p h e n o m e n o n . It does n o t occur in the larger part of the tradi
t i o n t h e literary c a n o n a n d is even completely foreign to texts
from antiquity. A text was t h o u g h t to deserve w h a t in literary
t h e o r y is called closure (French cloture).The question that will exer
cise us in this chapter is h o w closure is employed in the biblical
p o e m , i.e., h o w the text has b e c o m e a well-rounded w h o l e . I will
m e n t i o n the most important devices at the disposal of the H e b r e w
poets and will illustrate t h e m w i t h exampleswithout, however,
trying to provide an exhaustive overview. I think it will be e n o u g h
to make the readers aware of the issue, so that they can find their
o w n way and are alerted to the delicate function of first and last
lines w h e n perusing a p o e m as a separate entity.
T h e beginning and end of a text indeed require a delicate
142
touch. We realize this w i t h a shock the m o m e n t w e ourselves,

a r m e d w i t h a p e n and a blank sheet of paper, sit d o w n to w r i t e a
story or p o e m . T h e H e b r e w poet has trodden this path before us,
and has lavished a lot of attention o n the boundaries of the w h o l e .
P s a l m 8: b e g i n n i n g a n d e n d are i d e n t i c a l
T h e most far-reaching o p t i o n for marking off an entity is to e n d
it in exactly the same way as it started.This p h e n o m e n o n is rare in
the Bible; I myself k n o w of o n e clear example, Psalm 8. This is a
song consisting of ten two-part verses, w h i c h opens and closes
w i t h o n e line of (in the original language) 2 + 6 words that already
reveal m u c h of the t o n e and direction of the w h o l e : " O Yahweh,
our Lord, / h o w majestic is your n a m e t h r o u g h o u t the e a r t h ! " T h e
center of the p o e m is a classic text of biblical anthropology:
Ps. 8:5
6
What is man that you have been mindful of him,

mortal man that you have taken note of him?
Yet, you have made him little less than divine
and adorned him with honor and glory.
These are positive words, w h i c h might b e a bit t o o m u c h of a g o o d

thing for some m o d e r n readers; they may prefer to listen to the
gloomier tones of Psalm 144:34, w h e r e w e read:
Ps. 144:34 Yahweh, what is man that you should care about him,
mortal man, that you should think of him?
Man is like a breath,
his days are like a passing shadow.
This seems the reverse side of the coin, and w e may also include
J o b 7:1718 in this series. R e t u r n i n g to Psalm 8, w e see that the
p o e m is marked by a repeated verse, w h i c h is a refrain and at the
same time an envelope, as it provides an inclusio. T h e sequel to
v. 2 has for centuries caused confusion, and in the JPS version still
reads:
Ps. 8:2c
3
You who have covered the heavens with your splendor.

From the mouths of infants and sucklings
You have founded strength, on account of your foes,
to put an end to enemy and avenger.
The Poem as a Whole
143
F o u n d i n g strength from the m o u t h s of infants? This utter n o n

sense, w h i c h has driven many a churchgoer to despair, is simply
the result of inadequate analysis. Translators have n o t paid suffi
cient attention to parallelismus m e m b r o r u m and the details w h i c h
constitute this parallelism. C o m p e t e n t readers notice that
(a) In w . 2c and 3b there are two abstract nouns (splen
dor, strength) that are positive and honor God. In the
original Hebrew both consist of only one syllable,
with the same long vowel -o-, a phonetic aspect which
suggests a connection.
(b) There is an effective opposition between "mouth" and
"silence" (as NIV has in 3c).
(c) "Infants and sucklings" apparently form a word pair
within the colon, and are probably meant to be the
opposite of the other word pair "enemy and avenger"
(also intra-colon).
(d) The three categories of enemies in v. 3bc are elimi
nated by the two actions of God's (founding, silencing).
T h e w o r d "covered" in v. 2c is n o m o r e than a translator's educated
guess. T h e H e b r e w scholar need only change o n e vowel sign of
this w o r d for all the pieces to fall into placea charge that is s u p
p o r t e d also by the arguments u n d e r (a), (b), (c), and (d):
Ps. 8:2
3a
b
c
OYahweh, our Lord,

how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
Your glory is chanted above the heavens
by the mouths of infants and sucklings;
You have founded strength, on account of your foes,
to silence enemy and avenger.
From the traditional verse n u m b e r i n g , especially the position of

3a, w e conclude that already the rabbis were confused; they linked
the adjunct in v. 3a to its sequel, instead of to the preceding v. 2c.
T h e correct renderingalready found in the R S V , albeit w i t h a
different wording and an unfortunate division into colashows
that w . 2c + 3a form a bicolon continuing the positive t o n e of the
refrain 2ab, and that the bicolon 3bc is an antithetical sequel. T h e
treatment of "narrated" time is interesting: chanting God's majesty
is, of course, only possible after, and as long as, the opposition is
kept u n d e r c o n t r o l .
1
144
Psalm 8 is a composition of four S-strophes inside the envelope.

I cannot resist showing its numerical perfection by giving a dia
gram of the exact dimensions of the original (Hebrew) text:
strophe no.
verse nos.
size
cola
syllables
1
2ab
S2
15
2
2c-3c
S
4
39
3
4-5
S
4
41
4
6-7
S
4
40
5
8-9
S
4
30
6
10
S2
15
T h e envelope contains 15 + 15 = 30 syllables, exacdy the same

n u m b e r as strophe 5. Strophes 2-3-4 clearly have the round figure
40 as their n o r m . T h e p o e m has 180 syllables in all, and if w e divide
this by 20, the total n u m b e r of cola, w e obtain an exact 9 as the aver
age n u m b e r of syllables per colon. This 9 is the normative figure that
at the same time is the ceiling of the Psalter: there are a dozen psalms
scoring this exact 9, and n o n e with an average exceeding it.
Other closure devices

Poets can also wrap u p their w o r k by using a frame that offers a
slight variation o n the idea of identical beginning and end: Psalm
103 starts w i t h a strophe that says "Bless m y soul,Yahweh" in t w o
consecutive A-cola.The final strophe, w . 2 0 - 2 2 , addresses the same
exhortation, three of t h e m this time, to the inhabitants of heaven,
and in v. 22c concludes by exactly copying v. 2a.
Psalm 18, the long Song of Thanksgiving by the firmly estab
lished King David, starts with o n e long strophe of praise; David
calls G o d " m y fortress, m y shield," and uses as many as eight or nine
n o u n s as appositions to the vocative " O Y a h w e h " in the awesome
catalogue in w . 2b3c. T h e p o e m ends w i t h two units thanking
G o d , the L-strophe w . 4 7 - 4 9 and the S-strophe w . 5 0 - 5 1 . By
repeating some words from the first verse, " m y R o c k , G o d of my
deliverance," the poet establishes the c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the b e g i n
ning. In this way, the lengthy p o e m is kept together by a strong
h y m n i c frame.
A n o t h e r device to provide cohesion for the verses of a p o e m is
the use of refrains. In David's lament (discussed in chapter 1), the
threefold complaint " h o w have the mighty fallen!" is distributed
The Poem as a Whole
145
in a special way. It appears in the very first verseas a B - c o l o n and

refrain clauseand lateras an A - c o l o n c o n c l u d e s the t w o
strophes in the final stanza that are devoted to K i n g Saul and to
Jonathan, respectively: 2 Samuel 1:19b, 25a, and 27a.
T h e o n e p o e m m a d e u p by Psalms 42 and 4 3 does not have o n e
refrain, as most commentaries w o u l d have it, but three: two short
o n e - c o l o n refrains, w h i c h b o t h occur twice, and o n e long refrain,
w h i c h takes up an entire strophe and occurs three times. T h e
o p e n i n g of the p o e m is familiar:
Ps. 42:2
3
Like a hind crying for water,

my soul cries for you, O God;
My soul thirsts for God,
the living God;
when will I come
and behold the face of God?
T h e poet's situation is miserable, "oppressed by the enemy," as

42:10d and 43:2d make clearthis phrase is o n e of the t w o short
refrains.The other refrain is in 42:4cd and l i e d ; it illustrates his
pain and even hands the m i c r o p h o n e to his adversaries: "they
always taunt m e with: w h e r e is your G o d ? " a speech full of
contempt.
T h e long refrain occupies strophes 4 , 9 , and 12 (for the division
of the p o e m into twelve strophes, see the list in chapter 12 of this
b o o k ) . It offers us a glimpse of the soul that thirsts:
Why so downcast, my soul,
and why disquieted within me?
Have hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,
my ever-present Help, my God!
This pair of bicola, together an S-strophe, appears in Psalm 42:6
and 12, and 43:5.
O t h e r psalms w i t h refrains are 46, 49, 56, 57, 67, and 99. This
form of repetition gives the p o e m a very clear articulation and
usually comes at the end of a stanza. Psalm 59 has two refrains, each
of w h i c h is used twice: v. 7 = 15 and v. 10 = 18.
Closure is first of all established o n the edges of the p o e m : the
first and last verses. If these have not b e e n linked by repetition (i.e.,
146
inclusio), they usually each have a striking form of their o w n . C o n

sider, for instance, the first b o u n d a r y post: the o p e n i n g lines of the
p o e m . In J o b and Proverbs, or in the oracles spoken by Balaam to
the King of M o a b , in Genesis 49 (Jacob's blessing of his sons), and
D e u t e r o n o m y 32 (Moses' Song close to the Jordan), the p o e t
begins w i t h some form of recognizable opening. This is often an
exhortation to listen. T h e exhortation is addressed either directly
to his audience (as in the case of Balaam and Jacob) or to the halves
of the cosmos, w h i c h are called as witnesses; w e saw this at the
b e g i n n i n g of Isaiah and in D e u t e r o n o m y 32.
T h e participants in the debate in the b o o k of J o b often use the
first lines of their p o e m s (chapters) to dismiss the previous speaker
w i t h a critical or caustic remark, before they start o n their o w n
themes. In the b o o k of Psalms, many poems start w i t h an i m p e r
ative addressed to G o d , asking H i m either to listen to a complaint,
or to get going straightaway and relieve misery: intervention is
urgently requested ("Deliver me, O Y a h w e h ! " ) . O t h e r songs start
w i t h a wish. T h e p o e t informs us that h e wants to sing a n e w song,
or says "I am going to sing of Yahweh," or exhorts his audience to
j o i n in a h y m n of praise; w e find this in, for instance, Exodus 15
and Psalms 8 9 , 9 2 , 9 5 - 1 0 0 .
T h e second b o u n d a r y post is the conclusion of the p o e m ;
another m o m e n t that requires extra care. T h e poet n o w has dif
ferent tools to finish off his work. As is only to b e expected, the
conclusion is p r o m i n e n t if it is also the climax. T h e macabre Psalm
88 (see chapter 5), about death as the realm of freedom n o w that
G o d has made the speaker's actual existence a prison, ended in an
L-strophe which doubled the hostile forces from the middle of the
p o e m : anger, the waters of chaos, total withdrawal of loved ones
and friends. T h e o n e strophe (six cola) that provided the hymnic
o p e n i n g for Psalm 18 is at the end surpassed by its counterpart, a
stanza of t w o strophes and twelve cola.
If the ending is n o t the climax, it may b e a supplication; this is
the case in Psalms 19 and 20. It may be an inference, as for instance
in Ps. 1:6 and especially in chapters from W i s d o m literature
(Proverbs and Job). It may be an answer to a question w h i c h the
poet asked earlier in the p o e m (see Psalm 15 and compare Psalm
24, o n account of w . 3 - 4 ) . It may be a lament w h i c h seemed
The Poem as a Whole
147
utterly fruitless until shortly before the end (Psalms 6 , 1 7 , 59, 73),
or a last, urgent appeal (Psalms 38, 39, 80, 8 2 ) . T h e n u m b e r of dif
ferent possibilities is endless, and I invite the reader to b e always
o n the lookout for, and appreciative of, n e w forms of closure.
Give t h e m their deserts: P s a l m 28

All right, so poets may place a clear frame around their work, but
that does not m e a n they are then at liberty to make a mess of w h a t
is inside itin that case, the p o e m w o u l d have to be consigned to
the waste bin after all. To put it in positive terms: poets ensure
m a x i m u m impact and cohesion for their p o e m if they order their
material in a tight structure from a to z, or perhaps from alpha to
omega. A poet may decide to w r i t e seven strophes in an A B C X
C B A design. This is w h a t happens in Psalm 28; I have given w . 5,
7, and 9 their proper division into cola:
148

Psalm 28
la
b
c
d
To you I call,Yahweh, my rock;

do not turn away from me,
lest I, if you hold aloof from me,
be like those gone down into the Pit.
strophe 1
2a
b
c
d
Hear my loud pleas,

when I cry out to you for help,
and lift my hands
toward your inner sanctuary.
strophe 2
3a
b
c
d
Do not drag me off with the wicked,

nor with the evildoers,
who profess goodwill toward their fellows,
while malice is in their heart.
strophe 3
4a
b
c
d
Pay them according to their deeds

and their malicious acts;
pay them according to their handiwork,
give them their deserts.
strophe 4
5a
b
c
d
Because they do not consider

the deeds of Yahweh
or the works of his hands,
He will tear them down, not rebuild them.
strophe 5
6a
b
7a
b
c
d
Blessed is Yahweh,
for he listens to my loud pleas.
Yahweh is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him.
I was helped, and my heart exulted
and I glorify him with my song.
strophe 6
8a
b
Yahweh is their strength,

He is a stronghold of deliverance for his
anointed.
Deliver your people
and bless your inheritance,
tend them and sustain them forever.
strophe 7
9a
b
c
T h e four cola of strophe 4 are the center; their separate messages

are highly synonymous.Together they constitute a request for ret-
The Poem as a Whole
149
ributionthose w h o hatch mischief should catch it. This textual

unit is the X around w h i c h the entire composition revolves.
Strophes 3 and 5 correspond as C and C , since they b o t h show
the misbehavior of the adversaries. Strophes 2 and 6 make u p the
pair B - B ' thanks to an extensive repetition, w h i c h straightaway
catches the eye: they b o t h contain the words "listen to the voice
of m y pleas" (as the H e b r e w text literally says). At the same time
this shows their complementariness, and the progress b e t w e e n
t h e m : they represent prayer and the answer to it. T h e " o u t s i d e " pair
of strophes reflects the same relationship of prayer and answer, as
the w o r d " m y r o c k " is at the end explained as " t h e stronghold of
my deliverance." T h e strophes are grouped into stanzas as 2 + 3 +
2 units: stanza I is prayer ( w . 12); stanza II stands out because of
its subject, being c o n c e r n e d with the enemies ( w . 35); and stanza
III brings deliverance and the option to sing a h y m n of praise ( w .
68).Thus, Psalm 28 as a w h o l e is a " r i n g " composition. Its c o n
centric symmetry automatically ensures an o p t i m u m closure. I
have marked the three parts by extra blank lines.
A n h o n o r a b l e p o e t : P s a l m 26
Psalm 26 also has an obvious center. This is the only L-strophe in
the p o e m , and it is about an altar that lends direction to love and
praisea positive core this time.
150

Psalm 26
la
b
c
d
Vindicate me,Yahweh,
for I have walked without blame;
inYahweh I have trusted
without faltering.
strophe 1
2a
b
3a
b
Probe me, Yahweh, and try me,

test my kidneys and heart.
For I am aware of your goodness
and I walk in your truth.
strophe 2
4a
b
5a
b
I do not consort with scoundrels,

or mix with hypocrites;
I detest the company of evil men,
and do not consort with the wicked.
strophe 3
6a
b
7a
b
8a
b
I wash my hands in innocence

and walk around your altar,Yahweh,
raising my voice in thanksgiving,
and telling all your wonders.
Yahweh, I love your temple abode,
the dwelling-place of your glory.
strophe 4
9a
b
10a
b
Do not reckon my soul among the sinners,

or my life among those who shed blood,
who have crimes at their fingertips,
and whose right hand is full of bribes.
strophe 5
11a
b
12a
b
But I walk without blame

redeem me and have mercy on me.
My foot is on level ground
in assemblies I will praise Yahweh.
strophe 6
T h e center is surrounded by the wicked and criminal characters

occupying strophes 3 and 5. A r o u n d these, however, strophes 1, 2,
and 6 make u p a positive series A - A ' - A . " T h e first strophe is a kind
of upbeat; the rest follows a concentric pattern, so that the w h o l e
is arranged as an A A ' B X B ' A " design.The appropriateness of the A
labels may be demonstrated by, a m o n g other things, the following
series of phrases from the same semantic field: "walk" versus "fal
t e r i n g " in strophe 1,"I walk" in strophe 2, and " m y foot o n level
g r o u n d " in strophe 6. These are supported by a characteristic of
The Poem as a Whole
151
the speaker: his integrity. T h e inclusion provided by l b and 1 l a is

obvious.
T h e s i l e n c e b e t w e e n s t o r m s in P s a l m 18
I remarked earlier that a p o e m acquires a tight structure w h e n the
material b e t w e e n the o p e n i n g and the conclusion is also organized
convincingly. This may be demonstrated in a nutshell by m a p p i n g
out Psalm 18. T h e list in Chapter 12 of this b o o k shows that this
long Song of Thanksgiving is articulated into twenty-four stro
phes. It consists of 111 cola, w h i c h may be rephrased as five times
22 plus one. T h e surplus colon reinforces the center:
Psalm 18
stanza
content
introductory hymn
no. of strophes and cola

1 strophe
6 cola
la
distress
2 strophes
8 cola
II
theophany
5 strophes
22 cola
lb
release
2 strophes
8 cola
III and IV
center
2 + 3 strophes
23 cola
2 + 3 + 2 strophes
32 cola
2 strophes
12 cola
God at WAR
CLEANNESS
V andVI
God supports David

David at W A R
VII
final praise and thanks
W i t h its t w e n t y - t w o cola, the theophany establishes the measure.

If w e c o u n t its immediate surroundings, i.e., the opening strophe
plus stanza lab, w e find exactly the same figure: 6 + 8 + 8 = 22
cola. T h e middle of the p o e m provides reflection in m o r a l /
religious terms; it offers a focus for meditation. T h e center of this
152
center is strophe 13, w . 2 6 - 2 7 , w h i c h speaks of the symmetry of

retribution in b o t h a g o o d and an evil sense. O n the other side of
t h e middle w e find stanzas V - V I I with 32 + 12 = 44 cola, w h i c h
is the duplicate of the n o r m figure 22. O n either side of the c e n
ter there are two panels about war, full of noise and battle. First,
G o d personally goes to war, descending from heaven in order to
rescue David (stanzas I + II), and after that the rescued king fin
ishes off his enemies in stanzas VVI.
T h e p r o m i s e o f a lasting d y n a s t y : P s a l m 132
In 2 Samuel 7 w e read that the established king David wants to
build a temple ( H e b r e w bayit, lit. "house") for God. T h r o u g h the
p r o p h e t N a t h a n G o d lets David k n o w that h e has never asked for
a temple and can manage perfectly well w i t h o u t . N e x t , w e get to
the real point: G o d reverses the roles and promises David that h e
will give h i m a house {bayit dynasty), and grant great prestige to
the city o n M o u n t Z i o n . David's son then will b e allowed to build
that temple. This promise of an e n d u r i n g dynasty is as it were the
charter of Zionism avant la lettre. T h e prose text has a counterpart
in poetry: Psalm 132.
T h e song divides into t w o halves, and almost all O l d Testament
scholars are of the o p i n i o n that it consists of 10 + 10 verses. If this
were true, it w o u l d yield a pleasing balance, and w . 1 and 10 w o u l d
provide the frame for the first half. In the following analysis, h o w
ever, I will argue that, o n the contrary, we have here a case of asym
metry. By means of blank lines I have already divided the twenty
verses and forty cola into nine strophes.The unequal halves have
t w o stanzas each. T h e first half is as follows:
verse
1
2
3
4
Psalm 132
strophe
Yahweh, remember in David's favor

his great self-denial,
how he swore to Yahweh,
vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
"No, I will not enter my dwelling place,

nor will I mount my bed,
I will not give sleep to my eyes,
or slumber to my eyelids,
The Poem as a Whole

5
until I find a place for Yahweh,

an abode for the Mighty One of Jacob!"
We heard it was in Ephrat,

3
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar.
Let us enter his abode,
let us prostrate ourselves before his footstool.
7
8
9
153
Advance,Yahweh, to your resting-place,

4
you and the Ark of your strength.
May your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,
and may your loyal ones raise a cheer!
R e a d e r s w h o pay close attention to the shifts of voice and address,

and to the p h e n o m e n o n of e m b e d d e d speech, will grasp the cor
rect division fairly quickly. T h e p o e t himself (and any pilgrim
around the temple w h o speaks or sings the song after him) opens
w i t h a prayer to the deity for David, or " D a v i d " might here even
m e a n the descendant currently occupying the throne. Verse 2 is
spoken by the same voice, and is closely linked to v. 1 as a m o r e
detailed elaboration of David's "self-denial." T h u s , strophe 1 may
b e demarcated as an introductory unit. N e x t , there is a change of
voice, for in w . 3 - 5 the oath David swore, i.e., to build a temple
for G o d , is repeated. These 3 x 2 cola are o n e long sentence s p o
ken by David. T h u s the structure of that sentence ensures the
strop hie design: w . 3, 4, and 5 cannot be separated from another.
T h e y are full of synonymous parallelisms, but at the same time
there is progression: enter the house, lie o n the bed, fall asleepa
chronological series. This tranquillity and the n o t i o n of "inside"
are opposed to the great hustle and bustle outside that the speaker
proposes to start. Strophes 1 and 2 also form a pair because they
b o t h end o n " t h e M i g h t y O n e of Jacob."
Strophe 3 is spoken by yet a n o t h e r voice. I imagine this to b e
the religious c o m m u n i t y , say a g r o u p of pilgrims, since Psalm 132
is o n e of t h e songs m e a n t to b e sung lamma'alot; this means " o n
the way up," in t h e sense of either the steps leading u p to the
t e m p l e court, or the m o v e m e n t of the faithful toward t h e capi
tal and its sanctuary. Verse 6 probably refers to t h e transport of
the Ark, w h i c h was first kept in Kiriat-jearim (see the e n d of
1 Sam. 6), and was later conveyed in procession to his n e w capital
154
by David, t h e m a n from Ephrat = B e t h l e h e m , as 2 Samuel 6

relates. T h e strophe is spoken by a " w e " : t h e g r o u p that wants t o
worship, v. 7.
In strophe 4, w e hear the first speaker again; although the group
may be speaking w i t h h i m , h e is speaking to s o m e o n e else: to G o d
himself again. G o d is asked to take action and defend city and
temple. Verse 9 rounds off the first half, and later acquires a c o u n
terpart that stands o u t by having the same length, i.e., a complete
verse: this is v. 1 6 . T h e word "righteousness" has been replaced by
"salvation," i.e., release, and the cheering is emphasized (below, I
have translated it by an adverb, "loudly").
T h e text of the second, longer half takes u p w . 1 0 - 1 8 , and as
w i t h t h e first half, I have indicated the division into strophes:
verse
Psalm 132
strophe
5
11a
b
D o not reject your anointed one

for the sake of your servant David!
Yahweh swore to David a firm oath
that he will not renounce:
11c
d
12a
b
12c
d
"One of your own issue

I will set upon your throne.
If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I teach them,
then their sons also, to the end of time,
shall sit upon your throne!"
For Yahweh has chosen Zion,

he has desired it for his dwelling.
"This is my resting-place for all time,
here I will dwell, for I desire it.
I will amply bless its store of food,

give its needy their fill of bread,
I will clothe its priests in salvation,
its loyal ones shall cheer loudly.
10
13
14
15
16
17
18
There I will make a horn sprout for David, 9

