Hebrew parallelism in the Psalms explained with examples. Bloomington, IN. Some Types of Parallelism in the Psalms. Synthetic Parallelism. Psalm 131. Psalm 121. These fixed forms abound in the Christian Scriptures — both Old and New Testaments. A psalm of David. This is essentially what parallelism in poetry is, but I have found that it goes much further than that – much further. Psalms Old Testament Hebrew Poetry Bible Study Hebrew Poetry parallelism. EMBLEMATIC PARALLELISM Synthetic Parallelism Synthetic parallelism is where the second line completes or compliments the thought of the first. For example, Psalm 1 utilizes synonymous, synthetic, and emblematic parallelism before "turning" antithetically back to emblematic, synthetic, and then synonymous parallels. Praise Psalm: A psalm written to praise God. Psalm 51, titled Miserere mei, Deus, is simply “Have mercy on me, O God” in Latin. The Use of Parallelism in Psalm 139. Psalms 42-43, 51, and 71 are laments. Scholars consider the Psalms to be Hebrew poetry. Psalm 51 - For the director of music. Parallelism in Psalms. Psalm 1 Parallelism "I urge you to ... Psalm 51. This broad category includes thanksgiving psalms and hymns. The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism. Interestingly enough, the original discovery of parallelism made by Lowth in 1753 remains, with some refinements, the only certain distinctive technique of Hebrew poetry. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Verses 2 through 6 are examples of synthetic parallelism, where King David’s second thought adds clarity to his first thought. Synthetic Parallelism. Synthetic Parallelism---The theme is worked up by the building of thought upon similar thought: (a) Mightier than the voices of many waters, Mightier than the breakers of the ocean In the high place is Jahweh. Every single term or thought unit in one line is parallel to an equivalent term or unit in the other line. As devotional readings, the Psalms provide consolation, instruction, inspiration and perhaps motivation. A classic example is David's psalm in Ps 51. My soul is bowed down — Hebrew, כפ Š נפשׁי, he hath bowed down my soul; referring to Saul at the head of his troops, pursuing David to his ruin. The Psalms are replete with examples of this poetic device, beginning with the opening of Psalm 1: 1. The relationship is supplementary. The first and second lines bear some definite relation to each other (such as cause and effect, or proposition and conclusion) b. Three other common parallel devices are antithetical parallelism, emblematic parallelism, and synthetic parallelism, although synonymous parallelism is the most commonly found. For example: ‘For fire went out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon’ (Numbers 21: 28). 1. Lowth assigns numerical patterns to the synthetic category while others have identified them as a sub-category of synonymous parallelism, namely “number parallelism.” While Lowth sees “great variety in the form of the synonymous parallelism” (262) , he assigns numerical patterns, an example of which he cites Psalm 62.12, to the category of synthetic parallelism. The "parallelism" part of "synonymous parallelism" connotes structure. Understanding poetic devices creates a greater depth to reading the Wisdom books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon) and the Major and Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. In synthetic parallelism the second line develops further the idea of the first line. • Synthetic Parallelism - In this poetic style the second line advances the thought of … Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. A. Synonomous: two lines repeating the same text (example: Psalm 59) _____ _____ "O Lord, do not rebuke me in your wratch. Upon the initial reading of this work, one may be tempted to conclude that the theme or purpose of the poem is the transcendent nature of God. In these psalms each line begins with a letter of the alphabet in order from aleph (the first Hebrew letter) to tav (the last Hebrew letter). We learned about the two easiest forms, synthetic and antithetic, and how to … And in the striking of the bell for the time of day — each additional hour's bong is like stair-step parallelism for the day until the new day begins. Complete Parallelism. Psalm 119 has each section divided according to letter. Dandi Moyers. The second line of poetry builds up (synthesis is Greek for “putting together”) the thought in the first line: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want (Ps. Climactic Parallelism --Ps., xcii, 4 (Hebrew, xciii). (note the contrast) Synthetic parallelism - The first and second lines bear some definite relation to each other (such as cause and effect, or proposition ... - These are psalms expressing sorrow for sins that have been committed. 23:1). Psalm 29:1; 96:7 are examples. Lament: A petition for help in affliction. 4. Lund. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13). . Psalms > Info on Psalms > Examples of Parallelism. “Who shall ascend the fill of the LORD? Psalm 139, is attributed to King David of Israel. Alphabetic or acrostic Psalms. Biblical poetry is structured on parallel lines of poetry, much as poetry today is structured by meter and/or line length. Synonymous parallelism is one of many different parallelism devices used in Hebrew poetry, each catalogued by Robert Lowth, an eighteenth century Anglican bishop. Quantitative rhythm Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 57:6. Parallelism in Psalms. Paronomasi i den aldre hebreiska Maschallitteraturen med sarskild hansyn till Proverbia. Synthetic Parallelism. ... (Psalm 51:3-4). The synthetic parallelism uses the second part to advance and develop the proposition in the first part. