PARALLELISM

By: Edith Shelton

Parallelism is a characteristic of Hebrew poetry. The following are the different types of parallelism.

1. Synonymous parallelism -- second line has similar words and concepts.

   Ps 3:1 O LORD, how many are my foes!
   Many are rising against me:

   Ps 25:4 Make me to know they ways, O LORD;
   teach me thy paths.

   Ps 49:1 Hear this, all peoples!
   Give ear, all inhabitants of the world.

   Prov 11:7 When the wicked dies, his hope perishes
   and the expectation of the godless comes to nought.

   Prov 11:25 A liberal man will be enriched,
   and one who waters will himself be watered.

   Prov 12:28 In the path of righeousness is life
   but the way of error leads to death.
   (sounds more like 3--antithetic)

   Archer, in his O.T.Introduction indicates that synonymous may be either identical or similar.

   • Identical: Ps 24:1 The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof,
     the world and those who dwell therein.

   • Similar: Ps 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech,
     And night unto night showeth knowledge.

2. Synthetic parallelism -- second line adds to or completes thought of first.

   Ps 1:1-2 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
   nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers,

   But his delight is in the law of the LORD
   and on his law he meditates day and night.

   Ps 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;

   Ps 23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
   thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows [?]

   Ps 95:3 For the LORD is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods.

   Prov 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance;
   for from it flow the springs of life.

3. Antithetic parallelism -- first line contrasted to second line.

   Ps 1:6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

   Ps 18:27 For thou dost deliver a humble people;
   but the haughty eyes thou dost bring down.

   Prov 10:1 A wise son makes a glad father,
   but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

   Prov 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
   but sin is a reproach to any people.

   Prov 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath,
   but a harsh word stirs up anger.

   (Archer says this type is particularly common in the book of Proverbs.)

4. Emblematic parallelism -- first line uses figure of speech to illuminate main point conveyed by second line.

   Ps 42:1 As a hart longs for flowing streams
   so long my soul for thee, O God.

   Prov 11:22 Like a gold ring in a swine's snout
   is a beautiful woman without discretion.

   Prov 25:25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
   so is good news from a far country.

   Prov 27:17 Iron sharpens iron,
   and one man sharpens another.

5. Climactic parallelism -- second line repeats first with exception of last term.

   Ps 29:1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
   ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

   Prov 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
   it is not for kings to drink wine,
   or for rulers to desire strong drink;

6. Formal parallelism -- lines joined solely by metric considerations.

   Ps 2:6 I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.
   [Would be seen only in the Hebrew.]

   (Archer includes this under the Synthetic or Constructive Parallelism. He calls it the completion type and says "which is largely a parallelism of rhythm rather than of sense.")

FIGURES OF SPEECH

1. Simile -- a comparison between two things that resemble one another.

   Ps 1:3-4 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit
   in it season, and its leaf does not wither,
   In all that he does, he prospers.
   The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff which the wind drives away.

   Ps 5:12 For thou dost bless the righteous, O LORD;
   thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.

   Ps 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye;
   hide me in the shadow of thy wings. (see also zoomorphism)

   Ps 131:2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
   like a child quieted at its mother's breast;
   like a child that is quieted is my soul.

2. Metaphor -- a comparison in which one thing is declared to be another.

   Ps 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;

   Ps 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
   he bestows favor and honor.
   No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.

   Ps 91:4 He will cover you with his pinions,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. (last part)

3. Implication -- an implied comparison, name of one used in place of other (note parallelism in both of these).

   Ps 22:16 Yea, dogs are round about me;
   a company of evildoers encircle me;
   they have pierced my hands and feet --

   Jere 4:7 A lion has gone up from his thicket,
   a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone forth from his place to make your land a waste...

4. Hyperbole -- use of exaggeration to emphasis a point.

   Ps 6:6 I am weary with my moaning;
   every night I flood my bed with tears;
   I drench my couch with my weeping.

   Ps 78:27 He rained flesh upon them like dust,
   winged birds like the sand of the seas;

   Ps 107:26 [The waves] mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
   their courage [the sailors'] melted away in their evil plight;

5. Rhetorical question -- use of a question to confirm or deny a fact.

   Ps 35:10 All my bones shall say, "O LORD, who is like thee,
   thou who deliverest the weak from him who is too strong for him,
   the weak and needy from him who despoils him?"

   Ps 56:8 Thou hast kept count of my tossings;
   put thou my tears in thy bottle:
   Are they not in thy book?

   Ps 94:6 (Perhaps verse 9 is meant??)
   He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
   He who formed the eye, does he not see?

   Ps 106:2 Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD,
   or show forth all his praise?

6. Metonymy -- one noun used in place of another because of some relationship.

   Ps 5:9 For there is no truth in their mouth;
   their heart is destruction,
   their throat is an open sepulchre,
   they flatter with their tongue.

   Ps 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
   my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
   my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

   Ps 57:9 (Wrong reference? This is a good parallelism but not metonymy)
   I will give thanks to thee, O Lord, among the peoples;
   I will sing praises to thee among the nations.

   Ps 73:9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
   and their tongue struts through the earth.

7. Anthropomorphism -- assigning part of human body to God's Person.

   Ps 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple,
   the LORD's throne is in heaven;
   his eyes behold, his eyelids test, the children of men.

   Ps 18:15 Then the channels of the sea were seen,
   and the foundations of the world were laid bare,
   at thy rebuke, O LORD,
   at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

   Ps 31:2 Incline thy ear to me, rescue me speedily!

   Ps 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go:
   I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

8. Zoomorphism -- assigning a part of an animal to God's Person.

   Ps 17:8 See above under Simile.

   Ps 36:7 How precious is thy steadfast love, O God!
   The children of men take refuge in the shadow of thy wings.

   Ps 63:7 for thou hast been my help,
   and in the shadow of thy wings I sing for joy.

   Ps 91:4 See above under Metaphor.

9. Personification -- assigning the characteristics of a human to lifeless object.

   Ps 35:10 All my bones shall say,
   "O LORD, who is like thee...

   Ps 77:16 When the waters saw thee, O God,
   when the waters saw thee, they were afraid,
   [which parallelism?]
   yea, the deep trembled.

   Ps 96:11,12 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
   let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
   let the field exult, and everything in it!
   Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy.

   Ps 104:19 Thou hast made the moon to mark the seasons;
   the sun knows its time for setting.

10. Apostrophe -- addressing lifeless objects.

    Ps 114:5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
    O Jordan, that you turn back?

11. Synecdoche -- representation of whole by part or part by whole.

    Ps 91:5 You will not fear the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,