I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
I will clothe his enemies in disgrace,
while on him his crown shall sparkle."
The Poem as a Whole
155
T h e c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n w . 9 and 16 implies that the p o e m might

well have b e e n finished after the second batch of four strophes, and
sharpens our eye: unexpectedly, there are t w o extra verses, so that
the second half is o n e complete strophe longer than the first half.
W h a t does this mean? O r should the psalm b e divided into t w o
times ten verses after all?
Verse 10 reveals that David himself n o w belongs to the past, but
also shows that his dynasty is already a household word. This gives
us an approximate date for the composition of the song: it fits the
cultic and historical situation in the p e r i o d around 850600 B C E .
(The sixth century B C E saw the traumatic destruction of city and
temple by the N e w Babylonians, and the deportation of the
Judaean elite. Psalm 132, however, still attests to an u n i n t e r r u p t e d
interaction with, and trust in, the Davidic throne.) Verse 11 is a
striking parallel to v. 2, but at the same time a reversal, leading to
something surpassing David's "self-denial."The reversal is the same
as that in 2 Samuel 7.This time, it is G o d w h o swears and David
is the beneficiary, and again it is about the lasting dynasty.
In strophe 6, God's oath is given the same a m o u n t of space as
David's in strophe 2: three bicola.This balance strongly argues in
favor of keeping the t w o verses 10 + l l a b together in strophe 5,
and of seeing this unit as the counterpart to strophe 1. In b o t h stro
phes, the proper names " D a v i d " and " Y a h w e h " are circling each
other as it were, and the repetition of the keyword " s w e a r / o a t h " is
significant. W e have landed in the middle of a generosity contest:
David wants to h o n o r Yahweh w i t h a t e m p l e a spatial entity, a
concrete objectbut G o d outstrips David by making his favorite
king the founder of a veritable dynastya concept belonging to
the m o r e abstract dimension of time.
A change of voice reveals that v. 13 remains outside t h e oath.
T h i s has t h e i m p o r t a n t c o n s e q u e n c e that God's speech, w h i c h
is e m b e d d e d as from v. 14 and takes u p n o fewer than ten cola,
is separated from t h e oath itself. A n d this in t u r n means that t h e
status of o a t h t h e m o s t w e i g h t y and b i n d i n g language i m a g
inable in a n t i q u i t y r e m a i n s reserved for vv. 11c12d. T h e
speech of vv. 1418 has a slightly different status: it is a promise
that elaborates in m o r e detail w h a t God's s u p p o r t of t h e dynasty
implies.
156
If a change of voice were a watertight criterion, we w o u l d b e

obliged to w r i t e v. 13, w h i c h comes from the poet, as a separate
one-line strophe. To prevent us from doing this, the poet has taken
t w o measures. In the first place, the m e a n i n g of v. 13 is almost
identical w i t h that of v. 14, virtually the only difference being t h e
change from third- to first-person singular for G o d . Secondly, the
p o e t welds the B-cola into a tight unit by means of a chiasm:
he has desired it
for his dwelling
(13b)
here I will dwell
for I desire it
(14b)
Verses 13 and 14 together make u p the strophe about the election

of M o u n t Z i o n . W h a t follows, in 2 + 2 verses, is the explanation
of this in terms of food, salvation, and prosperity. T h e last strophe,
i.e., t h e surplus w . 1 7 - 1 8 , is intended as a parallel to the penulti
mate strophe, since "clothing the priests with salvation" (16a)
acquires an obvious counterpart in the "clothing of the enemies
w i t h shame," in 18a. W e nevertheless hear a lot of news right at the
end. T h r e e of the four half-verses have a positive tone, in favor of
" D a v i d " (read: the current king, his descendant). A n inclusion has
thus been created: this final strophe pro Davidstill part of the
promiseis God's generous answer t o t h e appeal pro David w h i c h
started the second half, in v. 10. This is also indicated by t h e r e p e
tition of the w o r d " a n o i n t e d " ( w . 10a and 17b).
T h e p o e m as a w h o l e proves to b e o n e long d r a w n - o u t paral
lelism. At first, neither David n o r Y a h w e h gives an inch as regards
generosity toward t h e other. Soon, however, w e notice that God's
promises go deeper, and w e find that the poet allows G o d far m o r e
speech than the king. T h e longer second half is the quantitative
expression of the fact that G o d is the clear w i n n e r of this g e n
erosity contest. T h e structural analysis proves that v. 10 is t h e start
of the second half; this plea serves the double function of being a
parallel to v. 1, and forming an inclusion together w i t h v. 17, m a r k
ing off the second half:
The Poem as a Whole

Half I (vv. 1-9)
Half II (vu 10-18)
strophe 1 : prayer
+ oath (David to God)
strophe 5: prayer
+ oath (God to David)
strophe 2 quotes the oath

literally (content: spatial)
strophe 6 quotes the oath

literally (content: temporal)
strophe 3: Ark and cult

(God's house)
strophe 7: election of Zion

as God's house
strophe 4: protection, jubilation
strophe 8: food, jubilation
157
strophe 9: prosperity and

power for "David"
This analysis of Psalm 132 shows that a correct appreciation of r e p
etition helps us to d e t e r m i n e the demarcation of the various tex
tual units, and that the correct division in t u r n is the basis for a
correct interpretation of the p o e m . This song is an excellent
example of a composition that, from its o p e n i n g to its closing lines,
step by step, strophe after strophe, has b e e n meticulously p r o p o r
tioned w i t h respect to length and meaning. It shows that the
w h o l e is m o r e than the sum of its parts.
In search of the correct division

The power of repetition
As w e have seen, a text has many layers, w h i c h are kept together

by a hierarchical structure. In chapter 3,1 compared these layers to
a staircase. In chapters 4 - 7 , w e climbed the main steps and reached
the landing of the p o e m as a whole, w h e r e w e attained some sort
of overview.
I w o u l d like to remain at this last stage just a bit longer, and
explore o u r practice area (the poems w e have discussed) o n e m o r e
time in detail by contemplating the importance of a correct division.The right articulation of a p o e m is of e n o r m o u s significance:
it simply makes everything fall into place. I will demonstrate this
by an analysis of Psalm 103.
T u r n i n g to this p o e m , w e quickly notice that it ends in the same
way as it began, w i t h the sentence: "Bless, m y soul,Yahweh." This
exhortation by the poet, addressed to his innermost self, is a solil
o q u y that receives a lot of emphasis. It appears twice as an A - c o l o n
in t h e beginning, and its repetition in v. 22c is explicitly supported
by the three verses preceding it. Cola 20a-21a-22a have the same
imperative in the plural, and address the heavenly hosts w h o also
should bless God.
T h e word "bless" is m y literal translation and deserves some
explanation. In verses 35 the poet prompts his inner self as to h o w
this blessing should be worded. If "his soul" listens to the c o m m a n d ,
it will start with: "blessed (Hebrew baruch) Yahweh w h o . . . ," and
will t h e n continue by naming various qualities of the deity. Sure
e n o u g h , some five are m e n t i o n e d in the second strophe (the w .
35 m e n t i o n e d above); they fill the relative clauses starting w i t h
" w h o . . . " w i t h qualities of God, " w h o . . . forgives, w h o . . . heals,
w h o . . . redeems," and so on, so that the strophe becomes a h y m nic catalogue.
160
Blessing, however, is a combination of praising and giving thanks,

which is why I do not translate baruch by "praise" (as NIV does) or "give
thanks," as this is too limited. It is true that the song of praise and song
of thanksgiving are very close within the Israelite repertoire. A n u m
ber of psalms may even be found where thanks and praise seamlessly
mergesee, for instance, Psalms 30, 68, 108, 118, and 124. Another
example is Psalm 18: we have seen (chapter 7) that its Song of Thanks
giving is set inside a hymnic frame of 1 + 2 strophes.
It is nevertheless important to distinguish between praise and
thanks; however minimal the difference, these are still two separate
genres within the field of joyful-toned poetry. A h y m n (of praise)
lauds God's excellence, often in the form of an enumeration of his
qualities. We find this in Psalm 113 (as discussed in chapter 2), and
the series of Psalms 9 5 - 1 0 0 and 1 4 5 - 1 5 0 . Even the b o o k of J o b
contains a n u m b e r of instances of n a m i n g a string of qualities; p o s
itively by Eliphaz,for instance (inJob 5:9-15),but subversively and
w i t h a sinister u n d e r t o n e by the hero in 1 2 : 1 3 - 2 5 . A n d the long
series of questions about the wonders of creation, w h i c h the
Creator himself fires at J o b in chs. 3839, is obviously a transfor
m a t i o n of the hymnic enumeration.
Yet, whereas a h y m n remains a form of description, a song of
thanksgiving by definition gives thanks for something: a concrete
action that G o d has performed in favor of the speaker or the c o m
munity. G o d has intervened in history and for this deserves thanks.
T h u s , a song of thanksgiving looks at history, or a concrete period
in the poet's o w n life, and indicates what t u r n for the better has
taken place. For instance, G o d has delivered the poet or the poet's
friends from enemies, illness, or calumny. This kind of interven
tion usually illustrates the u n i q u e or incidental aspect that is char
acteristic of a historical event. A h y m n of praise, o n the other hand,
is m o r e concerned w i t h the p e r m a n e n t and sometimes even t i m e
less qualities of G o d .
T h e excellent qualities that the second strophe of Psalm 103
ascribes to G o d balance on the dividing line b e t w e e n the uniquely
historical and the extra-temporal. T h e list that constitutes this unit
( w . 35) is a laudation, but w e will see it is soon illustrated by "his
t o r i c " acts of G o d in favor of the chosen people, so that the thanks
giving aspect also emerges very clearly.
In Search of the Correct Division
161
T h u s , t h e translation "blessing" covers b o t h sides: God's actions

in favor of people of flesh and blood, and his eternal qualities of
being merciful, forgiving, and so on. T h e w o r d "soul" is usually t h e
last resort of a Bible translator, and only in the rarest of cases may
be interpreted in a Christian sense. T h e original (nefesh) usually
simply means " t h e w h o l e person." In biblical Israel this is n o t
something immaterial, as opposed t o the b o d y as an earthen vessel,
since for the Israelites there was n o life after death, and they had a
very different concept of humans than w e have. Words such as
"spirit," "heart," and "soul" in H e b r e w have meanings that often
do n o t coincide w i t h ours, and their range and function are
strongly dependent o n t h e context. As it happens, here in Psalm
103 " s o u l " does m e a n something like a spiritual life or inner self.
T h e unity of Psalm 103 has already b e e n ensured by a frame
w h i c h cannot b e missed. But w h a t happens inside this border?
W h e r e are the stanza boundaries, and h o w many strophes are
there? I have checked m o r e than thirty translations and c o m m e n
taries in five different languages, b u t t h e correct division of t h e
song is n o w h e r e to b e found. This embarrassing discovery, w h i c h
raises doubts as to the academic level of biblical scholarship, is all
the m o r e remarkable since the p o e m contains many structuring
elements.
H o w could these signals have been missed? I perceive three fac
tors that may explain this: an inadequate theoretical grounding,
inadequate analysis, and a failure to observe all the characteristics
of the linguistic w o r k of art. First, scholars still fail to grasp t h e dif
ference between strophe and stanza; most O l d Testament scholars
still d o n o t distinguish b e t w e e n these t w o units, w h i c h leads to
errors. F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e average biblical scholar suffers from a lack
of purely literary training. Finally, although everybody is full of
g o o d intentions, in practice most scholars are content with only
partial analyses. T h e y decide that they have d o n e a reasonable
n u m b e r of observations of style, and then conclude that the main
lines of the p o e m must b e such-and-such.This often misfires, since
it leads to foreclosure: t h e premature shutting d o w n of the processes
of reading or interpretation.What is actually needed is a full analy
sis. O n l y after t h e poet's entire box of tricks has been examined,
and everything observable has been n o t e d in the p o e m u n d e r
1
162
consideration, can a responsible conclusion b e reached about h o w

the composition has b e e n put together.
In the case of psalm 103, the exegetes go w r o n g in any, several,
or all of the following places: v. 8, v. 14 (which scholars separate
from w . 15-16), and v. 19 (which is t h o u g h t to o p e n w . 1922).
Verses 8 and 19 do n o t open strophes, and v. 14 is not the c o n
cluding verse of a strophe. So, w h a t is the real situation?
I will discuss the psalm in two stages: first, I will present m y o w n
translation (partly based o n the JPS) and will discuss each stanza
separately M y choice of words is sometimes less than perfect, but
this is because the translation has been geared to the characteris
tics of the text and to my argument. At this stage, I will pay spe
cial attention to those aspects of style and structure that help to
mark out and locate strophes and stanzas. In the second round, I
will consider the p o e m as a w h o l e o n the basis of a slightly adapted
translation, m o r e in t u n e w i t h the main connections in the p o e m .
Psalm 103 in stanzas
Psalm 103, stanza I
1 Bless, my soul,Yahweh,
and all my innermost, his holy name;
2 bless, my soul,Yahweh,
and do not forget all his bounties;
3 who forgives all your iniquities,
heals all your weaknesses,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with loyalty and mercy
5 who fills your ways with happiness,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 Yahweh performs liberating/righteous acts
and judgments for all who are oppressed.
7 he makes known his ways to Moses,
to the Israelites his deeds:
8 "Merciful and gracious is Yahweh,
lenient and rich in loyalty."
strophe 1
strophe 2
strophe 3
We n o t e that the strophic units form an SLL series. T h e first

strophe is a soliloquya rare device in ancient Israelite poetry. It
163
is governed by imperative forms: three c o m m a n d s , and a p r o h i b i

tion at the end, w h i c h is nevertheless synonymous w i t h the c o m
mands as it also follows the formula "minus times minus is plus."
" N o t forgetting" is a litotes*, w h i c h by its construction strongly
r e c o m m e n d s continued remembrance.
At the end of the second verse the original text has "his acts of
retribution." R e t r i b u t i o n is an ambiguous concept in H e b r e w : it
has a positive m e a n i n g in the case of the reaction to good deeds,
but a negative sense w h e n it refers to an answer to misdeeds. H e r e
in 103:2 the w o r d has b e e n used in a positive sense. It anticipates
v. 10 w h e r e we r e a d : " H e will not requite us according to o u r iniq
uities." W e again recognize the formula "minus times minus is
plus," since v. 10 deletes the negative aspect of retribution. T h e
word has b e e n placed deliberately and precisely, again at the end
of the second poetic line (this time of stanza II).
T h e second strophe is clearly recognizable as a unit by virtue of
its being an enumeration, consisting of a long series of adjectival
clauses. These reflect w h a t in the original text is a string of par
ticiples in h o n o r of G o d . Since they fill an L-strophe, there is also
a pivot: this is the middle verse, a poetic line (v. 4) that ends o n t w o
of the top five keywords of the song.These t w o nouns,"loyalty and
m e r c y " form a w o r d pair that I w o u l d like to call the thematic cli
m a x of the first stanza. T h e i r importance is highlighted by the fact
that they are applied metaphorically: G o d will crown " y o u " (as the
p o e t addresses his o w n inner self) with t h e m . T h e great i m p o r
tance of this pair, w h i c h is almost a hendiadys*, is also stressed by
the fact that it is repeated in mirror-image (thus forming a chiasm)
in the concluding line of the stanza: v. 8 ranges from "merciful" to
"rich in loyalty." In this way, the center of the stanza is firmly c o n
nected to its conclusion.
T h e third strophe takes us back in time to the most constitu
tive phase in the history of the chosen people, the events around
M o u n t Sinai. In various places in the Bible w e are told of the
covenant that G o d m a d e with the people: w i t h N o a h in Genesis
6 - 9 , w i t h Abraham in Genesis 17 (the covenant of t h e circumci
sion), and, m u c h later, w i t h David and his dynasty, the poetic
reflection of w h i c h w e have seen in Psalm 132 (in the previous
chapter). T h e most important covenant, however, is that m a d e o n
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the Sinai, during the trek through the desert, and familiar from the
tables of stone containing the Ten C o m m a n d m e n t s : it clinches
Israel's status as the chosen people.
T h e phrasing of the third strophe indicates that the song is n o t
the personal expression of o n e individual, but is intended to b e
sung by the people: w e have n o w entered the dimension of
national history. T h e beneficiary (in linguistic terms: the indirect
object) of God's liberating and righteous actions is indicated in
strophe 3 three times by the preposition "to/for." This makes the
cola of w . 6b and 7ab into a series, and leads us to conclude that
" t h e oppressed" in v. 6b are the Israelites: the contemporaries of
the leader w h o in v. 7a is expressly called by his proper n a m e
"Moses." It is this generation of the Exodus to w h o m G o d "makes
k n o w n his ways."
W h a t exactly are these ways? T h e answer is given to us by the
poet, solemnly and in detail, through the formal and weighty q u o
tation given in v. 8. T h e source of the quotation makes its i m p o r
tance clear: these are verses from Exodus 34 w i t h the considerable
status of a self-revelation of G o d . Moses had returned to his people
from the mountain, but had broken the stone tablets into pieces
w h e n h e found the people worshipping the golden calf. After his
fit of anger, however, h e had decided to address a prayer to G o d
for the survival of his people, and had climbed the m o u n t a i n again.
T h e people are granted a second chance, for G o d gives Moses t w o
n e w stone tablets. N e x t , the narrator tells us w h a t Moses hears, his
face hidden in a cleft of the rock in order n o t to be blinded by
God's appearance:
165
Exod. 34:5-7
5
Yahweh came down in a cloud,
stood with him there,
and called out the name Yahweh.
6
Yahweh passed before him, and proclaimed:
7
7c
d
e
"Yahweh,Yahweh!
Merciful and gracious God,
lenient and rich in loyalty and fidelity;
who keeps faithful to thousands,
who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin,
but does not clear [the guilty]
and visits the iniquity of the fathers upon children
and children's children
to the third and fourth generations."
W h a t w e read here in w . 6b7 is itself poetry, compact and rhyth

mic, and full of parallelisms. It resembles a creed, but most of all it
is a self-portrait of G o d . It has a lighter and a darker side: the t r i colon that concludes v. 7 has b e e n rather a shock for many read
ers before usbut then there are many passages in the H e b r e w
Bible that are not particularly suitable for those w i t h weak nerves.
This self-revelation is a famous passage, and it is n o surprise that
w e find it q u o t e d in several texts; see Psalms 8 6 : 1 5 , 1 0 3 : 8 , 145:8;
Jonah 4:2;Joel 2:13; and N e h e m i a h 9:17.
It is important for us to analyze exactly w h a t it is the poet of
Psalm 103 is doing. His quotation from Exodus 34:6 is not literal,
as h e leaves out the w o r d "fidelity." H e has made his o w n c o m b i
nation in the word pair w h i c h places "faithful" next to "merciful."
F u r t h e r m o r e , h e does t w o things w i t h v. 7cde of Exodus 34. H e
ignores t h e m , by leaving t h e m out; and h e uses t h e m , by having
his p o e m go o n to criticize these phrases. Having reached the
threshold of stanza II, w e prick u p our ears to hear h o w the poet
will handle the "visiting" (= punishing) side of G o d . W e leave
stanza I w i t h the observation that God's proper n a m e has not b e e n
m e n t i o n e d in the middle strophe ( w . 35), whereas the poet does
use the n a m e " Y a h w e h " in the surrounding strophes 1 and 3, twice
in each.
166
This arrangement is t u r n e d inside out as it were in stanza II.

Yahweh is m e n t i o n e d in the middle strophe, in v. 13b, but his n a m e
is totally absent in the surrounding strophes:
Psalm 103, stanza II
9
He will N O T contend forever,
and N O T nurse his anger for eternity;
he will not deal with us according to our sins,
10
and not requite us according to our iniquities.
11
12
13
14
15
16
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his loyalty toward those who fear him.
As far as the East is from the West,
so far does he remove our sins from us.
As a father has mercy toward his children,
so Yahweh has mercy toward those who fear him.
For he knows how we are formed,
he is mindful that we are dust.
Manhis days are like grass,
he blooms like a flower of the field;
a wind passes by, and it is N O more,
and its own place N O longer knows it.
strophe 4
strophe 5
strophe 6
T h e contours of this middle stanza are clear. T h e center is an

L-strophe, wholly d e t e r m i n e d by a threefold application of the "as
x . . . , so y " pattern. T h u s , the center of the p o e m as a w h o l e is
devoted to the stylistic device of the simile (comparison). A r o u n d
this center, there is a solid ring of negations, t h r o u g h o u t strophe 4
and in v. 16 as the negative climax of strophe 6.
T h e powerful " N O ( T ) " does a lot of work. It marks the stanza
boundaries and invites the reader to look for the c o n n e c t i o n
b e t w e e n strophes 4 and 6. B o t h units focus o n transitoriness, and
thanks to the ring of negations the o n e strophe explains the other.
In strophe 4, the poet does admit that G o d can be angry and will
sometimes insist o n sinners being tried and punished, b u t h e
denies that G o d argues all the time and never ceases to persecute.
In this way, the poet is already clearly u n d e r m i n i n g the dark side
(the conclusion) of the creed from Exodus 34. T h e poet has n o
use for a constantly rebuking deity. What's more, h e uses strophe 6
to explain w h y G o d is n o t as punitive as tradition would have it:
167
G o d is aware of the brevity of man's life, and is willing to take that

into account in his behavior toward mortals. T h e poet believes in
a forgiving G o d , w h i c h is exactly the quality h e puts first in the
h y m n i c enumeration of strophe 2!
Strophe 5, the h u b of the center, employs the chiastic w o r d pair
again, and arranges this to mirror the order in v. 8, i.e., crosswise
for the second time. It is n o coincidence that "loyalty" is the s u b
ject (also in a grammatical sense) of v. 1 1 , and that its counterpart
" m e r c y " governs v. 13, w h i c h is situated at the other side of the
strophe. This quality of God's is n o t a latent characteristic, b u t is
actually apparent: the keyword has been transformed into a verb
here and an action.
T h e closely knit quality of t h e central strophe is further
strengthened by the fact that the A - c o l o n of each of its verses
contains a m e r i s m . T h e pair h e a v e n / e a r t h introduces a "vertical"
dimension, "horizontally" bisected by the pair East/West.
Together, these dimensions form a system of coordinates that
effectively evokes the vast reaches of creation. It reminds us of the
dynamic use made of the same dimensions in Psalm 113 (see
chapter 2).
Verse 13, t o o , contains a merism, that of father and children.
Because of the cohesion of the strophe w e n o w recognize this
relationship as a metaphorical transformation or application of
the h e a v e n / e a r t h relationship from v. 11 .Yet, this a r g u m e n t may
also b e reversed. T h e strophe proclaims God's love for those p e o
ple w h o show h i m deference and respect ("the fear of the Lord,"
as it was called in t h e K i n g James Bible). H e is that father, and
the p e o p l e are his children. T h e depth or intensity of his affec
tion is n o w demonstrated by means of t h e widest spatial t e r m s
imaginable.
T h e symmetry of the middle stanza b e c o m e s even clearer w h e n
w e trace the linguistic forms for " w e " and "us." T h e r e are t w o in
the central poetic line (v. 12, the pivot of the strophe, w h i c h itself
is t h e axis of the central stanza, and hence of the w h o l e song), and
at equal distances w e also find 4 + 2 forms for " u s " immediately
outside strophe 5, in the adjacent verses 10 and 14. T h e i r positions
b e c o m e even m o r e significant w h e n w e notice that there are n o
other forms of " u s " in this p o e m . Moreover, the lines containing
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" u s " strictly alternate w i t h the rhyme of w . 11 and 13, w h i c h end

in "those w h o fear him." If w e w o n d e r w h o exactly " t h o s e " are,
the answer is: w e ourselves. Actually, the referent does n o t change
at the end of w . 1 0 - 1 4 ! T h e God-fearing group coincides w i t h
"us," and we w o u l d be justified in thinking that in that case " w e "
are the Israelites of strophes 3 and 7.
Strophe 3 was framed by "performing (righteousness, i.e., deeds
of) liberation" and "loyalty." Strophe 7 repeats these t w o qualifica
tions, makes t h e m the subject of two nominal sentences, and places
t h e m in front position in their respective poetic lines. These are
w . 1718; traditionally, they are read as a tricolon plus bicolon, but
the sentence structure proves that this should be the other way
round. Verse 17ab is a bicolon containing a remarkable enjambm e n t , followed by a tricolon (17c + 18ab) w i t h a threefold p r e p o
sition. In the original text, this "for" is exactly the same w o r d as
the preposition translated by " t o / f o r " in strophe 3, w h i c h is n o
coincidence. T h e tricolon again shows us the Israelites as benefi
ciaries; they areYahweh's covenant partners:
Psalm 103, stanza III
17a
Yahweh's loyalty is from eternity
strophe 7
b
to eternity toward those who fear him,
c
and his righteousness is for the children's children,
18a
for those who keep his covenant,
b
and for those who remember his
precepts by performing them.
19
Yahweh has established his throne in heaven
and his kingdom reigns over all.
20
21
22
Bless Yahweh, all his angels,

mighty heroes, who perform his word,
and are perfectly obedient to his word!
Bless Yahweh, all his hosts,
his servants, who perform his will!
Bless Yahweh, all his works,
in all places of his reign).
Bless, my soul,Yahweh!
strophe 8
By placing the word "eternity" twice in v. 17, the poet creates a par
allelism at stanza level, since it was also used in v. 9, accompanied by
a synonym. We n o w observe a contrast in the openings of stanzas II
169
and III, a contrast that points to the core of the message. "Eternal"
does not apply to God's anger, but rather to his loyalty or mercy. This
is the real essence of what the poet has to tell us about his God.
T h e parallelism goes further: the words " p e r f o r m " (literally
" d o " ) and "heaven" from 18b and 19a also appeared in w . 10a and
1 la. To p u t it differently: the first three A-cola of the central stanza
contain words w h i c h , in the same order, recur in (strophe 7 =) the
first three verses of stanza III.
This stanza consists of two L-strophes. T h e i r boundaries are
fixed mainly by two p h e n o m e n a , w h i c h demonstrate that v. 19
does indeed still belong in strophe 7; it does not open the c o n
cluding hymnic exhortation, as almost all exegetes think. First,
there is the root " t o reign," w h i c h occurs in v. 19b as a verb and in
v. 22b as a n o u n , and moreover frames the concept of "all":
his kingdom reigns
in all places
over all /every thing (v. 19b)

