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.
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
Mark McEntire from Tennessee
The "Guides to Biblical Scholarship" took a decisive turn for the better shortly before this volume was produced. This is easily one of the better volumes. Petersen clearly demonstrates the techniques and structures utilized by the Hebrew poets with plenty of examples from the biblical text. Terminolology has become quite confusing in this area, but Petersen cuts through these difficulties. Controversial matters such as the existence and function of meter in Hebrew poetry are treated in a balanced manner. Furthermore, the book goes beyond mere demonstration of poetic features and fulfills the promise of the title by illustrating how an understanding of these features informs the interpretation of poetic passages of scripture. This is a good place to begin before moving on to the more extensive treatments of the subject by Gillingham or Alter, or the more complex and cutting edge analysis of Kugel.
James D. Dvorak from Edmond, OK USA
This is a very good book on Hebrew Poetry. It takes into consideration some of the more current thoughts in linguistics. If you are interested in Hebrew Poetry, you should have this book in your library.
| 
