Old Testament Poetry and Wisdom Literature, Part 1

Poetry, Patience, and Profit

Poetry is one of the most challenging genres of Scripture for theologians, teachers, and preachers. There are several difficulties that arise from Old Testament poetic passages but there is also one broad complication because of the nature of poetry in general. Usually, poetry cannot be fully understood through casual or quick reading, and the biblical examples of poetry are no exception.

W. D. Tucker Jr. points this out in the article “Psalms 1: Book of” in IVP’s Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, & Writings. Though I would challenge some of his other conclusions, he helpfully highlights the necessity of deliberate and attentive reading and thinking regarding poetry since the structure and message of these texts have been intertwined. Those who wish to fully understand these texts must consider all of the issues at once, being aware of how poetic texts are constructed.

Biblical poetry requires greater patience than didactic or narrative sections of Scripture because the poetic passages have particular forms than cannot be ignored. The meaning of a poetic passage can be missed if specific lines of a passage are not placed in context; the closing of a poem might radically change the meaning of the first part when the whole poem is understood together. For example, Psalm 89 seems to be a hymn of praise to God for the first 37 verses, but 14 of the last 15 verses present a radical change in the author’s attitude. What is going on here? If we ignore the form of the Psalm and the context of the surrounding Psalms, we may come to one of the (false) conclusions that the text is corrupt or that the author is blatantly contradicting himself.

However, if we notice that the downcast attitude at the end of Psalm is related to God’s apparent disregard for the Davidic covenant, then we see a structure emerging that ties the whole text together. The main body of the text highlights God’s faithfulness to David and his sons as it is described in the covenant (v. 20-29). The author, as he praised God, was focusing on the apparent inviolability of the Davidic king because of the mighty power of God. At the end of the Psalm, however, we find out that it appears that God has permanently rejected that same king! The author is struggling with what appears to be a massive contradiction in his understanding of who God is: how could God promise to bless the Davidic king when in fact the throne of the Davidic king has been cast down to the ground (v. 44)? The end of the Psalm offers no explanation for how this can be, but it does explain the form or structure of the Psalm.

The ending of the Psalm does offer some help in piecing together an explanation for how God could bless David’s kingly son and, at the same time, humiliate the king. The last verse of the Psalm ties the Psalm into the overarching structure of the book of Psalms because it praises God in a specific way. At the ending of each of the five books of the Psalms, there are similar phrases that repeat that link the whole book together (41:13, 89:52, 72:18-19, 106:48, 146-150). It is clear that the book of Psalms has repetitive structures and since form and meaning are linked, it appears that we are meant to read the Psalms in the context of the book as a whole. In light of that, Psalm 89 does not have a contradictory message, but it is one piece of the puzzle of the book of Psalms.

I would argue (as many others have) that there is an overall message or storyline in the book of Psalms. The book presents God as establishing His Law and His King, but then traces a story of kingly humiliation and distress before concluding with kingly victory and praise for God. Psalm 89 functions as one of the hinges upon which the book turns as it moves from questioning the destruction of David’s descendant to reviewing the character of God in past history (Ps. 90 and following).

The point of this example is that those who read poetry must have great patience if they wish to gather great profit from the text. Biblical poetry, like most poetry, must be read thoughtfully and intentionally, with an eye to overall structure and meaning. Reading quickly and shallowly will likely result in a shallow understanding and appreciation for God’s poetry, or worse, it might result in confusion about and disregard for the text.

Students and guests, let me encourage you to take your time as you read biblical poetry! If a passage seems out of place or irrational, focus on the form of the text, meditate on the message, or consider the context—there may be a more subtle and deep truth than a cursory reading would reveal. Read humbly, read patiently, and read slowly, and I trust that your effort will yield profitably.

--Dean of Admissions