of his reign (v. 22b)
This arrangement shapes the third verses of b o t h strophes. T h e sec

ond p h e n o m e n o n that guides the correct articulation has to do with
the "population" of the strophes: the beneficiaries of God's goodness
in strophe 7, and the group whose laudations put G o d in the lime
light in strophe 8. T h e y have been arranged in the following way:
strophe 7
earth
two verses: 1718
heaven (and earth)

one verse: 19
strophe 8
heaven
two verses: 2021
earth (and heaven)

one verse: 22
This symmetry exploits the complementariness of heaven and

earth (forming as they do a merism for the universe) for t w o p u r
poses: creating parallelism and creating contrast. T h e parallelism
says that the inhabitants of b o t h regions are obedient, given the
repetition of the word " p e r f o r m " and the synonymy of
"covenant" and "his word." T h e contrast is a kind of two-way traf
fic: in strophe 7, God's care is directed toward the people of the
covenant; in strophe 8, the angels' praise is addressed to G o d , so
that at the last m i n u t e h e again becomes the object h e was in stro
p h e 1: the target of blessing and praise.
170
Psalm 103 as a whole
After this discussion of the three sections of the song, w e may

notice other things.The words "loyalty" and "merciful(ness)" each
occur four times, and the eight positions they occupy are inter
woven, almost resembling wickerwork:
.. .
loyalty-and-mercy
the beginning and end of verse 8,

which concludes strophe 3 and
stanza I:
merciful
loyalty
on the axis of strophe 2:
strophe 5,
v. 11 + v. 13:
. .. His loyalty .. ..//
strophe 7, v. 17a:
Yahweh's loyalty.. ..
have mercy
have mercy
T h e order in w h i c h these two appear is determined by a threefold

chiasm. This is already remarkable in itself, but w h a t strikes m e as
an even m o r e effective device is the contribution that the w o r d
"loyalty" makes to the demarcation of the central stanza. It is sit
uated o n the boundaries of this stanza, or rather just outside it; in
other words, stanza I ends o n exacdy that keyword, and stanza III
opens w i t h it. These and other points will be demonstrated by
means of italics, bold type, and capitals in the following presenta
tion of the p o e m as a w h o l e :
Psalm 103
1
2
3
4
5
Bless, my soul,Yahweh,
and all my innermost, his holy name;
strophe 1
bless, my soul,Yahweh,
and do not forget all his works of retribution;
who forgives all your iniquities,
heals all your weaknesses,
strophe 2
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with loyalty and mercy,
who satisfies your ways with happiness,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17a
b
c
18a
b
19
20
21
22
Yahweh P E R F O R M S righteousness
and judgments for all who are oppressed.
He makes known his ways to Moses,
to the Israelites his deeds:
"Merciful and gracious is Yahweh,
lenient and rich in loyalty."
171
strophe 3
He will not contend forever,

strophe 4
and not nurse his anger in eternity;
he will not DEAL W I T H us according to
our sins,
and not requite us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the HEAVENS are above the earth,
so great is his loyalty toward those who fear him.
As far as the East is from the West,
strophe 5
so far does he remove our sins from us.
As a father has mercy toward his children,
so Yahweh has mercy toward those who fear him.
For he knows how we are formed,
he is mindful that we are dust.
Manhis days are like grass,
he blooms like a flower of the field;
a wind passes by, and it is no more,
and its own place no longer knows it.
strophe 6
Yahweh s loyalty is from eternity

to eternity for those who fear him,
strophe 7
and his righteousness is for the children's children,
for those who keep his covenant,
and for those who remember his precepts
by P E R F O R M I N G them.
Yahweh has established his throne in HEAVEN
and his kingdom reigns over all.
Bless Yahweh, all his angels,
mighty heroes, who P E R F O R M his word,
and are perfectly obedient to his word!
Bless Yahweh, all his hosts,
his servants, who PERFOPJvl his will!
Bless Yahweh, all his works,
in all places of his reign!
Bless, my soul,Yahweh!
strophe 8
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T h e threefold preposition, w h i c h was so important in strophe 3

and after that in strophe 7, has b e e n translated as consistently as
possible, two times by "to," four times by "for." Stanzas I and II have
the same dimensions: they b o t h consist of 4 + 6 + 6 cola, or, to
p u t it differently, they are b o t h an SLL series. T h e p e r m a n e n c e of
God's mercy (strophe 5) is set within a ring of transitoriness (stro
phes 4 and 6), but is n o t cancelled by it: stanza III again employs
the t e r m "eternal" to make sure that mercy has the last word. T h e
very last w o r d is given to the hymnic ring that is drawn around all
this by strophes 1 and 8.
This articulation into eight strophes and three stanzas has made
everything fall into place. T h e correct division has here b e e n
found, and in all other cases will only b e found, by paying close
attention to language and style, and by tuning in to the strategic
positioning of keywords and similar signals. Psalm 103 has a lot of
these!
To conclude this chapter, let us look at the question of h o w
many of the poet's decisions in this psalm have actually b e e n based
o n repetition of the c o m p o n e n t s of the p o e m . T h e answer yields
quite a list:
Anaphora has been used so extensively that this stylis
tic device has a far-reaching structural influence.
Strophes 1 + 2 and 4 + 5 constitute two series char
acterized by a double anaphoric design. In strophe 1,
the A-cola of w . 1 and 2 are identical, so that the
anaphora stretches across four words. In strophe 2, five
cola start in the same way (participles in the original
text = relative clauses starting with "who . . . " in trans
lation). Strophe 4 is tightly organized by a fourfold
"not" at the beginning of the cola. The verses in
strophe 5 commence three times with the word "as,"
and the sentence structure always remains locked in
comparison mode.
These anaphoric chains already determine almost
completely the parallel design of stanzas I and II.
The hymnic enumeration in strophe 2 acquires a
counterpart in the final strophe, which exhorts to
praise and itself is also determined by anaphora.
In strophe 3 we find four cola containing plural
forms; their verses are governed by two verbs. The
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concluding verse 8, containing the quotation from

Exodus, forms the climax of the strophe, and serves
as complement for vv. 67, by presenting four nomi
nal predicates in a sort of pressure cooker, i.e., in only
two cola.
The distribution of the keywords is of vital impor
tance. I have indicated most of them above, and the
typographical devices I have employed in the transla
tion will enable the reader to locate them quickly.
An efficient form of alternation is active at strophe
level. Strophes 4 and 6, which frame stanza II, both
speak of the brevity of the life of humans. They inter
rupt the sequence about God's mercy that occupies
strophes 3, 5, and 7, but at the same time give it an
aspect of regularity (i.e., that of alternation).
There are many forms of inclusio, such as the repeti
tion of "loyalty" on (and just outside) the boundaries
of the central stanzaa slim and striking ringthe
collaboration of strophes 4 and 6 around the middle
strophe, and one level further the collaboration of
strophes 3 and 7 around/ outside stanza II (as they mir
ror the words "righteousness" and "loyalty").
In short, it seems that there is n o t h i n g in Psalm 103 that is n o t
based o n repetition. W h a t e v e r is not repeated will always appear
inside the larger framework of what is. For instance, the p o e t uses
the phrase " w h o forgives" and the image of the w i t h e r i n g grass
only once, but these c o m p o n e n t s always bear some relation to the
context in w h i c h they occur. O n e possible way of describing read
ing and (after a lot of rereading) interpreting a p o e m is as a search
for order and structure in a heap of language signs that at first sight
seems impossible to penetrate. T h e order emerging from the
apparent chaos is based o n many and highly varied devices, t h e m
selves distributed o n virtually all levels of the text. Most of these
devices, however, are forms of repetition. A n d then there are the
n u m e r o u s details that are also repetition in action, of w h i c h w e
b e c o m e aware w h e n w e d o our h o m e w o r k and conscientiously at
verse level discover and weigh one parallelism after another. In
Psalm 103, parallelismus m e m b r o r u m is almost always based on
synonymy, and synonymy itself is a form of repetition. Still, any
other form of parallelism may be analyzed as a mixture of repeti
tion and variation.
Wisdom literature
TTte book of Job
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job

A thousand years before the people of Israel entered recorded his
tory, a literary genre k n o w n as W i s d o m and expressing itself in
poetic lines had already developed in the N e a r East. W i s d o m lit
erature is the poetic reflection of experience and is offered in c o n
centrated form, in proverbs and aphorisms. As early as t h e third
millennium BCE, writers in high places were engaged in these c o n
densing and collecting activities, w h i c h mainly took place in the
courts and temples of the great powers along the N i l e and in
Mesopotamia.
This international genre probably started by building its atoms:
individual, stand-alone aphorisms. T h u s , in the b o o k of Proverbs
w e may still find examples of lines w h i c h w o r k perfectly well o n
their own:
Prov. 15:17
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love,

than a fattened ox where there is hate.
This is a charming verse, a combination of extreme practicality and

principle, each half-verse juxtaposing an abstract concept and a
concrete t e r m from the kitchen.
Nowadays, many of these verses do n o t strike us as particularly
spiritual, but at the most unexpected m o m e n t s w e c o m e across
pearls of w i s d o m (!), and sometimes remarkably profound maxims:
Prov. 13:8
Riches are ransom for a man's life,

but the poor never hears a menace.
It w o u l d seem that taking hostages for ransom is as old as the

hillsthat life is less stressful, the less y o u have. Every o n c e in a
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while the m e a n i n g of a passage remains obscure, however, n o

matter h o w m u c h t h o u g h t is devoted to it. Consider this strophe
about c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h a foola t e r m that does n o t m e a n
"silly" or "strange," b u t indicates a b a d and dangerous f o r m of
irrationality:
Prov. 26:4
5
Do not answer a fool in accord with his stupidity,

else you will become like him.
Answer a fool in accord with his stupidity,
else he will be wise in his own eyes.
This complete strophe apparently intends to present a masterpiece

of dialectics. T h e first verse is still clear: it warns against lowering
oneself. T h e second, however, is a great surprisecan a fool be
spoken to after all? "To b e wise in one's o w n eyes" is usually n o t a
good thing in the proverb genre, as it leads to arrogance and t h e r e
fore is undesirable in the eyes of the deity. This is apparently all the
m o r e so if fools think themselves wisea double taboo, so to
speak. Consequently, this should be avoided in y o u r / o u r way of
speaking by choosing words w h i c h put the fools in their place,
probably by offering tit for tat.
Bible scholarship recognizes that chs. 19 from the b o o k of
Proverbs form a coherent, well-planned composition, containing
o n e p o e m per chapter. As the b o o k progresses, however, the
stream of verses seems to b e c o m e m o r e fragmentized. A n u m b e r
of small groupings can b e distinguished, partly because of occa
sional headings, as in the case of Proverbs 30, w h i c h is inscribed
"words of Agur," or because they form an alphabetic acrostic, like
the last p o e m . In essence, however, the approach to Proverbs lOff.
is atomistic.
This is a pity, because it is w r o n g . T h e texts following Proverbs
19 also obey the text m o d e l given in chapter 3 of this b o o k . T h e y
form strophes of t w o to three lines, and these strophic units t h e m
selves are gathered into larger structures. B u t as w e have already
seen, the average O l d Testament scholar lacks the necessary t h e o
retical knowledge and analytical skill, and as a result has little or n o
awareness of such things.
I will give a brief indication of the contents: in many places a
fictional character, "lady W i s d o m " (in Greek one w o u l d say "lady
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177
Sophia"), addresses the reader as " m y son," and bombards h i m w i t h

advice and warnings. T h u s , many chapters are set in the frame of
a dialogue. T h e statements breathe the spirit of a basic and firm
belief that w h e n you follow these counsels you will be rewarded
w i t h life and health. If you do good, you will do well, and if you
d o evil or c o m m i t folly, you will get your just deserts.What w e are
told about w i s d o m is simply that it is obtainable; it is a practical
concept, n o t h i n g like philosophy or metaphysical speculation, or
the rarefied heights or voids of mysticism. It is everyday ethics,
u n d e r the colors of " t h e fear of the Lord," w h i c h nowadays w e
w o u l d call "respect for God."
T h e r e are, however, three representatives of the W i s d o m tradi
tion in the H e b r e w Bible: besides the b o o k of Proverbs, w h i c h I
w o u l d call the n o r m , there are two interesting deviants: J o b and
Ecclesiastes. From J o b w e have already heard (see chapter 6) that
w i s d o m is n o w h e r e to be had, so w e have b e e n warned. A n d
Ecclesiastes assures us that life is unpredictable, offers n o certain
ties, and that the constitution of the world will always remain
unfathomable to man. T h e short b o o k by this n a m e comprises
twelve chapters, and was written by an aged thinker around the
third century B C E . In this case, too, biblical scholarship has n o t as
yet b e e n able to discover m u c h rigorous organization, but I p r e
dict that this state of affairs will change drastically in the c o m i n g
years.
T h e t h o u g h t that the g o o d will prosper and the wicked will suf
fer has a pleasing symmetry, but the Mesopotamians, like everyone
else, had experienced for centuries that life is just not like that. A
thousand years before Israel was established, the p h e n o m e n o n of
i n n o c e n t suffering was already a t h o r n y problem, and c o n t e m p o
rary philosophers make it clear that twentieth-century philosophy
has n o t progressed any further in explaining the origin and func
tion of evilat least if w e reject such cheap and easy answers as
" W e learn by suffering" or "It is noble n o w to suffer, since you will
b e rewarded in heaven later."
W i s d o m confronts us w i t h the problem of the theodicy: H o w
may God's goodness and justice be reconciled w i t h the fact that
the world contains so m u c h inexplicable and especially unbearable
suffering? T h e naive view often found in Proverbs, w h i c h in fact
178
ignores the problem by maintaining " D o good and you will do

well," leads to a dangerous reversal of the argument. This reversal
is c o m m u n i c a t e d to us by Job's three friends, w h o visit J o b in his
total humiliation/disgrace, and w h o view the stricken m a n w i t h
severity rather than empathy. T h e argument goes in three steps: the
adherent of the traditional point of view finds a suffering individ
ual, and from his condition deduces that the stricken m a n is being
punished by the deity. H e unquestioningly assumes that G o d is
justified in acting thus, and from that deduces another fact: the suf
ferer must have sinned.
This is indeed w h a t Job's friends do. T h e y observe his pain and
deprivation, and say to h i m , "Tell us w h a t you have d o n e w r o n g ;
your suffering proves you have sinned." This rigid and callous
approach infuriates Job. H e knows h e is blameless, and maintains
his i n n o c e n c e until his dying day.
T h e t w o heterodox representatives of w i s d o m (Job and Ecclesiastes) state outright that the g o o d often suffer and the wicked do
not, and voice their disapproval. T h e y use the tools of the W i s d o m
genre to u n d e r m i n e , problematize, and further sharpen the c o n
cept of wisdom. In chapter 6 w e already heard J o b say that w i s
d o m cannot b e found a m o n g m e n , n o t even if you try to b u y it
w i t h a bag full of gold dust. W h a t remained in J o b 28 was v. 2 8 ,
a conclusion that is still practical rather than metaphysicalspeculative: avoiding evil and doing g o o d t h a t is w h a t respect
for the deity means. A n d Ecclesiastes adds that G o d is u n k n o w
able and unfathomable.
T h e b o o k of J o b is a unique, n e w form of the W i s d o m genre,
since it shapes an extremely long, complicated, and heated debate
into verse, and since the author has set all this poetry inside a tight
prose frame. In chs. 12 the writer assumes the attitude of a nar
rator, so that h e can profit from an omniscient perspective. T h a n k s
to this pose h e " k n o w s " that G o d thinks J o b utterly incorruptible,
and he "sees" w h a t is being discussed in the heavenly council. G o d
maintains that even in times of great adversity J o b will n o t break,
but his state attorney asserts that it is easy for a J o b w h o has every
thing he wants to remain virtuous, and that this will change as soon
as he is put to the test. This officer is simply the angel o n duty, even
t h o u g h in H e b r e w h e is called satan. T h e word does n o t yet imply
Wisdom Literature
179
" t h e Devil" w i t h a capital D , b u t indicates the function of "district

attorney." G o d allows this prosecuting officer to strip J o b of every
thing except his life. A n d this is exactly w h a t happens.
By presenting the story in J o b 1-2 in this way, the writer lets us
in o n his, and God's, superior knowledge; the intention b e h i n d
granting us this surplus insight is to make unambiguously clear
that J o b is completely pure. T h e result is that w e watch the total
degradation of the hero w i t h a double perspective, and that w e
hear his bitter complaints w i t h understanding and compassion. J o b
wants a fair trial, w h e r e h e can maintain his integrity and call G o d
to account; he is perfectly right to want that.Yet, h e has to wait a
very long time before any recognition comes from G o d , a cruel
fate, and h e does n o t k n o w w h a t w e k n o w : that all this is " o n l y "
a test.
Starting from J o b 4, the friends in t u r n deliver speeches that are,
each time, immediately answered by Job. T h e entire debate is in
verse, and has probably always been an extremely difficult text
right from its inceptionthat is, from the m o m e n t it was first
heard. T h e language is condensed, and the poet uses every square
centimeter to introduce fresh statements. Almost always, o n e
chapter equals o n e p o e m , and it is also convenient that the full
poetic line in this b o o k (as in Proverbs) coincides w i t h the n u m
bered biblical verse.
T h e majority of the p o e m s in the b o o k of J o b develop a line of
reasoning that is closely connected to the division into strophes
and stanzas. For o u r purposes I have selected ch.10. Its c o m p o s i
tion has so far not b e e n correctly analyzed anywhere, but a sound
structural analysis will put the correct articulation beyond doubt.
If w e manage to distinguish the strophe level clearly from the
stanza level, m u c h will have been gained.
A n a r t i c u l a t e d a r g u m e n t : J o b 10
J o b 10 is a p o e m consisting of seventeen bicola and five tricola,
g r o u p e d into nine strophes and four stanzas. T h e text of the first
stanza is as follows:
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Stanza I:Job 10:1-6

1
My soul is disgusted with life,
I will give rein to my complaint,
speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2
I say to God, "Do not condemn me,
let me know what you charge me with.
3
Does it benefit you to oppress,
and to despise the work of your hands,
while shining on the counsel of the wicked?
4
5
6
Do you have the eyes of

flesh?
Is your vision that of mere men?
Are your days the days of a mortal,
are your years the years of a man,
that you seek my iniquity
and search out my sin?
strophe 1
strophe 2
T h e first strophe consists of 3 + 2 + 3 cola, and its verses have sev

eral tasks: describe, c o m m a n d , ask questions. T h e hero starts w i t h
himself. H e describes his o w n deplorable situation and in this way
makes the present the basis of his exposition. N e x t , he introduces
the second person. H e addresses G o d directly, and straightaway
makes his point by c o m m a n d s and questions. T h e subject is guilt,
and the t o n e is desperate: although J o b knows he is innocent, h e
nevertheless inquires about a correctly w o r d e d deed of indict
mentassuming that line 2b is not a blatant challenge. In v. 3 h e
goes a step further and insinuates: your values are all w r o n g , you
keep the company of the wicked (v. 3c, a defiant position). J o b is
n o t o n e to mince matters; he has n o t h i n g to lose, after all, and is
n o t afraid of anybody.
J o b will n o t let go of the second person, and continues to
pester G o d until t h e e n d of the p o e m . In strophe 2 h e asks t w o
questions ( w . 45), doubled via parallelism, w h i c h end in a spe
cific point. J o b p o n d e r s w h e t h e r w e may think of G o d as if h e
were a h u m a n being. His questions, however, are rhetorical, and
it is obvious that they presuppose a negative answer. T h e y e n d in
a clear stance: persecuting m e as mercilessly as this surely does n o t
suit a transcendent individual. It is small-minded for a god t o
harass a p u n y mortal, and in any case absurd.That's o n e in the eye
for G o d .
Wisdom Literature
Stanza II:Job 10:7-13
7
You know that I am not guilty,
but none can deliver from your hand.
8
Your hands shaped and made me
and suddenly you have destroyed me!
9
10
11
12
13
181
strophe 3
Consider that you made me like clay,

and will turn me back into dust.
Did you not pour me out as milk,
and congeal me like cheese?
You clothed me with skin and flesh,
strung me with bones and sinews.
strophe 4
Life and love you made me

and you visited my spirit.
Yet these things you hid in your heart,
I know you had this in mind.
strophe 5
This stanza is neatly balanced by 2 + 3 + 2 verses. T h e center is

easily recognizable as a strophe. This unit describes in graphic
detailalbeit in slightly different terms than your family doctor
w o u l d u s e h o w m a n grows in the w o m b . J o b talks about himself,
but his words apply to every h u m a n being. T h e concrete terms in
w . 9 - 1 0 are evenly distributed over the four cola and consist of t w o
pairs of metaphors: clay/dust, milk/cheese. In v. 1 1 , this quartet is
given a perfect counterbalance by four terms w h i c h are deliberately
not metaphorical (skin, flesh, bones, sinews), and are presented in
half the space: another two pairs, this time squeezed into only two
half-verses, w h i c h makes v. 11 the climax of the strophe.
You have made m e : the simple verb " t o m a k e " has b e c o m e a
keyword that appears in every strophe of this stanza. In strophe 3
it is c o m b i n e d w i t h the metaphor (the anthropomorphism) of
God's hands. Taking a closer look at the b o u n d a r y b e t w e e n w . 7
and 8, w e discover concatenation: the w o r d o n w h i c h v. 7 ends is
the same w o r d w i t h w h i c h v. 8 begins. This linking figure at the
heart of the strophe represents a sort of collision. God's h a n d in
v. 7b is an iron fist, whereas in v. 8a his hands are creating, and this
act of creationthe speaker suggestsmust have positive reasons.
D o e s G o d n o t shape m a n in order to create life and love, as the
speaker himself says in v. 12a? This remains to b e seen.
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T h e opening of this stanza is a sensitive place in the text. W i t h

o n e or two exceptions, all the translations and commentaries I a m
aware of get it hopelessly w r o n g h e r e . T h r o u g h sentence struc
ture v. 7a is connected to the preceding verses, w h i c h in practically
all cases leads to a rendering along the lines of: "Is your vision that
of man, and your days the days of a mortal . . . that you seek m y
iniquity and search out m y sin, although you k n o w that I a m n o t
guilty, and that there is n o n e to deliver m e from your h a n d ? "
1
This c o n n e c t i o n is improbable right from t h e start, for a n u m

ber of reasons. In such a translation, strophe 2 w o u l d consist of
four verses, and v. 8 w o u l d b e completely isolated as a o n e - l i n e
strophe; v. 8 does n o t fit into t h e well-balanced strophe 4, w h i c h
is already three verses long. Such a link is counterintuitive and
disturbs t h e p r o p o r t i o n s . T h e H e b r e w text does n o t contain the
conjunction " a l t h o u g h " at t h e b e g i n n i n g of v. 7, b u t a preposi
tion that can m e a n a lot of different things. Literally, v. 7a says:
" U p o n your k n o w l e d g e , that I a m n o t guilty." In t h e o r y this
could b e a syntactic adjunct to a p r e c e d i n g sentence core (i.e., in
v. 6b). This solution, however, is b o t h improbable and awkward.
A conspicuous aspect of the b o o k of J o b is the fact that t h e p o e t
uses almost every B - c o l o n to present a n e w sentence, rather than
letting the statement in the A - c o l o n gently c o m e to a halt in an
adjunct of time, place, or m o d e . T h e B - c o l o n almost always has
s o m e t h i n g n e w to c o n t r i b u t e , w h i c h is perhaps the m a i n reason
w h y t h e b o o k of J o b generates such intensity and e m o t i o n a l
impact. If n o t even t h e B - c o l o n is allowed the l u x u r y of adding
a syntactic detail, w h y should the A - c o l o n of a n e w line b e
allowed to d o so?
T h u s , the H e b r e w of v. 7a should be viewed as a n e w and n o m
inal sentence, w h i c h may b e literally translated as:"It is ' u p o n ' y o u r
knowledge t h a t . . . " T h e preposition here expresses an assignment:
"You have to recognize that I am n o t guilty!" M y readers will, of
course, n o w b e perfectly justified to ask once m o r e : Is it accept
able or defensible to differ from virtually everybody else? M y
answer w o u l d b e that structural analysis furnishes decisive argu
ments to say "yes" to this question. To this end, I observe the p r o
portions and boundaries of the stanza and its strophic units.
Even the w r o n g translation cannot hide the fact that w . 7 and
Wisdom Literature
183
13 together form a ring, as shown by means of italics and bold type

in the diagram below:
v. 7
You know that I am innocent,

and that none can deliver from your hand.
[w. 812: the body of the second stanza]
v. 13 Yet these things you hid in your heart,