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life (Prov. SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM. . Parallelism: pairing of a line with one or more lines that are linguistically equivalent. A good example is Ps 119:11 1) "Your word I have hidden in my heart," (cause) 2) "That I might not sin against You." When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Psalm 150. (b) Know ye that Jahweh he is the Lord, He hath made us; his we are; The majority of Psalm 51 is candid supplication, there aren’t many metaphors or analogies. The first two types are exemplified in Psalm 2:5-6: Parallelism is found throughout the poetry of the Old Testament, and then especially in the Psalms. Read Psalm 51 at Bible Gateway.. 1a) Psa 51:1-9, What the Lord desires when we sin: our truthful confession of wrongdoing + plea for mercy: 1a) Psa 51:1, Have mercy upon me, O God/ Blot out my transgressions; 1a) Psa 51:1a, Have mercy upon me, O God; In this kind of parallelism the second half of the verse expands or develops the thought of the first half. Boling, R. 1960. Synthetic Parallelism— “The third literary form is normally described as synthetic parallelism, in which the second line not merely reinforces the thought of the first but actually adds to its meaning content.” (Harrison page 405) Proverbs 18:8 – The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts. Psalm 73 is a wisdom psalm. The feature of biblical poetry, described by modern scholars, who were anticipated by Abraham Ibn Ezra and Kimhi in the Middle Ages, in which the same idea is repeated for effect in different words. The law of the Lord is perfect, One such literary form is parallelism. Synthetic Parallelism The 2nd line repeats the thought of the 1st line in different words plus adds a conclusion or completes the sense of the 1st line. Some might include question-answer, proposition-conclusion, or situation-consequence. What is the literary device of synthetic parallelism used in Hebrew poetry? However, in verse 7, King David asks the protagonist to “wash him, and [he] shall be whiter than snow”. 5. I. There are a variety of combinations that can be used in this form of poetic teaching. Psalm 1:6 (Notice in this verse that the thoughts from the first line are reversed in the second line. External parallelism can also "accumulate" in a chiastic or "ring" structure that may include many verses. Synthetic parallelism a. The third category, “synthetic,” became sort of a catch-all for what would not fit the others. Richard T. Ritenbaugh Number Parallelism in the Hebrew Scriptures The primary example of parallelism under consideration in this study concerns the number sequence n/n+1. Psalm 95. A prayer about things gone wrong —a “prayer request” psalm. As you read the Psalms you are reading that which came deep from the hearts of men. Bronznick, n. 1979. Wisdom Psalm: A psalm written to instruct us in God’s ways. In the 18th century, the Anglican bishop, Robert Lowth, in his lectures “On the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews” (published in 1753) argued that there were three types of Hebrew parallelism: synonymous parallelism, antithetical parallelism, and synthetic or constructive parallelism. . What they wrote and what they sang came from their hearts. 3. 4:23). Psalm 56. Find an example in Psalm 6 Complete parallelism can be subdivided into: Synonymous Parallelism These poetic structures can also be found in the New Testament, and one such example can be found in St. John 6: 50 – 51. For instance, a well-known parallelism appears in Psalm 51:2: "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." Many of the proverbs of Solomon also follow this form, for example, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18). Bostrom, G. 1928. In the last post, we entered into the realm of Hebrew poetry, and specifically into parallelism. People who read the Psalms (the most quoted book in the New Testament) — like Benedictine oblates and other who pray or sing the divine office — spend a lot of time with the Psalms. 4. And who shall stand in his holy place? [1] He has a way of being crisp and to the point, doesn’t he? JSS 5: 221–55. Examples Psalm 95:6. They have prepared a net for my steps — In which to take me, that I might not again escape out of their hands. But when you come to verse 2 within it's parallel unit and you hover over it's lowercase letters it indicates it is Synthetic; and it's lowercase letters are "abbccbc". Psalm 111. For example, Psalm 119:1-8 is the aleph section and each line begins with aleph. Parallelism is simply the device of saying the same things in two ways. “Synonymous” Parallelism in the Psalms. Below I have broken down Psalm 19.7-9, one of the longest and most intricate examples of synonymous parallelism in Psalms. “He will not let your foot slip; he who watches over you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3). The Hebrew poem. Nor chasten me in your displeasure." In the case of Psalms 46 verse 1(enable Parallelism), you have two lowercase "a" letter and when your cursor hovers over the "a" it indicates it is Synonymous. Psalm 96. This is called chiasm.) 3. Psalm 73. In his book Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis gives a quick definition of parallelism as: “the practice of saying twice the same thing in different words”. Psalm 116. Psalm 110.