What are the characteristics of biblical poems?
The most prominent feature is parallelism. Bishop Robert Lowth, 18th century scholar, was the first to note parallelism after he explored poetry in the Old Testament. The two most important forms of parallelism that Lowth discerned are synonymous parallelism and antithetic parallelism. Synonymous means essentially the same. Antithetic means the opposite. In time New Testament scholars applied the observations of Lowth to the New Testament.
Examples: Chapter 35 of Isaiah is poetry. The first two lines are synonymous.
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
The rest of chapter 25 continues in parallel lines. Chapter 36 is prose.
A short embedded poem with synonymous lines in Romans 10:8. The first part is a prose introduction.
Prose Introduction
8 But what does it say?
Short poem in parallel lines embedded in a narrative essay
The word is near you,
in your mouth and in your heart
Prose Conclusion
The second part of verse 8 and remaining verses in chapter 10 unpack the poem.
Example of Antithetic Lines:
Proverbs instructs in poetry through parallel lines. For one example, Proverbs 11:17
Those who are kind reward themselves,
but the cruel do themselves harm.
Activity
Write your own parallel statements.
My antithetic lines are:
Zippers that stick are part of life.
Some days zippers slide smoothly.