I know that you had this in mind.
T h e iron fist and the heart full of secret plans that characterize G o d
form one-half of the inclusion, and they b o d e little good. T h e other
half consists of the complementary relationship between " y o u r "
and " m y " knowledge. "You k n o w that I a m i n n o c e n t " b u t it does
not look as if you are drawing the correct consequences from this.
W h a t is worse, I realize perfectly well that you are following a
course that will lead to m y destruction. By "these things" in v. 13a
J o b refers to all the forms of suffering G o d has sent him.
T h u s , the poet uses his ring construction to create a c o m p a r i
son b e t w e e n God's knowledge (which is n o t p u t to any use) and
Job's powerless knowledge. Job's knowledge is ineffective in a dif
ferent way, but still superior to God's. W i t h this w h o l e stanza J o b
demonstrates that G o d n o t only refuses to deal consistently or cor
rectly w i t h Job's innocence, but is also himself trapped inside c o n
tradiction. J o b shows this by literally watching God's hands: the
same hands that were so creatively shaping a h u m a n form are n o w
b e n t o n destroying their o w n creation! Verse 8 alone already m a n
ages to spell this out, but the long text passage constituted by this
stanza of three strophes is as a w h o l e also a compelling argument
in favor of the position that G o d is beset by internal contradic
tions. Again, this is a p o i n t scored against G o d .
Strophe 4 is the detailed exploration of v. 8a, the colon about
God's creating hands that itself is a continuation of "the w o r k of
Your hands" of v. 3b (in the first strophe). These w . 9 - 1 1 form an
L-strophe. N e x t w e get the S-strophe containing w . 1213, and this
unit, too, suffers badly in the current translations. W h a t it really boils
d o w n to is that our translators want to remain kind to God, with
the result that the t o r m e n t e d hero is left to fend for himself. Take,
184
for instance, the virtuous translation in the R S V : " T h o u hast granted

m e life and steadfast love; and thy care has preserved my spirit."
Actually, the verb in v. 12a comes from the root that makes its
first appearance in v. 3b (in "work," lit. " w h a t is m a d e " ) , and c o n
tinues as the verb " t o m a k e " in w . 8b and 9a. In the first place, the
context for this keyword is unfavorable, and second, b o t h the sub
ject and the predicate of v. 12b consist of notoriously ambiguous
words. Consequently, the w o r d " c a r e " should at the very least be
replaced by something m o r e neutral; the predicate, "guard," is
repeated very soon after the stanza boundary, even as soon as
v. 14a, and because of the context of its o w n strophe (the sixth,
w . 1415) acquires a clearly negative ring. For this reason, the
point of strophe 5 is just as delicate as w . 3, 6, and 8. This unit
should be read as sarcasm:
v. 12
13
Life and love you made me

and your inspection guarded my spirit.
Yet these things you hid in your heart,
I know you had this in mind.
strophe 5
T h e proof for this "nasty" reading is again provided by structural

analysis. T h e ring construction w h i c h marks and delimits the
stanza comprises n o t only the " k n o w l e d g e " of v. 7 and v. 13, but
also the c o n n e c t i o n b e t w e e n v. 8 and v. 12. God's " m a k i n g " seems
positive in 8a and 12a, but is plagued by inner contradiction, and
in 12b and 8b proves to refer to the negative concepts of " k e e p
ing an eye o n " and "destroying."
T h e climax of the sarcastic strophe 5 comes in the t w o words
that sound so lovely, "life and love" (the latter the same H e b r e w
w o r d w h i c h in Psalm 103 I have translated as "loyalty").They p r o
vide the alibi for the usual pious reading of this unit.
These t w o words are used predicatively in the sentence. "Life
and love you m a d e m e " is a way of phrasing w h i c h to m y m i n d
points to the m e a n i n g of life: we have b e e n created living beings
as an act of loyalty (of the G o d of the covenant, toward his cre
ation), and in order to ourselves lend shape to faithfulness or love
(toward G o d and o u r fellow h u m a n s ) . T h e combination of these
t w o words is u n i q u e in the Bible. I suspect they are a hendiadys,
as is underlined by their sound; they are closely linked thanks to
2
Wisdom Literature
185
alliteration (chayyim wachesed in the original language). F u r t h e r

more, they have b e e n placed in a perfectly planned position. Let
us just do a quick count.
Verses 1 2 - 1 3 (= strophe 5) as a pair form the center of the c o m
position, w h i c h consists of t w e n t y - t w o verses (also the total n u m
ber of the letters in the H e b r e w alphabet). T h e p o e m contains
forty-nine colai.e., t h e square of the holy n u m b e r 7. T h e odd
n u m b e r implies that o n e colon will be the middle o n e of the
series, and this is indeed v. 12a with its "life and love." W h a t is
m o r e , the predicate of this clause, the keyword " t o make," is the
exact middle of the 169 words of the original.This exact center of
the p o e m may n o w b e read as a secret message from the speaker
to his hearer, i.e., God: b e consistent, and stick to your o w n p r i n
ciples! In order to hear this appeal, however, the hearer will have
to see b e h i n d the mask of sarcasm or derision.
Stanza III:Job 10:14-17
14
You guard me when I sin
strophe 6
and do not clear me of iniquity.
15
Should I be guiltywoe is me!
When I am right, I cannot lift my head:
I am sated with shame and drenched in misery.
16
17
Whoever lifts himself like a lion you hunt me

and time and again your wondrous might
is upon me.
You send new witnesses against me
and increase your vexation with me,
troops, yea, an army against me.
strophe 7
This stanza speaks largely for itself. T h e r e are t w o S-strophes,both

consisting of a bicolon plus tricolon. T h e motifs of watching closely
and splitting hairs are elaborated in strophe 6. Strophe 7 leaves
n o t h i n g to the imagination as regards God's hostility, since total
war has been declared here. T h e subjects of the strophes change:
strophe 6 is given to the " I " and his deep misery; strophe 7 focuses
o n his assailant, w h o just does not let up. T h e concluding lines of
the units b o t h serve as climaxes, since they double the negative
terms. In v. 15c w e find "sated w i t h shame and drenched in
186
misery" as the nominal part of the predicate qualifying the " I , " and
" Y o u " (still G o d in the second person) closes strophe 7 w i t h
"troops, yea, an army."
In v. 16a I have intentionally, and in accordance w i t h the w o r d
order in the original, left out a c o m m a , so that the question arises
w h o exactly is the lion, G o d or Job? W i t h o u t the c o m m a the colon
is ambiguous, as is the original; it may b e read in two ways:
(a)
(b)
Whoever lifts himself, like a lion you hunt me

Whoever lifts himself like a lion, you hunt me
O p t i o n (a) roughly says: as soon as I venture to defend myself, I

a m confronted by a carnivorous animal, w h i c h is h o w you behave.
O p t i o n (b) is also correct, since the ambiguity so beloved by poets
means they want to have their cake and eat it. T h e second o p t i o n
says something like: although I show the courage of a lion w h e n I
fight you, I will lose, because you keep pursuing me.
Stanza IV:Job 10:18-22
18
Why did you let me come out of the womb?
If I expire, no eye would see me!
19
I would be as though I never was,
carried from the womb to the grave!
20
21
22
Are not my days few? So desist!

Leave me alone, let me feel a bit of joy,
before I depart, never to return,
for the land of darkness and death's shadow,
a land of gloom, like dusk,
death's shadow and disorder,
which shines like dusk.
strophe 8
strophe 9
T h e drift of this stanza is also clear. I will therefore simply point

out a n u m b e r of striking details: strophe 8 is an echo of the
extremely bitter complaint in ch. 3 , w h i c h formed the prologue
to the debate. It is a real death wish, working toward the climax of
the p o e m , and phrased in terms of a daring other wish: a c o u n t e r factual dream of never having been forced to start the nightmare
of this life. T h e same "impossible" m o d e has b e e n used by J o b
extensively in the frenetic complaint w i t h w h i c h the poetry of the
b o o k started.
Wisdom Literature
187
Stanza IV is the unit of death. T h e massive catalogue of terms

for the underworld dominates four of the seven cola. J o b starts his
last strophe once m o r e w i t h the e n e r g y / p o w e r of the c o m m a n d
m o d e . H e asks for n o t h i n g more, however, than a brief respite, a
short break. B u t this short m o m e n t is soon defeated by death. All
h o p e is swallowed u p by an inventory of darkness and chaos, w h i c h
threatens to go o n and on. T h e construction of v. 20 w i t h a d o u
ble predicate in each colon is a tight chiasm, w h e r e the c o m m a n d s
are framed by terms for brevity: a little bit of j o y for just a few days.
T h e sentence structure in the strophe is rather paradoxical: the
request "desist" is the m a i n clause, after w h i c h the entire c o m p l e x
from 21a through 22c is " o n l y " a temporal subclause. T h e effect,
however, is the reverse. T h e request is phrased in only a few words,
and the speaker has little confidence that it will b e taken seriously.
After that, we are inundated by the vast and complete darkness that
usurps the strophe, as it were.
T h e p o e m n o w seems finishedbut is it? T h e poet has saved
his most spectacular subtlety for the very last colon. There, an oxy
m o r o n * appears: darkness that shines! By deploying this verb the
p o e t finishes his piece in the fashion of a snake biting its tail.
" S h i n i n g " is what G o d already did in v. 3c, a colon that straight
away in the first strophe t o o k the criticism of G o d to a climax by
presenting G o d as an ally of the wicked.
F u r t h e r m o r e , in the original text, the verb " t o shine" in 22c is
an anagram* of the w o r d "pitch-dark," w h i c h opens v. 22, so that
the o x y m o r o n is strengthened even further. T h e c o n n e c t i o n
b e t w e e n the last strophe and the final colon of the o p e n i n g stro
p h e has far-reaching consequences for the significance of the
p o e m as a w h o l e : in this way, J o b suggests that G o d has chosen the
side of chaos, darkness, and sin by persecuting h i m relentlessly and
w i t h o u t reason. These, then, are "the things you hid in your heart,"
as J o b says. As I have stated before, there are numerous passages in
the Bible for w h i c h o n e needs a strong stomach.
T h e overall composition of the p o e m follows an A B - A ' B '
pattern:
188
Stanza I
A
you consider me guilty
you persecute me
Stanza III
A' you deny my innocence,
you hunt me
Stanza II
B
my birth: you are my maker,
but you plot against me
Stanza IV
B'
my death: give me respite,
before I enter total darkness
T h e main correspondences o n w h i c h this parallelism of the p o e m

halves is based have already been discussed. I would like, however,
to draw your attention to just a few m o r e connections. First, if w e
compare stanzas I and HI based on their A - A ' relationship, w e note
w h a t strophes 1 and 6 have in c o m m o n : the central n o t i o n of
" m y " supposed guilt versus " m y " innocence. T h e exclamation
" w o e is m e ! " is the continuation of the complaint of the tricolon
v. 1. T h e r e is a neat chiasm as well, since section A ends o n injus
tice and sin, whereas A ' (i.e., on the other side of stanza II) starts
w i t h sin and injustice.The B - B ' relationship between stanzas II and
IV is first of all based o n a polarity: the beginning and end of
h u m a n life. However, strophe 8 (the beginning of stanza IV) also
provides a verbal link by twice using the word that might well be
the title of strophe 4 (the L-strophe about the embryo), " w o m b , "
and by connecting this rather crassly to the grave, in o n e and the
same colon (v. 19b). Finally, strophes 5 and 8, flanking stanza II, in
the original language have the word "spirit" in c o m m o n , w h i c h I
have tried to echo by " e x p i r e " in v. 18b; in the context, "spirit"
means something like " m y life."
10
Love poetry
The Song of Songs
H o w r e l i g i o u s is t h e S o n g o f S o n g s ?
Practically all of the texts in the amazingly varied collection w e
call the Bible are of a literary nature. This is true not only of the
stories and poems, but also of the laws and c o m m a n d m e n t s . Even
dull catalogues such as genealogical tables (mainly in Genesis), or
enumerations of dwelling places o n or w i t h i n the boundaries of
tribal regions (cf. Joshua) are presented w i t h i n a literary frame
w o r k . B u t can all these texts also be labeled religious?
O f course, the vast majority are religious texts. T h e H e b r e w
poets, for one, are almost always c o n c e r n e d w i t h God, in the sec
o n d or third person, and this may often b e reversed: G o d keeps
poets occupied, in t w o senses of the word. Poets either express
h o w G o d touches t h e m , in a positive or negative sense, or tell us
h o w G o d fascinates t h e m w i t h His presence, or conversely, his dis
tressing absence; this testimony is expressed either in a m i n o r
keyin the form of complaints or protestsor in a major k e y
as hymns of praise or thanks. T h e narrators and lawgivers, too, stay
within the field of religion. Even in those passages w h e r e G o d
does n o t appear as a participant in the action or as a speaking char
acter, the values expressed by the writers are moral, and in the final
analysis, religious.
T h u s , it is all the m o r e remarkable that the Bible also contains
a collection of poetry like the Song of Songs: a short b o o k in
w h i c h G o d is n o t m e n t i o n e d at all. W e d o n o t really k n o w w h y
the early Jewish religious c o m m u n i t y included this collection in
the canon, although theories abound. B e that as it may, the Song
of Songs is a marvelously fresh and uninhibited work.
R e c e n t authors such as Francis Landy and Andr L a C o c q u e
have o p e n e d o u r eyes to the love p o e m s ' surprising subversiveness,
1
190

2
in view of the society in w h i c h they originated. Various aspects

of the H e b r e w and the appearance of a veritable Greek loan w o r d
lead us to assume that t h e Song of Songs was composed around
the third century B C E . King S o l o m o n is presented here already
almost like a fairy-tale character. Because of the pleasant allitera
tions with "Shulamite" (as the girl is called in ch. 7), the n a m e of
the capital Jerusalem, and shalom in 8:10, his name forms part of a
w e b of meanings. T h e sound of the n a m e is more important to the
poet than the historical figure of S o l o m o n himself. H e did attri
bute his b o o k of poems to the king in 1:1, but like Ecclesiastes 1:1
this is an instance of pseudepigraphy (lit. "false attribution"). In
antiquity our concept of plagiarism was u n k n o w n , and anybody
w h o had composed a g o o d p o e m or a series of proverbs tried to
draw attention to it and enhance its prestige from the outset by
inscribing it w i t h a famous n a m e from the past.
Is the Song of Songs subversive? T h e ancient Middle East was
at least as disapproving and repressive toward eroticism and sexu
ality as it is now, and social control was extremely strict. T h e Song
of Songs also offers clear confirmation of this, for instance, in the
w a t c h m e n patrolling the t o w n w h o chase the girl and beat her
until she bleeds, w h e n she ventures to go out in the dark and look
for her beloved, 3:3 and 5:7. Free and unrestricted sexuality was
taboo.
R o u g h l y the same may be said of the reception history of the
Song of Songs. Its p o e t r y has for m o r e than 1,500 years suffered
neurotic treatment at the hands of Jewish and Christian exegetes.
O u t of embarrassment or (not openly admitted) outrage at the
direct and open way in w h i c h the Song of Songs speaks of sexual
attraction and the sexual act, interpreters decided to whitewash all
offensive elements wherever possible, by subjecting the b o o k to
allegorization*.The Jews maintained that the lover is an image of
God, and that the girl represents the people of Israel. T h e C h r i s
tians adopted their o w n , even m o r e far-fetched variant: the lover
is Christ, and the girl is the C h u r c h . B o t h groups tried to sell this
interpretative technique as a form of spiritualization.
This m e t h o d of "exegesis" (lit. "drawing out," but in this case
rather a form of "adding on") was already o n its last legs two
centuries ago, but has long continued to make itself felt in the
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191
interpretation of the Song of Songs. M a n y commentators and

translators in the n i n e t e e n t h and twentieth centuries have tried
their utmost to "civilize" the lovers and make t h e m fit for polite
society by maintaining that the b o o k was originally used in the
context (or Sitz im Leben* as the technical t e r m is) of a marriage
ceremony, so that the strophes exchanged by the pair could b e p r e
sented as acceptable w e d d i n g songs. W h e n the voice of o n e lover
was replaced by that of the other, this was indicated in the margin
of the translation, n o t by neutral terms such as " h e " or "she," b u t
by " b r i d e g r o o m " and " b r i d e " w h i c h is still the case in the N e w
A m e r i c a n Standard Bible and some European translations. A
shocking example of translation manipulating the reader and p r o
ducing ideological pollution.
T h e question is n o w : Is it possible to civilize love? T h e writer
of the Song of Songs w o u l d answer that love is not civilized. N e i
ther is it uncivilizedin Nietzsche's phrase, true love is "beyond
g o o d and evil" (jenseits von Gut und Bose).The lovers w h o m the
writer has allowed to fill the entire Song of Songs are never b o t h
ered by morality or religion. T h e y are carefree, spontaneous, and
pure. T h e i r senses are w i d e o p e n to enjoyment: they enjoy each
other, the wide space of the landscape, and the smells and colors
in w h i c h the world is n o w steeped. T h e only remaining question
is a bit of a poser and concerns us rather than t h e m : Are w e as read
ers also allowed to enjoy ourselves?
W e may certainly relax and enjoy the spring song in ch. 2 of the
Song of Songs, in w h i c h the girl speaks.
192
The Spring Song: 2:8-17

Songs 2:8a
Hark: my belovedthere he comes!
b
he leaps over mountains,
c
bounds over hills.
9a
My beloved is like a gazelle
b
or like a young stag,
c
There he stands, behind our wall,
d
he is gazing through the window,
e
peering through the lattice.
10a
b
c
11a
b
12a
b
c
13a
b
strophe 1
My beloved called and spoke to me:

"Arise, my darling,
come away, my fair one!
strophe 2
For look, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The blossoms have appeared on the land,
the time of pruning/singing has come
and the voice of the turtledove is
heard in our land.
The fig colors its unripe fruit,
the vines in blossom give off their
fragrance.
13c
d
14a
b
c
d
e
f
Arise, my darling,
come away, my fair one!
My dove, in the crannies of the rock,
hidden in the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet
and your face is comely."
[15a
b
c
d
Catch us the foxes,

the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyard which is in blossom!]
16a
b
17a
b
c
d
e
My beloved is mine, and I am his,

who browses among the lilies,
before the day blows
and the shadows take flight:
Turn round, my love, be like a gazelle
or a young stag
on the cleft hills.
strophe 3
intermezzo: duet
strophe 4
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193
These verses are faintly reminiscent of the oldest k n o w n song in

English, the medieval canon " S u m m e r is i c u m e n in." M a n y details
hardly require any commentary. Crucial here is the articulation
into strophes. In v. 10a w e notice a quotation formula, familiar
from prose texts, w h i c h w e may leave out of the actual p o e m or
its meter. This line has far-reaching consequences, as it proves that
the girl has verbal control of the p o e m as a whole, and that the
y o u n g man is allowed to speak only w h e n she lets h i m . Verse lObc,
a bicolon, returns w i t h o u t any changes as v. 13cd. This rather
extensive repetition proves that the y o u n g m a n has not finished
speaking after v. 13ab, and also indicates that w e cross a threshold
into a n e w strophe.
T h u s , the y o u n g m a n speaks two complete strophes, but only
because he has been given the floor. This means that his words,
from v. 10b through v. 14f, are e m b e d d e d speech, i.e., seconddegree direct speech. T h e strophes introducing him, and thus
responsible for the embedding, are spoken by the girl (strophes 1
and 4). I will leave v. 15 aside for the m o m e n t .
T h e girl's t w o strophes encircle the t w o spoken by the boy
according to a symmetrical A B - B ' A ' pattern, suggesting a tight or
closed construction. This proves to b e correct w h e n w e l o o k at
content and images. In strophe 1, the girl compares her lover to a
gazelle and its quick, j u m p y movements. This simile returns in
strophe 4, in v. 17cd, and here, too, the p o i n t of the comparison is
m o v e m e n t . B u t from w h e r e to where? A n d at which time of day?
In these matters of time and space, many translations are u n f o r t u
nately in total disarray, and the same applies to the parallel v. 8:14,
w h i c h constitutes the very last verse of the Song of Songs.
Searching for a solution, I again look at v. 17.The sentence core
is an imperative in 17c (extended by another imperative, still in
17c), preceded by a temporal clause w h i c h I will here render lit
erally: "Before the day blows / and the shadows take flight / / t u r n
round, m y love, / be like a gazelle," etc. Traditional exegesis*
immediately created problems for itself here by consulting the
Palestine meteorological institute, w h e r e they were told that after
a h o t day a light breeze often blows in the evening. This informa
tion was c o m b i n e d w i t h " t h e day blows," and resulted in the c o n
clusion that v. 17 refers to the evening.
194
A sound structural analysis and some sober considerations will

prevent us from falling into these traps. R e a d i n g the text from back
to front, I notice that the original language speaks of shadows r u n
ning away, using a verb that never means anything but "taking
flight." R u n n i n g away is what people do from enemies, in case of
war or disaster. T h e question then becomes: W h o is the enemy of
the shadows, w h o forces t h e m to fly? To which the simple answer
is: the burning sun. In Palestine, the sun often rises so high that a
man hardly casts a shadow. T h e sun wins in the morning, not at
night. In the evening, the shadows gain the upper hand and within
a quarter of an h o u r expand into total darkness. T h e information
that the day "blows" we may n o w take as a metaphor: the day
breathes, comes to lifewhich fits the m o r n i n g . T h e n , the girl says:
"turn round," which is not at all the same as saying "come," although
many translations opt for this. Does she want the boy to leave?
T h e interpretation of v. 17 as referring to the m o r n i n g is for
tunately offered by the R S V , and is proved by the chiastic s y m m e
try of the p o e m . Such a crosswise construction is eminently suited
to expressing polarities, differences, or contrasts, in this case about
the directions in w h i c h the boy is moving. Whereas strophes 1 and
4 devote the same simile to the y o u n g man's fast movements, their
cohesion (symmetry-cwm-difference) is that of c o m i n g and going.
T h e boy comes to enjoy love and being together w i t h his girl
friend, but h e must take care to get away before the break of dawn
in order not to b e caught.
In the middle h e invitingly sings her a song of the spring. Stro
phes 2 and 3 fill in the B - B ' correspondence by sharing visual and
auditive terms, and first of all by b o t h starting w i t h identical
appeals from the boy to the girl. T h e gazelle's darting course
through nature is stopped by the arrangements of culture: the lat
tice of her house. I interpret this as an image of society barring
access to the girl. Consequently, these bars are the first i t e m the
boy addresses w h e n he starts his textual units B - B ' (= strophes 2
and 3) w i t h his repeated appeal: h e asks her to c o m e out. T h e n it
is her t u r n to move, and in this way the cultural barrier may be
removed.
T h e y o u n g m a n lets himself b e inspired by the fact that his girl
friend has "transformed" h i m into a gazelle in strophe 1, since he
Love Poetry
195
in t u r n makes her a dove.There is another parallel in the way they

each use the simile: the gazelle's leaping is linked to the mountains,
but there is the pleasant anticipation that " h e " is coming. T h e girl
in t u r n is a dove hidden in a cranny of the rock, being invited to
c o m e out. This is followed in v. 14cdef by a quartet of cola c o m
bining the senses of vision and hearing in a chiasm, and focusing
o n the girl's loveliness.
Seeing and hearing are also m e n t i o n e d in strophe 2, and there,
too, the subtleties of f o r m are considerable. In the tricolon v. 12,
the A - c o l o n is visual and the C - c o l o n auditory, while b o t h versets
e n d in an epiphora* or rhyme, " t h e / o u r land." W h a t happens in
the B-colon? In v. 12b, the poet uses a w o r d (zamier in the origi
nal language) that has various meanings, and is a h o m o n y m h e
wants to keep all his options open. If w e translate it by "pruning,"
w e picture the gardener at work, right after the winter, w h i c h links
12b to the visual A - c o l o n . If o n the other h a n d w e translate it by
"singing," w h i c h is just as legitimate, 12b becomes a perfect p a r t
ner for the auditory C - c o l o n . W e have here a splendid example of
ambiguity: a double entendre that indeed doubles the w o r d m e a n
ing. T h e turtledove of v. 12c anticipates the dove of v. 14a. Verse
13 returns to the visual m o d e , and shows us the plants that are the
objects of the farmer's attention. At the same time they are expres
sions (and metaphors) of awakening love, and together w i t h the
blossoms of v. 12a provide an inclusion for the second half of the
strophe.
T h e seductive tones and images c o m i n g from the y o u n g m a n
are answered by the girl. She speaks a sentence w h i c h is almost a
formula: " M y beloved is m i n e and I am his." This is in any case a
key sentence w i t h respect to her position and the part she plays,
since it returns in 6:3a crucial passage about the c o n s u m m a t i o n
of love, and a center of gravity in the composition of the b o o k
and there are variations such as 7:11a and 13e. In the original text,
the sounds are a beautiful alternation of the long vowels i and o
dodi li wa-ani lo, a sentence of unsurpassed compactness, consisting
of only seven syllables. In combination w i t h the word meanings
these vowels form a chiasm, as the perfect expression of reciproc
ity: the two belong to each other heart and soul. T h e closedness
of the A B - B ' A ' pattern symbolizes their inseparability.
196
This formula of reciprocity (as w e may call it) is the threshold

