Interpreting Hebrew Poetry / Edition 1

by David L. Petersen, Kent Harold Richards

Overview

Here is a convenient introduction to the unique aspects of interpreting the one-third of the Hebrew Bible that is in poetic form. Numerous are the occasions when a failure to distinguish poetry from prose in the Old Testament has resulted in flawed interpretation. Robert Lowth's Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews (1753, 1787), marked a turning point of major proportions by focusing on the importance of parallelism of lines. But new studies of the past decade now require significant adjustments to Lowth's analyses. Interpreting Hebrew Poetry offers an authoritative introduction to this discussion of parallelism, meter and rhythm, and poetic style. It also provides by way of example a poetic analysis of Deuteronomy 32, Isaiah 5:1-7, and Psalm 1.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780800626259
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	06/01/1992
Series:	Guides to Biblical Scholarship Old Testament
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

David L. Petersen is the Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs and Franklin N. Parker Professor of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He was the senior Old Testament editor for The New Interpreter's Bible and is currently the Old Testament editor for The Common English Bible. Petersen recently served as president of the Society of Biblical Literature. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is a member of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.

Kent Harold Richards is Professor of Old Testament at Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Colorado. He is the editor of the series Biblical Scholarship in North America (1981-1992).

Table of Contents

Editor's Foreword

Abbreviations

1. Understanding Hebrew Poetry

Definition

Problems

Theories of Poetry

Poetry-Prose Continuum

Three Approaches

Relationship of Methods

2. Parallelism

Robert Lowth

Basic Nomenclature

Synonymous, Antithetic, Synthetic Parallelism

New Understandings

Grammatic, Morphologic, Semantic Parallelism

Summary

3. Meter and Rhythm

Definitions

Meter

Rhythm

4. Poetic Style

Simile

Stanza and Strophe

5. Poetic Analysis

Deuteronomy

Isaiah 5:1-17

Psalm 1

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Author Index

Scripture Index