of the final strophe. W i t h i n the p o e m I read the girl's phrase as her
"yes" to him, after he has seduced her w i t h his song for t w o w h o l e
strophes. In only a few syllables she manages to speak m o r e dialogicalfy than he did in seventeen cola. N e x t , however, she has to
draw his attention to the pressure of time and the reality of soci
ety. She follows u p her formula of inseparability by urgent words
of leave-taking: quick, get out now, or e l s e . . . . T h e very last words
of the p o e m have the gazelle leave through "cleft hills," and if w e
steer clear of prudish tradition w e should take this as a reference
(spoken by the girl herself!) to the lover's visit to her m o u n t of
Venus, her genitals.
T h e rigorous A B - B ' A ' m o d e l of this p o e m , w i t h its movements
to and fro, is rudely interrupted by v. 15. W h i c h voice is respon
sible for this pair of bicola? N o b o d y can offer any certainty o n this
point, so that readers are at liberty to view this verse in any way
they please. Suddenly an " u s " appears in the text, in roughly the
same way as in 1:17 (after " h e " has sung 1:15 and " s h e " answered
w i t h T. 16), w h i c h w o u l d seem to indicate that 2:15 may be viewed
as a strophe sung by the boy and his girlfriend together, a duet in
w h i c h they defend the garden of love against attacks from outside.
This short strophe again uses vegetative images, and again m e n
tions animals. These aspects argue in favor of accepting this unit in
the place w h e r e it is now, for the following reasons. T h e foxes
(elsewhere the w o r d can even m e a n "jackals," for instance, in Job)
are destructive burrowers, and thus are the opposites of dove and
gazelle here. T h e vine is the privileged plant in the Song of Songs,
and the vineyard is the equally privileged application of the c o n
cept "garden." Every n o w and then these words retain a little of
their literal meanings, but their figurative meaning is far m o r e
important: the vineyard is the foremost image of the place w h e r e
love is, then of love itself, and the enjoyment of it. It fits into a
series: the trio of fig, olive, and vine, w h i c h in Judges 9 so effec
tively populates J o tham's parable-and-fable is n o w complete in o u r
spring songanother signal w a r n i n g us against leaving out v. 15.
Verse 15 seems highly out of place in a composition that in all
its other parts exhibits such a strict symmetry. However, there is a
way to integrate this strophe into the w h o l e after all: by seeing that
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197
this disruption parallels the work of the foxes in the carefully

fenced-off vineyard (compare the parable in Isaiah 5). In their duet
the lovers recognize the existence of counterforces, and at the
same time encourage each other to resist t h e m . T h e poet integrates
the strophe about disruption by himself introducing a form of dis
ruption. This means that v. 15, in itself a poetic signal (a group of
language signs that b e l o n g together), has an iconic function: by its
form, and by its presence, it is an interloper, w h i c h is an image
(icon, see also chapter 5) of the intruders in the vineyard.
B e g i n n i n g and end of the b o o k are linked by a n u m b e r of
u n d e r r a t e d forms of inclusion, o n e of w h i c h is the vineyard. In
l:6cde, the girl, probably walking t h r o u g h the fields t e n d i n g the
sheep, and in any case rather sunburnt, reproaches herself as
follows:
1:6c
d
e
My mother's sons quarreled with me

and made me guard of the vineyards
my own vineyard I did not guard!
W e see a fascinating tension between literal and figurative speech.

A n d readers w h o may have missed it are further enlightened by
this mini-parable from the concluding chapter:
8:11
12
Solomon had a vineyard

in Baal-hamon ("place of bounty").
He gave that vineyard to guards,
each bringing a thousand pieces of silver for its fruit.
My very own vineyard is before me:
the thousand pieces are yours, Solomon,
and two hundred to the guards of its fruit.
Again w e see the m e r g i n g of the literal with the figurative. " M y

vineyard" is her o w n experience of love, w h i c h is priceless. Shortly
before, in 8:6-7, the famous passage about love being as strong as
death and n o t to b e q u e n c h e d by vast floods, she had said (in a
slighdy freer translation):
8:7c
d
If a man offered everything he possessed for love,

he will be covered with insult and scorn.
198
Obviously, " M o n e y can't b u y you love" is an old refrain! Again, the

verb " t o give" has b e e n used; on the last page it is a keyword cre
ating a connection w i t h w . 1 1 - 1 2 .
Verse 8:13 constitutes the last words from the y o u n g man; h e is
eager to hear her voicea request that echoes 2:14. This is fol
lowed by the very last verse of the b o o k , another echo of the spring
song. W h o is speaking? According to the standard R o m a n
Catholic D u t c h translation, this is the boy. T h e translators have put
" h e " in the margin opposite v. 1 1 , and have inserted n o further
blank lines after that; this means that they believe that all the text
from v. 11 through v. 14 is the boy's, starting with the parable of
Solomon's vineyard (an unfortunate decision), and including the
final verse. This is a particularly glaring mistake, and the translation
they offer is also way off the mark:
Songs 8:14
Come quickly, my love, be like the gazelle

or the young stag on the hills of spices.
T h e fact alone that the gazelle simile had earlier been used by the
girl makes this translation implausible, and it is made even m o r e
implausible because of the parallelism b e t w e e n this verse and 2:17.
W h a t is worse, in the original language there is n o " c o m e " or
" c o m e quickly." This rendering is a travesty of the truth, w h i c h is
that the girl again simply and unequivocally uses a f o r m of " t o
flee." Although choosing another root than the earlier fleeing of
the shadows, i.e., a synonym, she does say "flee," using a w o r d
w h o s e meaning is beyond d o u b t . T h e sorry height of bad transla
tion, however, is achieved by the fact that this rendering ignores
the grammatical gender in v. 14a: in the original language, b o t h
forms of the imperative are in fact masculine singular, w h i c h
proves beyond d o u b t that it is the girl speaking here instead of
the boy.
T h e N e w English Bible, w h i c h continually uses the ideologi
cally tainted terms " b r i d e g r o o m " and " b r i d e " to designate the
speakers in the Song, also uses these titles for the last t w o speeches.
T h e translators do recognize that v. 13 is spoken by the boy and
v. 14 by the girl. H e r e too, however, the verb of m o v e m e n t has
b e e n translated totally wrongly by " C o m e into the open, m y
beloved." T h u s , in a wishy-washy m a n n e r w h i c h borders o n the
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199
malicious, the Song of Songs is supplied w i t h something vaguely

resembling a happy ending; in reality, the b o o k ends w i t h another
of the numerous leave-takings b e t w e e n the two, w h o are again
deprived of each other's company because o f the force of a repres
sive society. So, w e might say that
a) the real implication of the Song of Songs is that the
pair might be better off getting a marriage license, and
be rid of all the hassle;
b) the translators did not hesitate to take it upon them
selves to file away the rough edges of the Song of
Songs, so that the reader has no opportunity to
become aware of these, which in turn has the para
doxical result of strengthening bourgeois repression by
making it invisible.
G u i d e l i n e s for r e a d i n g t h e S o n g o f S o n g s
T h e entire Song of Songs is a dialogue b e t w e e n a male and a
female voice.The rare poetic lines they do n o t speak are the e x c e p
tions that serve only to confirm the rule. T h e t w o voices c o n t i n
ually alternate, often rapidly, which is the main source o f t h e great
dynamic force that characterizes the b o o k .
T h e quick changes of voice are of fundamental i m p o r t a n c e to
the reader. W e will lose the thread if w e d o n o t remain attentive
and if w e do n o t first ask ourselves at the b e g i n n i n g of each verse:
W h o is speaking here? A n d is h e / s h e actually speaking to h i s / h e r
partner? This is usually the case, b u t occasionally the speaker is
addressing h i s / h e r peer group. A n y b o d y w h o reads H e b r e w will
b e able to supply a decisive answer at the very b e g i n n i n g of p r a c
tically every strophe. W i t h i n two or three words the grammatical
g e n d e r of an imperative, vocative, etc. has b e c o m e clear, so that
t h e hearer of the original language immediately understands that
the speaker is of the opposite sex. A n example is 4:8a, w h e r e a
voice says: " C o m e from Lebanon!" In English, the w o r d " c o m e "
does n o t reveal anything about the sex of the addressee; in
Hebrew, it always does. Here, it is a feminine form, so that by the
second syllable the Hebraist can already conclude that the b o y is
speaking here. In 4:8a users of a translation n e e d n o t wait very
long, as the c o m m a n d is followed by t h e vocative " b r i d e " a
200
semantic signal about the addressee that reveals the sex of the
speaker.
T h u s , anyone w h o reads the Song of Songs in English profits
greatly from an indication of the sex of the speaker in the margin.
For a correct understanding of the text it is crucial to b e able to
follow the quick changes of voice. H e r e , the D u t c h R o m a n
Catholic translation I criticized earlier leads by example, and has
b e e n sensible e n o u g h to use the neutral and short " h e " and "she";
an apparent break with the tradition of using the saccharine terms
" b r i d e " and " b r i d e g r o o m , " w h i c h are far too interpretative and
lead t h e reader astray. I myself h o p e to be of service o n this point
in chapter 12, w h e r e in the "Guidelines for further reading" I give
the verse n u m b e r s for all entries (i.e., changes of voice) in the Song
of Songs. Anyone w h o loses track for a m o m e n t of w h o is w h o in
the translation may find the answer there. O n e fact gleaned from
the list is that the girl speaks thirty times, the boy eighteen times.
3
A second matter of fundamental importance is the question of

h o w m u c h unity there is in this collection of love poetry. It would
be nice if we could switch off our expectations for a m o m e n t . T h e
exegetical school that in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
succeeded the allegorizing approach and is sometimes called "natu
ralistic" has until recently paid insufficient attention to the various
specifically literary signals of cohesion. T h e unfortunate result was
that the Song of Songs was treated atomistically, as a long string of
scattered snippets. Jews and Christians of pardy or wholly funda
mentalist signature would not let go of the concept of Solomon's
authorship, and bent over backwards trying to prove that the Song of
Songs really was extremely old, etc. Scholars went mad speculating
about background, Sitz im Leben, and date of origin; Palestinian w e d
ding songs from the nineteenth century were dragged in to provide
parallels, and so on and so forth. This type of research, however, is
about as relevant as the question w h e n and where Rumpelstiltskin
lived, what his age was, and whether he had brown or blue eyes.
D u r i n g the past thirty years the tide of research has fortunately
turned; scholars are m o r e willing to let the Song of Songs speak
for itself, and have discovered that listening closely is really all that
is required, instead of ferreting around next to or u n d e r n e a t h the
text; it is also far m o r e productive.
4
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201
Because the Song of Songs is rather mercurial in its playfulness

and dynamics, it cannot b e easily a c c o m m o d a t e d in an outline or
diagram. F r o m the outset the text dodges all attempts at labeling,
and anyone trying to subject it to a strict division should b e
warned. Yet, it is w o r t h the effort to have a shot at it. It is b o t h p o s
sible and sensible to provide the reader w i t h some sort of foothold,
thanks to a characteristic of the Song of Songs itself: the presence
and distribution of various repetitions.
T h e b o o k may be seen as a composition in seven "blocks": there
are seven groups of short textual units, the units being separate
strophes or p o e m s . T h u s , block II consists of t w o poems: the spring
song in four strophes, w h i c h w e have just read, plus the "story" of
a nocturnal quest in 3:14.
T h e outside blocks have the least rigorous structure, at least if
w e consider t h e m separately. These are 1:2-2:7 and 8:5-14, and
they seem to offer a fragmentary series of impressions. T h u s , it is
all the m o r e striking that they have various points of contact,
w h i c h I w o u l d like to see as forms of inclusion after all. N o t only
is there the girl's neglected b u t eventually nicely cultivated " v i n e
yard," m e n t i o n e d earlier (and found in 1:6 and 8:1112), there is
also a group of y o u n g m e n : the girl's brothers in 1:6c and their
song about protecting her in 8:89 (eight cola), plus the boy's
friends, the shepherds m e n t i o n e d in 1:7 and 8:13b. F u r t h e r m o r e ,
there is the intimacy of table and h o m e in 1:4, 12, 17, and 2:4
(about a dozen cola, spoken by the girl), corresponding to the ten
cola of 8:1-3 that also c o m e from her (and together w i t h 8:4 c o n
stitute the conclusion of block VI).
Blocks I and II are closed by a refrain verse that contributes
gready to unifying the collection, and w h i c h deserves closer
scrutiny. First, however, I will present an outline of the structure:
block
II
verses
1:2-2:7 2:8-3:5
III
IV
VI
VII
3:6-5:1 5:2-6:3 6:4-7:6 7:7-8:4 8:5-14
T h e circular shape of an embracealso that of the explicit

embrace in 2:6may have inspired the p o e t to his demarcation of
block I: an inclusion m a d e up by the intimacy of house, w i n e , and
embrace (the first t w o strophes, 1:24, and the last strophe, 2:46).
202
T h e change of voice not only is of crucial significance for the

understanding of each verse, but also proves to be a p r o m i n e n t cri
terion for the main outline. T h e w h o l e of block II really goes to
the girl.The two strophes w e have heard from the boy in 2:1014
have b e e n granted to h i m by her, but have " o n l y " the status of
e m b e d d e d speech.
Block III devotes its o p e n i n g to " t h e chorus": to the " d a u g h
ters of Jerusalem," w h o are the girl's peers and sing of the approach
of " S o l o m o n ' s " palanquin, accompanied by a t h r o n g of sixty w a r
riors. This description acquires an apt counterpart in 6:810,
w h i c h in contrast is recited by the boy, and in w h i c h a crowd of
sixty " q u e e n s " surrounds the "bride's" cortege. T h e girl reacts to
the chorus (which spoke 3:610) in 3:11, and incites her friends/
the girls to follow her king admiringly w i t h their gazes.
After these female voices, the b o d y of block III goes to the b o y
In 4:17 h e presents his first example of a so-called "descriptive
song" (the Arabic t e r m , w h i c h I like to use, is wasf), w h i c h is also
the longest. In a series o f bold metaphors, he depicts his lover's
body, starting at the top w i t h the eyes and hair. T h e range of the
description is exacdy that of a bust, and in its visual fixation o n her
the song resembles a p h o t o g r a p h . It concludes w i t h a striking par
allel to the time limit I was forced to discuss earlier, together w i t h
2:17, as it has been so ineptly translated:
Songs 4:6
Before the day breathes

and the shadows flee
I want to go to the mountain of myrrh,
and the hill of frankincense:
every part of you is fair, my darling
there is no blemish on you.
It is n o t necessary to have a dirty m i n d to make the connection

with 2:17: the hill of frankincense is n o n e other than the cleft hill.
T h e verse after the colon (:) is a summary or conclusion, and
employs the all-nothing contrast.
In the sequel, the idea of c o n s u m m a t i o n (the sexual act)
becomes m o r e p r o m i n e n t . First, the y o u n g man utters an invita
tion (two strophes, 4:811) in w h i c h h e represents her embraces
as w i n e . W i t h this, h e exacdy mirrors w h a t his enamored did at the
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203
very beginning (where in 1:2 w e saw the colon "your embraces

are sweeter than w i n e " ) . T h e impressive and rough landscape of
the Lebanon mountains serves as the backdrop.
In 4 : 1 2 - 1 5 , the boy bursts into a stream of metaphors. These,
too, are images from the landscape, but this time of m o r e cultivated
land.The central m e t a p h o r here is the garden, for the garden is you,
the boy says. T h e girl is given one strophe (4:16) and being of the
same m i n d says: "Let my beloved c o m e to this garden, / and enjoy
its luscious fruits"it is easy to guess w h a t it is that she thus per
mits and encourages. T h e ending of block III goes to the boy, in
5:lab and c d . H e does go into the garden,and eats and drinks there.
T h e n , the final line, 5:lef, says, using verbs in the masculine plural:
eat, my friends, and drink / and get drunk on embraces
A nice transition, as in the A-colon w e might still be u n d e r the
impression that a real feast is being described, and "eating" and
" d r i n k i n g " literally represent eating and drinking. T h e m e t a p h o r
in the B-colon, however, rapidly cures us of such naivete. (Eating,
drinking, and getting somebody else d r u n k was the lethal program
to w h i c h David subjected his guest U r i a h in 2 Sam. 1 1 . W h e n ,
however, Uriah's virtue did n o t falter in spite of all the alcohol, the
king allowed h i m to take his o w n sealed death warrant to the front.
T h a t w h o l e episode was also about consummating love, but
David's adultery w i t h Bathsheba is in strong contrast to the para
disiacal purity of the lovers in the Song of Songs!)
In the text, a series of correspondences may be found that s u p
p o r t the idea of a concentric structure. I a m certainly n o t going to
belabor this point of a closed symmetry too m u c h , given that the
liveliness of the Song of Songs is hardly compatible with a c o m
pelling and rigorous structure. However, I do think that the line
addressed to " m y friends" (5:lef) is the center of a m o r e or less
concentric design. As such, it is remarkable, because this r e c o m
m e n d a t i o n to enjoy embraces is a concluding line by w h i c h the
speaker abandons the contact for a m o m e n t ; he places himself o u t
side the intimacy of " y o u " and "me," and invites others to j o i n i n
it might even be an invitation to the readers! A n d another thing:
by w h o m is this verse spoken exactly? Is the y o u n g m a n speaking
t o t h e boys? Is t h e couple speaking to friends b o t h male and
female? These possibilities cannot b e excluded.
204
T h e question of w h o is speaking is also a decisive factor in block

IV; this time, the entire text goes to the w o m e n . D u r i n g o n e short
strophe (5:2cdef), the girl quotes the b o y a n o t h e r instance of
e m b e d d e d speechbut all of the remaining text in 5:2 through
6:3 is spoken by the girl and her friends. In 5:2 she again tells of
the arrival of her lover, and sings of h e r great desire for h i m . T h e
ending is tragic: she receives a thrashing after a fruitless search.
N e x t , she impresses u p o n the "daughters of Jerusalem" something
she also said in 2:5c: "I a m faint w i t h love." This verse, 5:8, is the
pivot of block IV. T h e second half consists mainly of another
"descriptive song," this time a wasf sung by her about him: her only
one, but a l o n g one, of exactly twelve verses, 5:1016. She, too,
starts at the top in her part-by-part account of his body, but goes
further d o w n , to his thighs. Verse 16 is a clear form of conclusion.
O n either side of the descriptive song the chorus have had t w o
speeches. Verses 5:9 and 6:1 are t w o quartets of cola, i.e.,
S-strophes,in w h i c h the girls act as if they ask her for information
about him. T h e parallelism is rather special here, as the A-coIa are
the same in b o t h cases, and the first B - c o l o n does not change: 9b
is identical to 6:1b, a vocative addressing her as the "fairest a m o n g
w o m e n . " In b o t h these questions the chorus acts as a stooge: the
girl may n o w break out in a long description of his beautiful body,
ending in 6:23 in short but sweet verses o f . . . consummation,
again through the image of the garden. This makes the end of
block IV the exact parallel of the end of III.
N e x t , the other voice takes over again, also for a long time:
block V as a w h o l e goes to the y o u n g m a n . T h e opening is a true
da capo, as in 6:47 he repeats half of his descriptive song from
4:17.The conclusion is also a description, so that the repeated use
of the same genre here already serves to frame the block. This is
the third and last descriptive song c o m i n g from the y o u n g m a n , in
7 : 1 - 5 , and this time h e works from the b o t t o m up. T h e dance
w h i c h he encourages the girl to perform in 6:13 draws his gaze
d o w n to her feet, so that in 7:1 he starts by describing the dance
steps she makes.
5
Block VI consists of three stanzas. T h e boy compares her form

to that of a palm tree in 7:79. T h e girl replies w i t h n e w images
of garden and vine in 1114, and completes this block with 8:14,
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205
a stanza that sets out to provide a roof for the desired intimacy.
Enjoying each other undisturbed is n o t easy:
Songs 8:1
W h o could make you like a brother of mine

that also nursed at my mothers breast!
Then I would meet you outside, I would kiss you
and yet, no one would despise me.
T h e strophe o n c e again makes clear that the partners c a n n o t give

free rein to their passion in the o p e n air, and quickly feel
w a t c h e d . T h e scorn o f v. I d soon returns, in the colon 8:7f. m e n t i o n e d earlier.
In 8:3 w e find an identical bicolon to 2:6.This is the upbeat to
8:4, the exact continuation of the slightly fuller S-strophes 2:7 and
3:5, w h i c h carry the same message.This threefold refrain is o n e of
the most powerful tools by w h i c h the p o e t manages to keep his
collection together. A lot is going o n here that merits analysis:
Songs 2:7
I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem,

by the gazelles or the hinds of the field:
do not wake or rouse
love before it pleases.
This s t r o p h e w h i c h by its distribution marks the end of a block

n o fewer than three times and always comes from the girlis
remarkable for m o r e than o n e reason. In the first place, the speaker
places herself radically outside the intimate tte--tte that characterizes all other speech in the Song of Songs: for a m o m e n t , she
relinquishes the y o u - a n d - m e intimacy. O n the w h o l e , the boy and
girl do n o t lapse into philosophical prattle, n o n c o m m i t t a l talk
about yesterday and tomorrow, or gossip about neighbors: they
always concentrate o n expressing the here and n o w that is created
by love, and they speak about their love: attraction, desire, meeting
followed by leave-taking.
However, there is o n e exception to this: the refrain. T h e r e , the
girl generalizes about love, she is n o t addressing her lover but her
group of friends, and she pronounces an important admonition. In
these generalizations and admonishments, I recognize the t o n e and
genre of W i s d o m literature; with a m i n i m u m of adaptations, the
words w o u l d n o t b e o u t of place in a collection of proverbs.
206
T h u s , in these m o m e n t s of closurein 2:7 and 3:5 and 8:4

the girl shows herself capable of drawing abstract conclusions from
her actual experience. At the same time, however, the refrain
enables her to deal w i t h and use h e r emotions, since before and
after the refrain she speaks a large n u m b e r of intense strophes
about the immense p o w e r of love, and from this she draws a les
son that she wants to share w i t h her peers.
T h e girl's view of love is certainly n o t rose-colored. H e r most
famous verse (8:6cd) in a literal translation runs as follows: "Yea,
love is as fierce as death, / hard as Hades is passion." T h e allitera
tion w i t h the h I have used in the B - c o l o n is a faint reflection of
the hard k - and s-sounds in the original text, and " m y " Hades is
the underworld that the p o e t of the Psalms calls Sheol.
Love, then, is n o t a force to be toyed with, and w e should n o t
b e so stupid (the girl tells her friends) as to stir it u p prematurely,
or manipulate it in some way, since love's authenticity will then be
lost and forces released w h i c h may swallow you u p . T h e girl speaks
w i t h authority here: all h e r other verses give the reader a direct
and vivid picture of the forces to w h i c h she, being so m u c h in love,
is exposed.
11
The reader's attitude
Productive questions and hints
T h e p r o p e r r e a d i n g attitude
T h e text is completely defenseless against any form of abuse; for
the text, the reader is either a blessing or a curse. M u c h depends
o n o u r attitude.We may decide to w o r k o n our open-mindedness,
and constantly adapt our picture of the text while reading. C u r i o s
ity is a great asset; self-criticism is even better.
R e a d i n g properly is always active puzzle-solving: c o m p a r i n g
elements, checking o n a character's history, sometimes consulting
an atlas or a Bible h a n d b o o k . Asking questions is m o r e i m p o r t a n t
than c o m m i t t i n g ourselves to answers. Uncertainty means that o n e
is still open for change and rejuvenation; certainty may soon t u r n
to atrophy. Being able to w o r k with such simple, but basic, poetic
tools as parallelism, voice shifts, verse structure, and the distribu
tion of repeated elements is m u c h m o r e important in the encounter
w i t h the Bible than being devout.
All this may also b e formulated in negative terms: w h a t are our
biggest traps? To m e n t i o n a few:
1) O u r desire to k n o w : after some reading and searching, w e
want to c o m e up w i t h a finished interpretation, and are (too) eas
ily satisfied w i t h a total picture based o n only partial observation
of the textual characteristics. In this way w e c o m m i t ourselves, and
forget to check our results rigorously against the text itself once
more, sometime d u r i n g the procedure.
2) W e allow o u r energy and attention to be sucked u p by the
historical world that is connected to t h e origin of the text, and
somewhere hides the cause of its being written. T h a t reality, or the
reality of whichever century, has a different m o d e of being than a
story as a creative but finite string of language signs. D o n o t be
t e m p t e d to speculate o n " h o w it really was," there and then, so far
208
away and so long ago, in that utterly alien culture. T h e p o e m

accommodates these far horizons in its o w n way, but never exclu
sively consists of referencing t h e m . T h r o u g h the m e d i u m of our
attention and o u r act of reading, it constructs its o w n world in
words, w h i c h has only a tenuous and indirect contact w i t h w h a t
is irretrievably past and gone.
3) A n insidious form of delusion arises from the spectacles w e
ourselves are wearing: our unspoken hopes; expectations; our p r e
conceived notions about Moses, Jesus, and ancient Israel; and espe
cially our prejudices, beliefs, and unshakeable convictions. Fixed
ideas about aspects of faith and the world will influence, lead, and
regularly impede us, even unconsciously. T h e Bible is so complex
that it differs by definition from any religious belief, n o matter h o w
exalted our o w n creed or value scale may be. O n l y by keeping an
open m i n d and by asking questions can w e discover how different
the Bible is.The Bible is not a picture b o o k for our o w n ideas, which
w e open only if w e want our opinions confirmed or our vanity tick
led. N o r is it a box of proof texts.
This b o o k is an exercise in grasping the overall shape of a text, and
in reading from within. A n old rule says: the whole is m o r e than the
sum of its parts. I have tried to make this insight truly operational, so
that at many levels it becomes practical and manageable for readers.
From the viewpoints of creation and knowledge, proper reading, and
literary experience, the whole has priority over the parts: it comes
first in the writer's mind, and it is the beacon on which w e set course
while traveling, in our reading, past numerous details.
Q u e s t i o n s t o b e asked o f biblical p o e t r y
1. W h o is speaking, an " I " or a " w e " ? C a n we picture this lyri
cal subject? Does it change in the course of the p o e m ?
2. W h o m is the lyrical subject addressing? Is the addressee
visible in the text, or can w e put a face to h i m / h e r ? Does the
addressee change? D o w e e n c o u n t e r apostrophe*?
3. H o w long are the sentences? C h e c k every time w h e t h e r the
syntactic unit coincides w i t h the colon, the verse, or even a
strophe. In other words: Does enjambment occur?
4. W h i c h verb tenses are used? Are the various tenses (present,
past, future) distributed over the strophes?
The Reader's Attitude
209
5a. W h i c h modes are used besides the indicative? Wishes, c o m

mands, exclamations?
b. Are there actions, or descriptions of qualities?
6. H o w do space and time function in the lyrical world?
7. C a n a diagram b e drawn of the relations b e t w e e n the lyrical
charactersfor instance, a triangle such as m e - G o d - e n e m y ?
8. H o w long are cola and verses, generally?
9a. H o w m u c h parallelism (both semantic and morphological)
is there between half-verses? Ask yourself regularly if the " A , what's
more, B " rule applies.
b. H o w m u c h parallelism exists b e t w e e n the verses? A n d
b e t w e e n the strophes?
10. Try to find the demarcation of strophes and stanzas. W h a t
devices does the p o e t use to create these units? Are there any
b o u n d a r y markers?
11. Is the cohesion of the strophe internal or external? Try to
indicate the nature of the internal cohesion.
12a. Does the p o e t use simile?
b. Metaphors?
c. M e t o n y m y ? Synecdoche*? Symbols?
13. H o w are the verses related in regard to meaning?
14. A n d the strophes? Are they steps in a line of argument?
15. H o w does the t h e m e develop? Is a specific line of t h o u g h t
followed?
16. W h a t are the keywords?
17. Be sensitive to contrasts, oppositions, and transitions.
18. Try to make the most of various forms of repetition by
listening for it and testing the function of variation-in-repetition.
12
Guidelines for further reading
150 and more poems, and their
divisions
Unless stated otherwise, in the following the single slash represents

the blank line separating two strophes. A double slash is used to
separate stanzas; triple slashes mark sections.
Genesis 49
l b - 2 / / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7 / / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11-12 / / 13 / 14-15 / 16-17
/ / 19 / 20 / 21 / / 22 / 23-24 / 25 / 26 / / 27
Judah and Joseph are the only ones to be allotted a complete stanza of
their own: w . 812 and 2226, respectively.
Exodus 15
Three refrain-type versesv. 6, v. 11, and v. 16cdcreate four stanzas:
I = w . 1-5, II = w . 7-10, III = w . 12-16b, IV = w . 17-18.
Numbers 2324
Three poems by the seer Balaam:
I = four strophes consisting of two bicola: 2 3 : 7 / 8 / 9 / 1 0
II = four S-strophes and one L-strophe: 23:18-19a / 19b-20 / 2lab /
22-23a / 23b-24
III = 24:3-4 / 5-6 / 7 / 8 / 9, i.e., an SLSSL series
Deuteronomy 32
Four sections: A = w . 1-9, B = vv. 10-18 + 19-29, C = w . 30-41 +
42-55, D = w . 56-62 + 63-69.
There are eleven stanzas and twenty-seven strophes: w . 1-3 / 4-6 / 7-9
/ / 10-11 / 12-14 / / 15-16 / 17-18 / / 19-21 / 22-23 / / 24-26 / 27-29
/ / 30-32 / 33-34 / / 35-36 / 37-39 / 40-41 / / 42-44 / 45-46 / 47-49
/ / 50-52 / 53-55 / / 56-57 / 58-60 / 61-62 / / 63-64 / 65-67 / 68-69
212
Judges 5
Three sections, seven stanzas, and twenty strophes: w . 23 / 45 / / 6 /
7 / 8 / / / 9-1 lc / l l d - 1 3 / / 14-15c / 15d-16 / 17-18 / / 19 / 20-21b
/ 21c-22 / 23 / / / 24-25 / 26 / 27 / / 28 / 29-30 / 31
1 Samuel 2:110
w . 1-2 / 3 / / 4-5 / 6-7 / 8 / / 9-10a / lOb-e (detailed analysis in
NAPS IV)
2 Samuel 1:1121
Discussed in ch. 1 of this book; for a detailed analysis see
XV.
NAPS
II, ch.
2 Samuel 22
The main contours are discussed in ch. 5 of this book. For a detailed
analysis, see NAPS III; for the division, see the figures for the parallel
text Ps. 18.
Isaiah 40-55
I.e., Deutero-Isaiah: two cycles, according to W. A. M. Beuken's com
mentary (in Dutch, 1979-83), i.e. chs., 40-48 and 49-55. In these cycles,
Beuken distinguishes seven parts:
I = 40:1-42:13, containing the following literary units: 40:1-11 / 12-31
/ 41:1-7 / 8-16 / 17-20 / 21-29 / 42:1-9 / 10-13
II = 42:14-44:23, units: 42:14-17 / 18-25 / 43:1-7 / 8-13 / 14-21 /
43:22-44:5 / 6-22 / 23
III = 44:24-48:22, units: 44:24-45:8 / 9-13 / 14-17 / 18-25 / 46:1-13
/ 47:1-15 / 48:1-19 / 20-22
IV = 49:1-6 / 7-12 / 13
V = 49:14-26 / 50:1-3 / 4-9 / 10-11
VI = 51:1-8 / 9 - 1 6 / 1 7 - 2 3 / 52:1-6 / 7 - 1 0 /11-12
VII = 52:13-53:12 / 54:1-17 / 55:1-13
Lamentations
This division as proposed in J. Renkema's commentary (in Dutch, 1993),
but without his terminology. N.B. In chs. 1,2, and 5 the traditional verse
numbers coincide with the strophes, as a result of the alphabetical struc
ture of the acrostics. In these chapters, the single slash separates stanzas.
ch. 1
w . 1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-16 / / 17-19 / 20-22
Guidelines for Further Reading
213
ch.2
w . 1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-10 / / 11-13 / 14-15 / / 16-17 / 18-19 /
20-22
ch.3
Eleven strophes: w . 1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12 / / 13-15 /
16-18 / 19-21 / / 22-24 / 25-27 / 28-30 / 31-33
ch.4
1-2 / 3-5 / 6 / 7-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-16 / 17 / 18-20 / 21-22
ch. 5
Eleven strophes: w . 1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9-10 / / 11-12 / 13-14
/ / 15-16 / 17-18 / / 19-20 / 21-22
150 Psalms (148 poems)
(Stanzas are usually, but not always marked.)
Psalm no.
1
1-2 / 3 / 4-6
2
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12
3
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8 / 9
4
2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9
5
2-4 / 5 - 7 / / 8 - 9 / 1 0 / / 1 1 / 12-13
6
2-4 / 5 - 6 / / 7 - 8 / 9-11
7
2-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9a / 9b-10 / / 11-12 / 13-14 / 15-17 / / 18
8
2ab / 2c-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10
9-10 9:2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13 / / 14-15 / 16-17 / /
18-19 / 20-21 / / 10:1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9-11 / / 12-13 /
14a-d / / 15-16 / 17-18
N.B. Psalms 9 and 10 together form one song.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
1-3 / 4 / 5-7
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9
2-3 / 4-5 / 6
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7
1-2 / 3-4b / 4c-5c
1-2 / 3 - 4 / / 5 - 6 / 7-9 / 10-11
l a - d / 2-3 / / 4-5 / 6-7 / / 8-9 / 10-12 / / 13-14b / 14c-15
2-4 / 5-6 / 7a-d / / 8-9 / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16a-d / /
17-18 / 19-20 / / 21+25 / 22-24 / / 26-27 / 28-29 / 30-31 / /
32-33 / 34-35 / / 36-37 / 38-39 / 40-41 / / 42-43 / 44-46 / /
47-49 / 50-51
2-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / / 12-13 / 14-15
214
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

2-3 / 4-5 / 6 / / 7 / 8-9 / 10
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8 / / 9-1 Ob / 1 0 c - l l / / 12-13 / 14
2-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12 / / / 13-14 / 15-16 / / 17-19 / 20-22
/ / / 23-24 / 25a-d / 26-27 / / 28-29 / 30a-d / 31a-d
1-3 / 4a-d / / 5a-d / 6a-d
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10
1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / / 16-17 /
18-19 / / 20-21 / 22
la-d / 2-3 / / 4-5 / 6-8 / / 9-10 / 11-12
l a - d / 2a-d / 3a-d / / 4a-f / 5a-d / 6a-e / / 7-9a / 9b-10 / /
11-12 / 13-14
l a - d / 2a-d / / 3a-d / 4a-d / 5a-d / / 6-7 / 8-9
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-7 / 8-9 / 10-11
2-4 / 5-6d / / 7-8a / 8b-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11 / 12a-d / 13-14 / / 15-17 /
18-19 / 20-21 / / 22-23 / 24-25
1-2 / 3-4 / 5a-d / / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10-11
1-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / / 8-9 / 10-12 / 13-15 / / 16-17 / 18-19 /
20-22
2-4 / 5-6 / / 7-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / / 16-17 / 18-19 / /
20-21 / 22-23
1-3 / 4a-d / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / / / 11-12 / 13-14 / 15-16 / /
17-18 / 19-21 / / / 22-23 / 24-25 / / 26a-d / 27-28
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7a-c / 8-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 /
16-17 / / 18-19 / 20 / 21-22 / 23-24 / / 25-26 / 27-28b /
28c-29 / / 30-31 / 32-33 / 34a-d / / 35-36 / 37-38 / 39-40
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / / 16-17 /
18-19 / / 20-21 / 22-23
2a-d / 3-4 / / 5-6b / 6c-7 / 8-10 / / 11-12 / 13-14
2-3 / 4a-d / 5a-d / / 6a-e / 7-9 / / 10-1 lb / 1 lc-12 / /

13a-e / 14 / 15-16 / / 17a-d / 18a-d
41
2-4 / 5-7 / / 8-10 / 11-13 / / 14
42-3 N.B. Ps. 42 and 43 together form one song:
2-3 / 4a-d / / 5a-f / 6a-d / / 7a-d / 8a-d / 9-10 / /
l l a - d / 12a-d / 43:1-2 / / 3-4 / 5a-d
44
2a-d / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-9 / / / 10-11 / 12-13 / / 14-15 / 16-17
/ / / 18-20 / 21-22 / / 23-25 / 26-27
45
2-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / / / 11-13 / 14-16 / 17-18
46
2-4 / 5-7 / 8 / / 9-11 / 12

47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
215
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-8 / 9-10

2-3b / 3c-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9a-d / 10-1 l b / 1 lc-12 / /
13-14b / 14c-15c
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-10 / / 11-13 / / 14-15b / 15c-16 / /
17-18 / 19-21
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7a-c / 8-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / /
16a-c / 17-18 / 19-20 / / 21a-c / 22-23
3-5 / 6a-d / / 7-8 / 9-11 / / 12-13 / / 14-15 / 16-17 / /
18-19 / 20-21
3-4 / 5-6 / 7-9 / / lOa-d / l l a - d
2a-d / 3a-d / / 4-5 / 6a-e / 7a-c
3-5 / 6-7 / 8-9
2-4b / 4c-6 / 7-9 / / 10-12 / 13a-d / 14-16 / / 17-18 / 19 /
20a-<i / / 21-22 / 23a-c / 24a-f
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-8 / 9-10 / / 11-12 / 13-14
2a-d / 3-4 / 5a-d / 6 / / 7a-d / 8-9 / 10-11 / 12
2-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12
2-3 / 4-5a / 5b-6d / / 7a-c / 8-9 / 10-1 la / / / l l b - 1 2 / 13-14
/ / 15a-c / 16-17b / 17c-18
3-5 / 6-7 / / 8-9 / 10-11 / 12-14
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9
2-3 / 4a-d / 5a-e / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / lOa-d / l l a - d / 12-13
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11 / 12
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11
2-4 / 5a-d / / 6a-d / 7-9 / / lOa-d / 11-12 / 13-14
2-4 / 5-7 / / 8-9 / 10-12 / / 13-15 / 16-18 / 19-20
2-4 / 5-6 / 7-8
2-4 / 5-7 / / 8-9 / 10-11 / / / 12-14a / 14b-15 / / 16-17 /
18-19 / / 20-21 / 22-24 / / / 25-26 / 27-28 / / 29-30 /
31-32 / / 33-34 / 35-36
2-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / / 8-10 / 11-13 / 14a-d / /
15-16 / 17-19 / 20-21 / / 22-23 / 24-25 / 26-27 / 28-29 / /
30-32 / 33-34 / 35-37
2 / 3-4 / / 5a-d / 6a-d
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9 - 1 1 / 1 2 - 1 3 / / /
14-16 / 17-18 / / 19-20b / 20c-21 / / 22a-d / 23-24
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9-11 / 12-14 / / 15-16 / 17a-d / 18-19
1-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / / 8-9 / 10-12 / / 13-14 / 15-17 / /
18-20 / 21-22 / / 23-24 / 25-26 / 27-28
216
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99

1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-17 / /
18-19 / 20-21 / 22-23
2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9a-d / 10-11
2-4 / 5-7 / / 8-10 / 11-13
2-4 / 5-7 / / 8-10 / 11-13 / / 14-16 / 17-19 / 20-21
five sections: w . 1-8, 9-31,32-43,44-60, and 61-72;
fourteen stanzas and thirty-two strophes:
1-3 / 4a-d / / 5-6 / 7-8d / / / 9-11 / 12-13 / 14-16 / /
17-18 / 19-20 / 21-22 / / 23-25 / 26-28 / 29-31 / / /
32-33 / 34-35 / / 36-37 / 38-39 / / 40-41 / 42-43 / / /
44_45 / 46-47 / / 48-49 / 50-51 / / 52-53 / 54-55 / / 56-58 /
59-60 / / / 61-62 / 63-64 / 65-66 / / 67-69 / 70-72
1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / lOa-d / 11-12 / 13a-d
2-3a / 3b-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9-10 / 11-12 / 13-14 / /
15-17 / 18-20
2-4 / 5-6b / / 6c-8 / 9-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-17
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5a-c / 6-7 / 8
2-3 / 4-6 / 7-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / / 16-17 / 18-19
2-3 / 4 a - f / / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9-10 / 1 la-d / 12-13
2-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9-10 / 11-12 / 13-14
1-2 / 3-5 / 6-7 / / 8-10 / 11-13 / / 14-15 / 16-17
1-3 / 4-5 / 6-7
2-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / / 8-10 / 11-13 / / 14-16 / 17-19
three sections: w . 119, 2038, 3952; eleven stanzas and twentytwo strophes:
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-8 / 9-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / / 16-17 / 18-19 / / /
20-21 / 22-24 / / 25-26 / 27-28 / / 29-30 / 31-33 / / 34-36 /
37-38 / / / 39-40 / 41-42 / / 43-44 / 45-46 / / 47-49 / 50-52
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / / 13-14 / 15-16 /17a-c
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-13 / 14-16
2-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / / 13-14 / 15-16
1-2 / 3-5
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-7 / / 8-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / /
16-17 / 18-19 / / 20-21 / 22-23
1-2 / 3-5 / 6-7b / / 7c-9 / 10-11
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / / 11-12 / 13a-d
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12
l a - d / 2-3 / / 4-6 / 7-8 / 9a-d
1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9
217
100
101
102
1-3 / 4-5
l - 2 b / 2c-3b / 3c-4 / 5a-d / 6a-d / 7a-d / 8a-d
2-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12 / / 13-15 / 16-18 / / 19-20 / 21-23 / /
24-26 / 27a-d / 28-29
103 1-2 / 3-5 / 6-8 / / 9-10 / 11-13 / 14-16 / / 17-19 / 20-22
104 1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13 / / 14-15 / 16-18 / /
19-20 / 21-23 / / 24-26 / 27-28 / 29-30 / / 31-32 / 33-34 /
35a-d
105 1-3 / 4-6 / 7-9 / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-17 / 18-19 /
20-22 / 23-25 / 26-27 / 28-29 / 30-31 / 32-33 / 34-35 /
36-38 / 39-41 / 42-43 / 44-45
106 1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-18 / /
19-20 / 21-22 / 23a-e / / 24-25 / 26-27 / / 28-29 / 30-31 /
32-33 / / 34-35 / 36-37 / 38-39 / / 40-42 / 43-44 / 45-46 / /
47a-d / 48a-c
107 1-3 / / 4-5 / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-12 / 13-14 / 15-16 / / 17-18 /
19-20 / 21-22 / / 23-24 / 25-27 / 28-30 / 31-32 / / 33-34 /
35-36 / 37-39 / / 40-41 / 42-43
108 2-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / / 8-9 / 10-11 / 12-14
109 1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-10 / / 11-13 / 14-16 / 17a-d / 18-19 /
20 / / 21-22 / 23-25 / / 26-27 / 28-29 / 30-31
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
la-d / 2-3 / / 4-5a / 5b-7

1-3 / 4 - 6 / / 7 - 8 / 9-10
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10
1-2 / 3 - 4 / / 5 - 6 / 7-9
1-2 / 3 - 4 / / 5 - 6 / 7-8
1-3 / 4 + 8 as an envelope around 5-7 / / 9-11 / 12-13 / / 14-16
/ 17-18
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9-11 / 12-14 / / 15-16 / 17-19
1-2
1-4 / 5-7 / / 8-9 / 10-12 / 13-14 / / 15-16 / 17-18 / 19-20 / /
21-22 / 23-24 / 25 / / 26-27 / 28-29
Nineteen octets have a strictly binary structure; only the aleph,
zayin, and lamed stanzas each contain three strophes: LSL, LLS, and
LSL, respectively.
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-7
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8
1-2 / 3-4b / 4c-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9
l/2a-f/3-4
218
124
125
126
127
128
129
1-2 / 3-5 / / 6-7 / 8

1-2 / 3a-d / 4-5
l - 2 b / 2c-3 / / 4-5 / 6a-d
la-d / 2a-d / / 3-4 / 5a-d
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6
1-3 / 4-5 / 6-8
130
131
132
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / 7-8

la-d/2a-d/3
1-2 / 3-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / / 10-1 l b / l l c - 1 2 / / 13-14 /
15-16 / 17-18
1 / 2-3b / 3cd
l a - c / 2-3
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-7 / 8-9 / 10-12 / / 13-14 / 15-18 / 19-21
1-3 / 4-6 / 7-9 / / 10-12 / 13-15 / / 16-18 / 19-20 / 21-22 / /
23-24 / 25-26
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7a-d / 8-9
1-3 / 4-6 / 7-8
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / / 13-14 / 15-16 / 17-18 / /
19-20 / 21-22 / / 23-24
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
2-4 / 5-6 / / 7-9 / / 10-12 / 13-14

1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9-10
2-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7a-d / 8-9 / / lOa-d / 11-12
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / / 7-8 / / 9-1 Ob / 1 0 c - l l / / 12a-d / 13-14a /
14b-15
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-7 / 8-9 / / 10-13b / / 13cd-14 / 15-16 / /
17-18 / 19-20 / / 21
(N.B. the lost nun line 13cd has been inserted with the support of
the Septuagint and one of the Dead Sea Scrolls containing the
Psalms)
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-7b / 7c-9 / 10
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-11 / / 12-14 / 15-17 / 18-20
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / / 13-14
1-2 / 3-4 / / 5-6 / / 7-9
1-2 / 3-6
T h e letters in this list reveal h o w many cola I distinguish in a b i b

lical verse; "5ad," for instance, means that I discern four cola in
verse 5. Occasionally my cola total for a verse will differ from that
in R S V . J P S , and
NIV.
219
Students of H e b r e w may find the detailed underpinnings for these

colon, verse, and strophe divisions in Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible,
Volume II (published October 2000) and Volume HI (in preparation).
The book of Job
I present the J o b material in three parts:
1. My own division of Job 3-14, i.e.Job s complaint in ch. 3 (the
Prologue), plus the entire first round of the debate; the schol
arly basis for this division may be found in Volumes I and II of
Major Poems.
2. Next, two divisions for Job 1531: my own provisional artic
ulation in italics, and the division given in the best book on
the articulation of this poetry: Pieter van der Lugt's Rhetorical
Criticism and the Poetry of the Book ofJob, Oudtestamentische
Studien xxxii, Leiden, 1995.This double notation shows that
matters are far from simple, and that opinions may easily dif
fer. I give it here as a challenge to the true lovers of puzzles:
they can set to work on the question of what they think is the
best division, and why.
3. Finally, I offer only one division of the chapters in which Elihu
and God speak:Van der Lugt's.
Job chapter
3
3-5 / 6-9 / / 10-12 / 13-16 / 17-19 / / 20-23 / 24-26
4
2-4 / 5-6 / / 7-9 / 10-11 / / 12-13 / 14-16 / /
17-18 / 19-21
5
1-2 / 3-5 / 6-7 / / 8-9 / 10-11 / 12-14 / 15-16 / /
17-18 / 19-20 / 21-23 / 24-26 / 27
6
2-4 / 5-7 / 8-10 / 11-13 / / 14-16 / 17-18 / 19-21 / /
22-24 / 25-27 / 28-30
7
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / 13-14 / 15-16 / /
17-18 / 19-20 / 21a-d
8
2-4 / 5-7 / 8-10 / 11-12 / 13-15 / 16-17 / 18-19 / 20-22
9
2-4 / 5-7 / / 8-10 / 11-12 / / 13-15 / 16-18 / /
19-21 / 22-24 / / 25-26 / 27-29 / / 30-32 / 33-35
10
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-11 / 12-13 / / 14-15 / 16-17 / /
18-19 / 20-22
II
2-4 / 5-6 / 7-9 / 10-12 / 13-14 / 15-16 / 17-18 / 19-20
12
2-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-13 / / 14-16 / 17-19 /
20-22 / 23-25
220
13
14

1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12 / 13-14 / / 15-16 / 17-19 /
20-22 / / 23-25 / 26-28
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12 / / 13-14 / 15-17 / /
18-20 / 21-22
At the beginning of a poem,Van der Lugt sometimes labels a stro
phe separately as A; twice, an isolated end strophe B occurs. Here
and there, he divides long stanzas into substanzas. I read his Roman
numerals as stanza numbers and the Arabic numerals he adds as
indicating a substanza.
15:2-16
2-3 / 4-6 / / 7-8 / 9-11 / / 12-13 / 14-16
15:17-35 A = 17-19 / / 1.1 = 20-21 / 22-23 / 1.2 = 24-25 /
26-27 / /
II. 1 = 28-29 / 30-31 / II.2 = 32-33 / 34-35
N.B.Van der Lugt distinguishes two poems in Job 15; on the
other hand, he sees chs. 36 + 37 as one literary unit.
15
2-3 / 4-6 // 1-8 / 9-10 // 11-13 / 14-16 // 11-19 / 20-21

// 22-24 / 25-21 // 28-29 / 30-31 // 32-33 / 34-35
16
A = 2-4b + 4c-6 / / 1.1 = 7-8 / 9-11 / 12-14 / /

1.2 = 15-16 / 17-18 / / 1.3 = 19-20 / 21-22 / /
2-3 / 4-5 / 6-8 / 9-11 / 12-14 / 15-11 / 18-19
16
17
11
/20-22
I I I = 1-2 / 3-5 / II.2 = 6-7 / 8-10 / /

II.3 = 11-12 / 13-14 / 15-16
1-2 / 3-4 // 5-1 /8-10 // 11-12 / 13-14 / 15-16
18
18
A = 2-4 / / 5-7 / 8-10 / / 11-13 / 14-16 / / 17-19 / 20-21

2-4 / 5-6 / 1-8 / 9-10 / 11-13 / 14-15 / 16-11 / 18-19 /
20-21
19
A = 2-3 + 4-5 / / 6-8 /

18-19 / / 20-22 / 23-24
2-3 / 4-6 // 1-8 / 9-10
18-20 // 21-22 / 23-24
19
20
20
A = 2-3 / / 4-6 /
20-21 / 22-23 / /
2-3 / 4-6 // 1-9
11-18 / 19-21 //
9-10 / 11-12 / / 13-15 / 16-17 /

/ / 25-27 / 28-29
/ 11-12 // 13-14 / 15-11 /
// 25-21 / 28-29
7-9 / 10-11 / / 12-14 / 15-17 / 18-19 / /

24-26 / 27-29
/ 10-11 // 12-14 / 15-16 //
22-23 / 24-25 // 26-21 / 28-29

21
21
22
22
A = 2-4 / / 5-7 / 8-10 / 11-13 / 14-15 / /

22-24 / 25-26 / / 27-28 / 29-30 / 31-33 /
2-4 I 5-7 II 8-9 I 10-11 I 12-13 I 14-15
19-21 II 22-24 I 25-26 II 27-28 I 29-31
221
16-18 / 19-21 /
B = 34
II 16-18 I
I 32-33 I 34
2-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10-11 / / 12 / 13-14 / 15-16 /

17-18 / 19-20 / / 21-23 / 24-25 / 26-28 / 29-30
2-4 I 5-6 I 7-9 I 10-11 I 12-14 I 15-17 I 18-20 I
21-22 I 23-25 I 26-28 I 29-30
23
23
A = 2 / 3-4 / 5-7 / / 8-9 / 10-12 / / 13-14 / 15-17

2-3 I 4-5 I 6-7 II 8-9 I 10-12 II 13-14 I 15-17
24
1.1 = 1 / 2-4 / 5-6. / / 1.2 = 7-9 / 10-12. / / II.l = 13-14 /

15-16 / 17-18. / / II.2 = 19-20 / 21-22 / 23-24 / 25
1 7 2-319! + 4 1/ 5-6 I 7-8 I 10-12 II 13-14 I 15-16a I
16b-17 II 18-19 II 20-21 I 22-24 II 25
24
25-26
25
26
27
27
28
28
29
29
30
according to Van der Lugtjob 24 is a speech by Bildad, and

25 + 26 together form one literary unit, a speech by Job!
25:2-3 / 4-6 / 26:2-4 / / 5-7 / 8-10 / 11-13 / B = 14
2-3 I 4-6
2-4 I 5-6 I 7-8 I 9-10 I 11-13 I 14
1.1 = 2-4 / 5-7 / / 1.2 = 8-10 / 11-13 / /
II = 14-15 /16-17 / 18-19 / 20-21 / 22-23
2-4 I 5-6 I 7-8 I 9-10 I 11-12 I 13-15 I 16-17 7
18-19 I 20-21 I 22-23
1 = 1 - 2 / 3-4 / / II.l = 5-6 / 7-8 / / II.2 = 9-10 / 11-12 / /
III.l = 13-14 / 15-16 / / III.2 = 17-18 / 19-20 / /
IV. 1 = 21-22 / 23-24 / / IV.2 = 25-26 / 27-28
My radically different division has been presented and motivated
in chapter 6.
1.1 = 2 - 3 / 4 - 6 / / 1 . 2 = 7-8 / 9-10 / / II.l = 11-12 / 13-14 / /
II.2 = 15-16 / 17-18 / / III.l = 19-20 / / III.2 = 21-22 / 23-25
2-3 I 4-6 II 7-8 I 9-11 II 12-13 I 14-15 I 16-17 II
18-20 / 21-23 / 24-25
I = l-3a / 3b-5 / 6-8 / / II.l = 9-10 / l l - 1 2 b / / II.2 =
12c-13c / 14-15 / / III.l = 16-17 / 18-19 / / III.2 = 20-21 /
222
30
22-23 / / IV. 1 = 24-25 / 26-27 / / IV.2 = 28-29 / 30-31

l-3a / 3b-5 / 6-8 // 9-10 I ll-13a / 13b-15 // 16-17 /
18-19 // 20-21 / 22-23 / 24-26 // 27-29 / 30-31
31
31
1.1 = 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / / 1 . 2 = / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / /

II.l = 13-15 / 16-18 / / II.2 = 19-21 / 22-23 / /
II.3 = 24-26 / 27-28 / /
III.l = 29-30 / 31-32 / 33-34 / / III.2 = 35-37 / 38-40
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / 13-15 / 16-18 /
19-20 / 21-23 / 24-25 / 26-28 / 29-30 / 31-32 / 33-34 /
35-37 / 38-40
The strophe division for the remaining chapters, according to Van der
Lugt:
32
6-7 / 8-10 / 11-13 / 14-16 / 17-19 / 20-22
33
1-3 7 4-5 / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-18 /
19-20 / 21-22 / 23-24 / 25-26 / 27-28 / 29-30 /
31-33
34
2-3 / 4-6 / 7-9 / 10-12 / 13-15 / 16-18 / 19-20 /
21-22 /
23-24 / 25-26 / 27-28 / 29-30 / 31-33 / 34-35 /
36-37
2-3 / 4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 / 13-14 / 15-16
35
2-4 / 5-7 / 8-10 / 11-12 / 13-15 / 16-18 / 19-21 /
36
22-23 / 24-25 / 26-27 / 28-29 / 30-31 / 32-33
1 / 2-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / 8-10 / l l - 1 2 b / 12c-13 / 14 /
37
15-16 / 17-18 / 19-20 / 21-22 / 23-24
38:2-38
2-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-18 /
19-21 / 22-24 / 25-27 / 28-30 / 31-32 / 33-35 /
36-38
38:39-39:30 38:39-41 / 39:1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 /
13-15 / 16-18 / 19-20 / 21-23 / 24-25 / 26-28 /
29-30
40:7-41:26 7-9 / 10-12 / 13-14 / 15-18 / 19-22 / 23-24 / 25-28 /
29-32 / 41:1-3 / 4-6 / 7-9 / 10-13 / 14-17 / 18-21 /
22-24 / 25-26
42:2-6
2-3d / 4-6
Guidelines
for Further
Reading
223
The book of Proverbs

T h e following strophe division is certainly correct for chs. 2 and
8, but is only a proposal in the case of the other chapters. T h e
reader should bear in m i n d that a translation will sometimes i n t r o
duce other links than those contained in the H e b r e w text. For
instance, the material of Proverbs 1 (JPS) is articulated differently
by means of a striking "because/since," capitalized twice ( w . 24
and 29). T h e division I propose is based o n analysis of the original
text.
Proverbs chapter
1
2-4 / 5-7 / 8-9 / / 10-12 / 13-14 / / 15-16 / 17-19 / /
20-21 / 22-23 / 24-25 / / 26-27 / 28-30 / 31-33
2
half I: (a) 1-2 / 3-4 / / (b) 5-6 / 7-8 / (c) 9-11
half II: (a) 12-13 / 14-15 / / (b) 16-17 / 18-19 / (c) 20-22
3
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / / 9-10 / 11-12 / / 13-15 /16-18 /
19-20 / / 21-22 / 23-24 / 25-26 / / 27-29 / 30-32 / 33-35
4
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13 / / 14-15 / 16-17 /
18-19 / / 20-22 / 23-25 / 26-27
5
1-2 / 3-4 / 5-6 / 7-8 / 9-11 / 12-14 / / 15-17 / 18-19 /
20-21 / 22-23
6
1-2 / 3a-d / 4-5 / / 6-8 / 9-11 / / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-19 / /
20-22 / 23-24 / / 25-26 / 27-29 / / 30-31 / 32-33 / 34-35
7
1-3 / 4-5 / / 6-7 / 8-9 / / 10-11 / 12-13 / 14-15 / 16-17 / /
18-20 / 21-23 / / 24-25 / 26-27
8
1-3 / 4-5 / 6-7 / 8-9 / 10-11 / / 12-14 / 15-16 / 17-19 /
20-21 / / 22-23 / 24-26 / 27-29 / / 30-31 / 32-33 / 34-36
9
1-3 / 4-6 / / 7-9 / 10-12 / / 13-15 / 16-18
The Song of Songs

I give all the changes of voice; in the case of a longer speech, I also
have indicated the start of a n e w strophe. F u r t h e r m o r e , as indicated
in ch. 10, n. 5,1 present t w o versions of the strophe division in the
Song of Songs: o n e for the original (Masoretic) text and the JPS,
and o n e for the other translations.
224
T h e girl starts or continues to speak in:

Masoretic text/JPS:
1:2
2:3
3:5
5:8
8:1
1:5
2:4
3:11
5:10
8:4
Other translations:
1:5
1:2
2:3
2:4
3:5
3:11
5:8
5:10
8:4
8:1
1:7
2:7
4:16
6:2
8:5cde
1:12
2:8
5:2ab
6:12
8:6
1:16
2:16
5:3
7:10b
8:10
2:1
3:1
5:4
7:11
8:14
1:7
2:7
4:16
6:2
8:5cde
1:12
2:8
5:2ab
6:12
8:6
1:16
2:16
5:3
7:9b
8:10
2:1
3:1
5:4
7:10
8:14
The boy starts or continues to speak in:

Masoretic text/JPS:
1:8
4:1
6:8
1:9
4:8
6:11
Other translations:
1:8
1:9
4:8
4:1
6:8
6:11
1:15
4:12
7:1c
2:2
5:1
7:7
2:10b
5:2c
8:13
2:13c
6:4
1:15
4:12
6:13cd
2:2
5:1
7:1
2:10b
5:2c
7:6
2:13c
6:4
8:13
T h e girls (the heroine's "peers"), w h o form the chorus as it were,

speak in 3:6-10, 5:9, and 6:1,6:13ab (MT/jPS 7:lab).
T h e r e is also a group speaking in 6:10 and 8:5 (complementary
verses); these might be first the boys, then the girls.
In 8:89 the girl's brothers are speaking.
T h e boy and girl may b e singing together in 1:17, 2:15, and
5:lef.
Glossary
allegorization
interpretation of a text as an allegory, i.e., reading/explaining a text from
an extrinsic point of view, not borrowed from the text itself. The text is
seen through a strange or alien metaphor.
alliteration
the use of the same consonants
anagram
a word or phrase whose letters can be rearranged to form another word
or phrase, such as "astronomersmoon-starers" or "the best things in life
are freenail-biting refreshes the feet"
anaphora
identical openings of cola or higher-level textual units
antecedent
element in a preceding phrase or clause, to which a relative pronoun refers
apostrophe
The poet addresses a person or object direcdy; in the Psalms often "O
Yahweh!"
apotropaic
intended to ward off (by magic or verbal arts)
assonance
identity of vowels
bicolon
bipartite verse; adj.: bicolic
binary
consisting of two aspects; arranged in two components
caesura
interruption of the poetic line, often around the middle, which occurs in
much poetry, usually indicated by a slash by exegetes
chiasm
arrangement of four elements according to an AB-B'A' pattern; a form of
mirroring, named after the Greek letter chi, which looks like an X
Glossary
226
colon
verset; often a half-verse
concatenation
linking: i.e., by the repetition, at the beginning of a textual unit, of an ele
ment that also occurred at the end of the previous unit
counterfactual
the mode indicating what has not really happened/is not really happen
ing; in English often with the auxiliary "would (have) ..."
double duty
the construction in which one word governs two cola/objects, etc.
elegy
lament, esp. for the dead
ellipsis
omission
enjambment
construction in which a sentence extends beyond the colon or verse
boundary
epiphora
identical endings of cola or higher-level textual units; sometimes coincid
ing with end rhyme
etymology
the explanation of a word via its etymon (root or origin)
eulogy
speech of praise
exegesis
explanation, interpretation
hendiadys
lit. "one through two": trope in which one concept is expressed by two
words
hermeneutics
the science of interpretation
homonym
a word that is pronounced or spelled in the same way as another, but has
a different root and meaning; for instance "feet/feat"
iconic
term from semiotics*, and the adjective of "icon," from the Greek for
"likeness, image"
inclusio
"inclusion," frame
indicative
mode indicating a positive statement (as opposed to a wish or a command)
Glossary
227
intransitive
a verb that cannot have an object, as, for instance, "to go" or "to swell"
litotes
construction stating something positive by denying its opposite: "not bad"
tnerism
a trope by which a whole is indicated by mentioning two components, or
two extremes: "the rich and the poor"
metaphor
lit.:"transference"; meaning is conferred through images rather than literally
metonymy
figure of speech based on a shift in meaning: something is stated, but an
adjacent or contiguous concept or entity is meant, as when "the Crown"
is used to refer to the monarch
monocolon
a full poetic line consisting of no more than one colon/verset
morpheme, zeroA morpheme is the smallest meaningful syntactic unit; for instance, the verb
ending -ed, which indicates the past tense; a zero-morpheme is a mor
pheme that has been omitted.
morphology
study of linguistic forms and structures
oracle
word from God
oxymoron
expressive combination of contradicting terms; for instance, "black milk"
or "icy fire"
polemics
a dispute or argument; a verbal combat
predicate
part of the sentence in which something is stated about the subject;
together with the subject, the sentence core
prosody
orchestrating quantity and rhythm at various textual levels
rhetorics
the art of (verbal) persuasion
scansion
the rhythmic reading and/or division of a poetic line
semanticize
confer meaning to
semantics
the study of (esp. linguistic) meaning
Glossary
228
semiotics
the study of signs and symbols (active in various branches of science, and
relating to a range of human activities and fields of research)
signified /signifier
the two sides of the linguistic sign (word), according to Ferdinand de Saussure, the founding father of modern linguistics: roughly equivalent to
"meaning" and "form," respectively
simile
comparison
Sitz im Leben
the context in which a text was produced
synecdoche
a figure of speech in which the whole is substituted for a part, or a part
for the whole
syntax
sentence structure
theophany
the appearance of a deity
transitive
a verb that can/must take an object; for instance, "to read" or "to see"
tricolon
tripartite poetic line
vocative
form used for an address (in some languages, this is a separate case, but not
in English or Hebrew:"O King!")
volitive
verb mode indicating a wish
Bibliographical notes
A. Readers who would like to know more about poetry will find the following
books rewarding, as they are (mainly) about poetics in the English language:
M. H. Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms, 7th ed. Harcourt College
Publishers, 1999.
John Ciardi, How Does a Poem Mean? Boston: Houghlin Mifflin, Co.,
1959.
Section on poetry in Sue Collins, Approaching Literature: An Intro
duction to Literary Criticism, Chicago: N T C Publishing Group, 1993.
Jonathan Culler, Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction,Very
Short
Introductions, OUP, 2000.

Edward Hirsch, How to Read a Poem, and Fall in Love with Poetry, N e w
York and London: Harvest Books, 1999.

Philip Hobsbaum, Metre, Rhythm and Verse Form, N e wYork and Lon
don: Routledge, 1996.
Herbert Kohl, A Grain of Poetry: How to Read Contemporary
poems
And Make Them a Part of Your Life, N e w York: HarperCollins, 2000.
Stephen Matterson and Darryl Jones, Studying Poetry, Arnold, 2000.
B. To readers who read Hebrew and would like to acquire a broader orientation
in biblical poetry, I can recommend the following well-known titles:
Wilfred G. E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry, A Guide to Its Tech
niques, Sheffield Academic Press, first impression 1984, revised editions

in 1986 and 1995;JSOTS 26 = no. 26 in the series Supplements of the
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. Together with the next title,
this book offers a virtually complete inventory of the poet's box of
tricks, and an extensive bibliography for every section.
Wilfred G. E.Watson, Traditional Techniques in Classical Hebrew Verse,
JSOTS 170, Sheffield, 1994.

Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry, N e w York, 1985 (Basic
Books), a beautifully written general introduction.
Bibliographical Notes
230
Adele Berlin, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism, Bloomington, Ind.,

1985; clear, instructive, with many examples.
Luis Alonso Sch6kel,A Manual of Hebrew Poetics, Rome, 1988 (Pontificio Istituto Biblico).
C. Some of the analyses in this book continue or echo research results I have
published earlier for the scholarly community. The following titles (all in
English) may be viewed as further motivations and illustrations of my struc
tural approach to poetry.
In Oudtestamentische Studien (OTS) 21 (1981) I have discussed the
overture to Deutero-Isaiah (Isa. 40:1-11).
OTS 26 (1990) contains a structural analysis of what is probably the
most difficult poem in the Psalter, Ps. 68.
-Judges 5, the Song of Deborah, I have discussed in detail in the
Festschrift for Jacob Milgrom, titled Pomegranates and Golden Bells, and
edited by D. Wright, D. N. Freedman, and A. Hurvitz; Winona Lake,

Ind., 1995 (Eisenbrauns).
I have written about the oracle to King Cyrus (Isa. 44:2445:7) in
the Festschrift forW. A. M. Beuken, Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 132 (1997).
The Song of Hannah in 1 Sam. 2, David's Lament (2 Sam. 1) and
David's long Song of Thanksgiving in 2 Sam. 22 ( a variant of Ps. 18)
have been discussed in Volumes IIIV of my tetralogy Narrative Art and
Poetry in the Books of Samuel, Assen 1981-93 (Van Gorcum).
Chapter 10 of my Reading Biblical Narrative (Westminster John Knox
Press/DEO Publishing, 1998) deals with poetry within the framework
of biblical narrative, and the poetry-prose relationship there.
Three fragments of the present book have appeared earlier, in a
slightly different form, in the Dutch literary magazine Raster: no. 80,
1997, an issue titled In den beginne and devoted to the Bible as literature.
Three famous and very diverse poems, Exod. 15 (Moses' Song at the
Red Sea), Deut. 32 (the long didactic poem), and Job 3 (the complaint
that constitutes the prologue of the poetry in the book of Job), I have
analyzed in detail in Volume I of my Major Poems in the Hebrew Bible,
Assen, 1998.
Volume II of Major Poems (Van Gorcum, Assen, 2000) contains suc
cinct but complete descriptions of prosody and structure of 94 poems:
85 psalms (83 poems) plus Job 4-14. In this book, I present the revo
lutionary conclusion that the Hebrew poets did most assuredly count
their syllables, and frequently made the figures for cola, verses, strophes,
and stanzas a feature in (the structure of) their compositions. Volume
III is in preparation and will deal with the remaining 65 psalms.
Notes
Chapter 1
1.
2.
I know only one text that is original to the N e w Testament and may be read
as poetry: Paul's famous text about love in the First Letter to the Corinthi
ans, ch. 13.
Of those 1,574 pages, 24 are in biblical Aramaic, the rest in classical Hebrew;
the Aramaic passages are Jer. 10:11, Dan. 2:4-7:28 (with some bits in verse),
and Ezra 4:8-6:18,7:12-26.The standard edition, known among scholars as
the BHS, is the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, fourth edition, 1977.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The 150 psalms are really 148 poems, since Pss. 9 and 10 together form one
literary unit, as do Pss. 42 and 43.
The poetry in Job covers chs. 3-41, which almost always coincide with lit
erary units (= poems) and are marked by a change of speaker some 15 times.
Around these, there is a frame of narrative prose where the author acts as
narrator and through his prose introduces us to Job, his excellence, and his
terrible ordeal (Job 1-2), plus the good outcome in the final half (w. 717)
of the last chapter, 42.
The short book of Jonah is in prose: a prophet's legend (or rather antilegend), interrupted or enriched in 2:2-9 by a psalm.The remaining eleven
short books bear the names of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Some six short poems: the vengeful song of Lamech in Gen. 4:2324, the
oracle of birth to Rebecca in Gen. 25:23, Isaac's blessing of the firstborn in
Gen. 27:27b-29, God's self-revelation in Exod. 34:6-7 (quoted several times
in Psalms and the Prophets; a kind of creed, very sacral), the oracle by which
Saul is rejected in 1 Sam. 15:22-23, David's lament for Abner in 2 Sam.
3:33b-34; next, four medium-sized, coordinated poems by the seer Balaam
in Num. 23:7-10 + 18-24, and 24:3-9 + 15-19.
For the structure of 1 Sam. 27-2 Sam. 1, and for the overall coherence of
both these books, see the analysis contained in chs. XIV-XVI of my Narra
tive Art and Poetry in the Books of Samuel, A Full Interpretation based on Stylis
tic and Structural Analyses, vol. II, and the last pages of vol. IV. There I demon
strate that the lament forms the axis around which the structure of 1-2
Samuel revolves, and that it should be read in close conjunction with the
Song of Hannah and the Song of Thanksgiving in 2 Sam. 22.
Notes
232
Chapter 2
1.
2.
3.
The term "verset" for colon (often literally a half-verse) I have borrowed
from Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry, N e w York, 1985, p. 9.
I am here referring to counting pre-Masoretic syllables. The adjective
"Masoretic" (from masorah, tradition) refers to the rabbis of the sixth-tenth
century CE. These syllables are found by reconstructing the structure of the
words in ancient Hebrewthe Hebrew actually used by the poets, who for
the most part were active in the period 800-300 BCE.The recipe for this,
the defense of this recipe, and its application to ninety-four poems are given
in the book mentioned in n. 3 below.
This recent investigation was my own, and its results are presented in vol
ume II of Major Poems of the Hebrew Bible, at the Interface of Prosody and Struc
4.
tural Analysis,Van Gorcum, Assen, 2000.

Thus my own slight adaptation of two lines attributed to Horace Walpole.
The Dutch poem goes: Hier ligt Poot/Hij is dood, and is attributed to Gerrit
van de Linde (1808-1858), better known as the Schoolmaster. It is an epi
taph on the seventeenth-century Dutch poet Poot.
5.
De sacra poesi Hebraeorum, 1753.
6.
The parallelism of the adjectival clauses, and the alliterations of the first three
words in the Hebrew text, enforce the improved division of v. lab I am
offering here; for additional arguments see my Major Poems of the Hebrew
Bible, vol 11, ch Al,$
1.
7.
Thus says James Kugel on p. 58 of his book The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Paral
lelism and Its History, N e w Haven, Conn., 1981.The complete sentence runs:
"Biblical parallelism is of one sort,'A, and what's more,B,' or a hundred sorts;
but it is not three." I will return to the A and B formula in due course. In
The Art of Biblical Poetry Robert Alter says on p. 13: "The predominant prob
lem of biblical poetry is to move from a standard term in the first verset to
a more literary or highfalutin' term in the second verset."
8.
Here and in ch. 3,1 am indebted to Adele Berlin's lucid work The Dynam
ics of Biblical Parallelism, Bloomington, Ind., 1985.1 will adopt some of her
many illuminating quotations from biblical poetry.
For my book on the Psalms the proportion of bicola and tricola to the
whole corpus has been investigated; this turns out to be more than 99 per
centcf. Major Poems, vol. II, and the appendix containing the figures for
all the poems. There are verses in the Psalms consisting of only one colon,
but they mainly serve as the conclusion to a strophe, stanza, or poem. The
book ofJob does not contain a single monocolon ( poetic line consisting
of one colon), according to Pieter van der Lugt on p. 478 of his book Rhetor
9.
ical Criticism and the Poetry of the Book of Job, Leiden, 1995. The book of
10.
Proverbs, too, probably does not contain any monocola.

To have three predicates in one colon, however, is extremely rare.This is also
the maximum, and this situation has been recognized by Michael O'Con
nor in his extensive syntactic study Hebrew Verse Sfrwtfure.Winona Lake, Ind.,
1980 (reprinted 1997), p. 138. Examples: Deut. 32:15b; Judg. 5:12b; and
Notes
233
Pss. 10:10a (three verbs that all have the lowly as their subject! RSV, NEB, and
N i v are correct; JB and JPS are not), 46:11a, and 98:4b.
Chapter 3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The two or three exceptions only serve to make the regular situation all the
more interesting. As stated before, there are strong literary arguments in favor
of taking Ps. 9 and Ps. 10 as one poem, and the same holds for Pss. 42 and 43.
In Job, the traditional chapter division almost always coincides with the
boundaries of the separate poems, but around ch. 25 we run into problems. It
is not even clear who is speaking here,Bildad or Job himself. Van der Lugt (op.
cit., pp. 27496) argues that Job 24 is Bildad's third speech, and that 25:2-6,
together with 26:214, are a speech of Job's, his third reply to Bildad.
Contrast this with the prophetic literature: in many places in these books
the correct demarcation of most literary units is difficult to find. Biblical
scholarship has made a great effort in the various commentaries, but there
are still numerous chapters in Isaiah and Jeremiah (and in the Minor
Prophets from Amos to Malachi) about which there is no consensus. It will
take decades of purely literary, and especially prosodically grounded, study
before any agreement is reached.
See for both cases (one or five stresses) my Major Poems, vol. II, ch. 2, n. 55. Also
compare the discussion, in the same chapter, of the syntactic model of the colon
advocated by O'Connor and his follower Cloete (in his study on Jer. 225).
Some examples: Pss. 14:7a, 15:5c, 29:7 and 9c, 49:9e, 50:21c, 125:5c, and
128:5a.
The exact figures, taken from Major Poems, vol. II: of the 2,795 verses I allo
cate to the Psalms, 348 are tricola and 2,426 bicola, that is, 86.3 percent. In
his study on the book ofJob, p. 475, P. van der Lugt records 82 tricola in Job
(as opposed to 912 bicola), that is, 8 percent. The book of Proverbs (c. 921
verses in all) contains about 40 tricola.
P. van der Lugt makes more "cuts" in Job than I do, and sees seventeen oneline strophes: 3:3; 5:1, 8, 17, 27; 6:14, 24; 7:19; 21:34; 23:1; 24:1; 25; 26:14;
35:4; 37:1,14; and 40:2. Some of these may be discarded (cf. my discussion
of Job 414 in Major Poems, vol. II, and of Job 3 in vol. I); some hover on the
edges of literary units (= poems), such as,forinstance, the opening verse of
chs. 23,24, and 37, or the ending ofJob 24.
In my opinion (Van der Lugt thinks differently), the book of Job does
not contain any four-line strophes, with one interesting exception, viz. the
bitter and vehement complaint that constitutes the prologue and does not
yet form part of the debate: ch. 3. The special characteristic of this first poem
is the fact that here the regular dimensions 2 and 3 are increased by one.
The strophic structure is a strict alternation of 3434343 poetic lines
(see Major Poems, vol. I, ch. 5)a division already noted by Delitzsch 136
years ago, but strangely enough by no one else after him.
The strophes of four verses: Pss. 31:20-21,118:1-4,135:15-18,145:10-13,
and 150:3-6.
Notes
234
7.
8.
9.
If we decide after all to describe Ps. 18:21-25 as a combination of a twoline and a three-line strophe, this has all sorts of consequences; the total
number of strophes in this psalm will then change from 23 to 24, in a poem
in which the numbers 22 and 23 are also prominent, and the cola totals for
the halves, sections, and stanzas of this song also matter; a detailed analysis
will appear in Major Poems, vol. Ill (in preparation).
The remedy here is to publish the poetry in a typography that does jus
tice to the prosody, including strophe boundaries, on the basis of a sound
literary-critical analysis. As a contribution toward this goal, I am publish
ing, at about the same time as this book, the complete Psalter in Hebrew
with the demarcation of cola, verses, and strophes as substantiated in vols.
II and III of Major Poems, thus showing these works of art in their true
colors.
See my analysis ofJudg. 5 in the Festschrift for Jacob Milgrom, Pomegranates
and Golden Bells, edited by D. P. Wright, D. N. Freedman, and A. Hurvitz,
Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1995; I have also given the correct division
in Reading Biblical Narrative, p. 185.
10.
See Major Poems, vol. II for all the details, the underlying theory, and the
demonstration on the basis of full syllable counts for 85 psalms and Job 414.
11. Psalm 119 itself, moreover, has the norm figure 8 as the average colon
length: I allocate 355 cola and count 2,861 syllables; their division yields
8.05. If we assume that originally there were 2,860 syllables, which is very
well possible, this colossal didactic poem would then also yield a round fig
ure for the syllable total per stanza, with 2,860 : 22 = 130 syllables as the
average number per octet.
Since an octet here mostly consists of S-strophes, Ps. 119 also contains
nineteen instances of a stanza consisting of four strophes.
12.
See further on Ps. 97 ch. 2 6 of Major Poems, vol. II.
Chapter 4
1.
2.
3.
Adele Berlin in The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism,p. 79:"It is not word pairs
that create parallelism. It is parallelism that activates word pairs."
I have already argued for this correction in Narrative Art in Genesis, Ph.D.
thesis, Assen, 1975, p. 35; it is an excellent confirmation of the theory that
structural analysis also yields improved understanding of the text. My thanks
to Johs. Pedersen (Israel, Its Life and Culture, Kopenhagen, 1926, vols. I/II,
p. 397 and his note on p. 533f), who seventy-five years ago already noticed
that the preposition is a so-called bet pretii.
A count of the pre-Masoretic syllables in the three poetic lines 9:6-7
yields: 6 + 8 = 14,6 + 6 = 12, and 8 + 8 = 1 6 , i.e., three times six plus three
times eight = 42. Exact average: 7. In Lamech's song of revenge (Gen.
4:23-24), the exact average of the six cola is 48 : 6 = 8.
At least, this is how it appears in v. 5b. The student of Hebrew will notice
from the BHS apparatus that there is a better reading, suggested by Septuagint and Peshitta.The mem has been the victim of haplography; read the
Notes
4.
participle mHsawweh in the B-colon (plus elliptical subject "he") and render
the colon predicatively. The problem is that the appeal (containing the
imperative) comes far too early.The reading with the participle is confirmed
by the exact syllable totals for all strophes and for the poem as a whole
see for full details Major Poems, vol. III.
The compelling structure of Isa. 40:3 is ignored by De Moor and Korpel in
The Structure of Classical Hebrew Poetry: Isaiah 40-55,
5.
6.
235
Leiden, 1998; a fairly
unique feat.
The formula was launched by James Kugel in The Idea of Biblical Poetry, New
Haven, 1981 (subtitled "Parallelism and Its History"); see pp. 51-58.
I have taken the "binocular" metaphor from Adele Berlin's book on bibli
cal parallelism (see n. 1); on p. 99 she says: "Parallelism focuses the message
on itself but its vision is binocular. Like human vision it superimposes two
slightly different views of the same object and from their convergence it
produces a sense of depth."
Chapter 7
1.
For a more extensive analysis of Ps. 8, and an account of the syllable figures
I have presented here, I refer the reader to ch. II, 1 of Major Poems of the
Hebrew Bible, vol. II.
Chapter 8
1.
I have checked the following translations of Ps. 103: Bible derusalem (also
the English version), RSy TaNaKh by the Jewish Publication Society of
America, NEB, several Dutch translations (Leidsche Vertaling, N B G , KBS 2 and
3, Groot Nieuws
Bijbel),
Nueva
Biblia Espaiiola, Buber & Rosenzweig's
Verdeutschung, La Bible by Edouard Dhorme, and the German so-called Einheits- bersetzung.
I have consulted a number of Dutch commentaries (J. Ridderbos [ C O T ] ,

Noordtzij [Krte Verklaring, Kampen], de Liagre Bhl and Gemser,Th. Booij
[Prediking van het Oude Testament], Pieter van der Lugt [dissertation Strofische
structuren in de Psalmen, Kampen 1980], J. P. van der Ploeg [Boeken van het
Oude Testament], and also: Kissane, Allen [Word Biblical Commentary,Waco,
Tx.], Dahood [Anchor Bible], Buttenwieser, Girard, Beaucamp; Delitzsch,
Gunkel, Kittel, Kraus, Weiser, Deissler, Seybold.
Chapter 9
1.
2.
The two commentators who have seen that v. 7a does not qualify the pre
ceding verse, and that a better solution has to be found for "your knowl
edge," are S. L. Terrien (Neuchtel, 1963) and N. H. Tur-Sinai (Jerusalem,
1967). But for Job 10:7a the King James Bible is correct.
Although the Hebrew text literally says: "You have done/proved life and
loyalty with/toward me," in my exposition for non-Hebraists I have to stick
with the keyword "to make."
236
Notes
Chapter 10
1.
2.
For those who read Hebrew: I realize that there is one word, shalhebet-yah,
at the end of Songs 8:6 that does seem to refer to God; however, it is by no
means certain how we should interpret this form and its final syllable, and
it would be unwise to have this one word determine our interpretation of
the book.
Francis Landy, Paradoxes of Paradise: Identity and difference in the Song of Songs,
Sheffield, 1983 (Almond Press), and Andre LaCocque, Romance, She Wrote:
A Hermeneutical Essay on Song of Songs, Harrisburg, Pa., 1998 (Trinity Press
3.
International).The latter author contends that the book was written by a

woman; there are no arguments against this possibility.
The recently revised edition of the Bible deJerusalem (Paris 1998) values neu
trality: a good balance has been struck there by designating the lovers as le
bien-aime and la bien-aimee.
4.
I am thinking of the work of Leo Krinetzki, who at first was still bent on
pacifying the Holy See with his so-called anthological exegesis, but who
seven years later (in "Retractationes," a significant title, in Biblica 52,1971)
admitted that compromises with the allegorizing school are erroneous; in
his first book, titled Das Hohe Lied (Patmos Verlag, Diisseldorf, 1964) he
proves himself sensitive to literary aspects; later, in his second book (Kommentar zum Hohelied, Lang, Frankfurt/Bern, 1981) he is both literary and
Jungian.Then there is the structural analysis by Cheryl Exum in Zeitschrift
fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 85, 1973, who takes the many forms of
repetition seriously. Finally, there is the intense book by Landy, which I men
tioned in n. 2 above.
5.
I would like to draw the reader's attention to the fact that the verse num
bers in the original text (and in the JPS translation) differ by one point from
those in the translations: what in most translations is 6:13 is in the original
text justly (and much more correctly) labeled 7:1.Thus, the numbers of the
subsequent verses are also increased by l.This explains why in ch. 12 I have
been forced to provide two versions of the strophe division in the Song of
Songs: one for the original (Masoretic) text and the JPS, and one for the
other translations.
Index of biblical passages
This index incorporates biblical passages from chapters 1 through 10 only. It is

not useful to offer the masses offiguresfromthe lists of chapter 12 here. The let
ter n after a page number indicates a note.
A. Cited (i.e. translated and written in full) passages
Genesis
2:23
9:6
12:3
25:23
27:29
49:6
68
68
69
88
82
63
Exodus
34:5-7
165
Numbers
24:8-9
Job
4:7-21
5:14
10:1-6
10:7-13
10:12-13
10:14-17
10:18-22
14:7-12
28:1-11
28:12-19
28:20-28
96,98
82
180
181
184
185
186
93
132-133
135
137
Psalms
1
1:1-2
1:6
2:1
2:2
2:7
3:5
6:6
8:2-3
8:5-6
13
28
32
25,64
25
32
33
25,63
82
142,143
142
92
70
Deuteronomy
32:1-2
32:7
32:8-12
32:9
32:12
52
81
84
85
85
II Samuel
1:17-18
1:19-27
1:20
6
6
77
238
Psalms (continued)
18:5-6
18:7
18:8-16
18:17-18
18:34
18:42-43
19:11
22:13
22:16
26
28
33:10-11
34:2
34:19
37:21-22
42:2-3
43:5
44:2-3
44:2-5
44:7
61:5
69:5
69:8-13
69:36-37
73:11
88
88:2-7
88:8-13
88:14-19
89:10
103
103:1-8
103:9-16
103:17-22
113 .
114
115:4-8
125:1-2
132:1-9
132:10-18
137:5-6
144:3-4
Index of Biblical Passages
90
43
42
43
68
75
118
67
67
150
148
82-83
81
81
75
145
145
71
71
22,23
75
16
94
51,52
82
112-113
108-109
110
111
68
170-171
162
166
168
18,21
56
38-39
83
152-153
154
61
142
Proverbs
1:8
2:8
2:12
2:13
2:14
2:16
3:1
3:7
8:7
13:8
15:17
26:4-5
Ecclesiastes
1:5
1:7
1:8
Song of Songs
1:2
1:6
2:3
2:7
2:8-17
4:6-7
8:1
8:7
8:11-12
8:14
Isaiah
1:2-4
1:5-9
1:10-17
1:16-17
1:18-20
40:3
44:24-28
44:26
45:1-7
Jeremiah
20:14
81
68
80
79
75
80
82
75
69
175
175
176
67
67
67
81
197
75
205
192
202
205
197
197
198
100
102
104
3,5
106
72,73
124
81
128
69

Lamentations
2:17
3:2
3:7
3:56
62
66
63
66
3:57
5:2
5:6
5:9-10
239
66
74
74
74
B. Discussed or just mentioned: other references

Genesis
2:23
4:23-24
9:6-7
12:1-3
25:23
27:27-29
49
49:5-7
Exodus
15
34:5-7
34:6-7
7
Numbers
23:7-10,18-24
24:3-9
24:8-9
24:8
24:9
24:15-19
24:15-24
68,87
87,231, 234
87,234
87
88,231
231
2,87,146
63
2,58,146
165
165,231
165
70,231
70,23 In
70
70
70
231
70
Deuteronomy
31
53
32
2,30,44,52,84,87,93,146
32:2
53,54
84
32:7
32:8-12
84
32:9-12
85
32:12,13-14,15-18
85
32:15
232
32:22-25,26-31,32-42
86
33
2,87
Judges
5
5:12
9
2, 44, 87, 234

232
196
I Samuel
2:1-10
15:22-23
2, 87
231
I Sam.27-H Sam.l
231
II Samuel
1:17-18
1:19-27
1:19
1:21,22
1:23
1:25
1:27
3:33-34
22
5
2,5,87,91
11,12,68,145
9
9,10
9,12,145
9,145
231
2, 87,90
Nehemiah
9:17
165
Job
1-2
3-41
3
3:3
4
4:2-4
4:5-6
4:7
4:12,16,17,18
178,179,231
231
38,186,233
233
95,179
95
95
97
97
240
Job (continued)
233
5:1,8,17,27
160
5:9-15
120,177
6
233
6:14,24
142
7:17-18
233
7:19
40
9
179,180
10
180
10:1
180
10:2
180
10:2,3
180,184,187
10:3
182,184
10:3,6, 8,9
180,181
10:4-5,9-10,11
181,182,184,235
10:7
181,182,183,184
10:8
184
10:9
10:9-11,12-13,14,14-15
181,
183,184
181,182,184,185
10:12,13
183,185
10:12-13
185,186
10:15,16
188
10:19
187
10:20
187
10:21,22
160
12:13-25
93
14:10-12
93
14:11-12
233
21:34
233
23:1
233
24
233
24:1,25
233
25:2-6
233
26:2-14
233
26:14
133
28:1,3-4
139
28:1-11
134
28:3,4
134
28:5,6
133,138
28:7
133
28:8
133,134
28:9-11
132,136-139
28:12
136
28:13,14
28:13,15-19,17
28:15
28:19
28:20
28:21,22
28:23,24,27,28
28:25-26
28:28
35:4
37
37:1,14
38-39
40:2
42:5
42:7-17
136
135
136
132,137-139
137,138
138
138
138,178
233
233
233
160
233
137
231
Psalms
1
1:1-2
1:6
2
2:1
2:1-3
6
8
8:2
8:3
9
9:10-13
10
10:9-11
10:10
14:7
15
15:5
17
18
18:2-3
18:2-4
18:5-7
18:8-16
18:15
18:17-20
18:21-25
18:26-27
31,40,47
32
28,146
33,47
26
33
147
38,142,144, 235
143
143
41,120,121,233
120
41,120,121,233
41
233
233
146
233
147
44,47,89,132,151,160
144
89
90
132
42
90
38,39,234
152

18:18
43
18:42
76
18:47-51
89
18:47-49,50-51
144
19
118,122,146
19:2-7
118
19:8-11,9,11,15
118
19:12-15
118
20
146
24
119,146
24:1-3,1-6,4-6
119
24:3-4
146
24:4, 7-10
119
25
44
26:1,11
151
28
120,147
28:1-2,3-5,6-8
147,149
29:7,9
233
30
160
31:20-21
234
33:11
83
34
44
35
120
37
44
76
37:21,22
147
38
39
147
42-43
145
42
145,233
42:4,10,11
145
42:6,12
145
43
145,233
43:2
145
43:5
145
44
55
44:2,3
71,72
44:2-3
71
44:5
235
44:7
22-24
46
145
46:11
233
48
121
4 8 : 2 - 3 , 4 - 5 , 6 - 7 , 8 - 10
121,122
48:11-13,14-15,15 -16
122
48:17-18,19-21
122
241
145
49
233
49:9
38
50:7,16
50:21
233
51
122
51:3-5,6,7-8,9-11
122
51:12-13
122
51:14-15,16-17,18-19,20-21 122
56
145
145
57
38
57:6,12
147
59
38,145
59:7,15
145
59:10,18
145
67
68
44,160
69
44,99
69:2-3,6-7
93,94
69:8,10
94
69:11,12-13
94
69:15-21,22-29
41
69:36
52
71
55,120
73
147
74
55
78
44
80
147
82
147
86:15
165
88
108,146
88:2-7
108
88:2,3
109
88:4-5
114
110
88:5
109,114
88:6
114
88:7
88:8-10
113
112
88:8-13
112,114
88:8
88:9
110,114
88:10
114
88:11-13
110,113
88:11
112,114
88:14, 15,16,17-19
111
88:17
112
242
Psalms (continued)
30, 44,146
89
38
90:17
146
92
146,160
95-100
48
97
48
97:5
233
98:4
145
99
103
144,159,161,162,
172,173,184
144,163
103:1,2
163
103:2,4,8,10
159,160,165
103:3-5
173
103:6-7
164
103:6,7,8
162,170
103:8
103:9,10,11,17,18,19,22
169
168
103:10-14,17-18
103:10,11,12,13,14,17,18
167
168,170
103:11,13
166
103:13,16
162
103:14,18,19
162
103:15-16, 19-22
103:17-18,19,20-21,22
169
144,159
103:20-22
160
108
111
44, 45, 48
112
44,45,48
113
24,40,47,138,160,167
113:1-2
18
20,21
113:1,3,4
19
113:5-6
21
113:5-7
113:6
19,20
113:8-9
20
47,60,91
114
57,58
114:1,2
57,58
114:3-4,5-6
114:3
58
114:4,5
58
114:7,8
58
39
115:4,5
115:5-7
39
39
115:7,8
160
118
118:1-4
234
119
44,45,117,234
160
124
83
125:2
233
125:5
233
128:5
132
92,153,163
157
132:1-9
153
132:1,2
152
132:1,10
92,153
132:3-5
92
132:3-5,11-12
153,154
132:3,4,5,6,7,9
154
132:10-18
155
132:9,16
155
132:10,11,12,13,14
155
132:14-18
156
132:10,13,14,16,17,18
156
132:17-18
135:15-18
234
61,62
137:5-6
62
137:6
44
145
145:8
165
145:10-13
234
145-150
160
150:3-6
234
Proverbs
1-9
2
2:1-6,7-11, 12-15
2:12,16
2:16-22,17-19
30
31:10-31
176
79, 80
80
80
80
176
44
Ecclesiastes
1:1
190
Song of Songs
1:1
1:2
1:2-4
190
203
201

2-2:7
4,12,17
6
7
201
196,201
197,201
201
196
191
76
201
201
204
201
205,206
201
202
193
195
193,195
193,195,198
193,196,197
195
15,16
2
2:3
2:4,6
2:4-6
2:5
2:6,7
2:7
2:8-3:5
2:10-14
2:10
2:12
2:13
2:14
2:15
2:16
2:17
3:1-4
3:3
3:5
3:6-10
3:11
4:1-7
4:8
4:8-11
4:12-15,16
5:1
5:2
5:2-6:3
5:7
5:8
5:9
55,193, 194,198,202
201
190
205,206
202
202
202,204
199
202
203
203
204
5:10-16
5:16
6:1,2-3,4-7
6:3
6:4-7:6
6:8-10
7:1,2,7-10, 11-14
7:2-6
7:7-8:4
201,204
190
204
204
204
204
204
195
201
202
204
204
201
7:11,13
8:1-3,5-14
8:1-4
8:3
8:4
8:6
8:6-7
8:8-9
8:10
8:11-12
8:11-14
8:13
8:13-14
8:14
243
195
201
204
205
205,206
206
197
201
190
198,201
198
198
198
55,198
Isaiah
1:2-20
1:2-4, 5-9
1:11-14
1:15
1:16-17
v.1-7
40:1-11
40:3
44:24-28
44:24-45:7
44:24
44:26
44:27,28
45:1
45:2
45:4
45:5
45:6
45:7
4,100
100
4
4
197,198
72
72,235
126
122
123,131
123,126,127
126,127,131
123,126,128,129,131
131
125,130,131
130
130
123,126,131
Jeremiah
2-25
233
Joel
2:13
165
Jonah
2:2-9
4:2
231
165

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Westminster John Knox Press - J. P. Fokkelman - Reading Biblical Poetry, An Introductory Guide

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Reading Biblical Poetry

Copyright 2001 J. P. Fokkelman

A text model and h o w to use it

Parallelism: cola and verses

In search of the correct division

Guidelines for further reading

Index of biblical passages

all psalms.These data may serve as an incentive and a guide to the

Reading Biblical Poetry

W h e r e exactly are the poems situated? For most texts, there is a

T h e first thing that strikes us w h e n w e o p e n o u r translation is the

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

This is a w o r k i n g translation that keeps a bit closer to the o r i g

Reading Biblical Poetry

very articulation of the third trio guides us in the choice o f t h e

T h e second verse is a n e w series of three, w h e r e the imperative

for succinctness even by H e b r e w standards. This is w h y in English

D a v i d ' s l a m e n t for Saul (2 S a m u e l 1)

Reading Biblical Poetry

T h e seven strophes have b e e n arranged into three stanzas, as a short

T h e second sentence of the p o e m is the C - c o l o n of the o p e n

Reading Biblical Poetry

league of the five major cities of the Philistines! I conclude that

" m i g h t y " here, as the root "strong, m i g h t y " is an important key

Reading Biblical Poetry

m a x i m u m contrast,"life and death." Finally, in the last position of

T h e balance b e t w e e n these occurrences is the first clear sug

A r o u n d the center, w h i c h was in a major key, the poet creates

who clothed you

in crimson and finery,

This is followed by the exclamation about the mighty having

the most dear . . .

Jehonathan, you were

your love is a miracle to me,

N e x t to this u n i q u e praise for his friend, David places his personal

Reading Biblical Poetry

n u m b e r of syllables, rhyme, and such, but at the levels above v o c a b

Reading Biblical Poetry

poetical sense. In the H e b r e w Bible, the traditional verse n u m b e r s

I and II: language and

Reading Biblical Poetry

very few p o e m s are b o r n w i t h o u t the poet's exploring and trying

The Art of Poetry: A Definition and Analysis

fewer than sixteen) to render v. 5a, and have succumbed to the

Reading Biblical Poetry

n u m b e r of meanings or subjects is simply inexhaustible, so I will

O servants of Yahweh, give praise,

From the rising of the sun to its setting

Who is like Yahweh our God,

W h o raises the poor from the dust,

The Art of Poetry: A Definition and Analysis

m o d e they point to attributes of the deity; hence, there are n o

T h e center of this foursome, w . 5b6a, is taken u p by a spec

Reading Biblical Poetry

the p o e m ("nobody," of course!), the poet has decided to seize his

The Art of Poetry: A Definition and Analysis

T h e total n u m b e r of syllables is 28 + 28 + 26 + 42 = 124. W e may

T h e old definition o f H e b r e w poetry

Reading Biblical Poetry

seriously flawed definition of poetry, and I fear that it is still floating

ki lo b qashti ebtah / w harbi lo toshi 'eni

The Art of Poetry: A Definition and Analysis

to be pronounced roughly as follows: