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Over 8,600 of the verses of the Bible are poetry – nearly 27% of all the verses in scripture. Only seven books of the Bible have no clear poetry within them: A. One book in the Old Testament lacks poetry: Esther is a highly crafted narrative without poetry, fairly unusual in ancient literature. B. Six books in the New Testament lack poetry: 1.
- Mark Wenger
- Introduction
- Job
- Psalms
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Solomon
The previous survey of the first seventeen books (Law and History), Genesis through Nehemiah, covered the whole history of the Old Testament. All the remaining books, Poetical and Prophetical, fit somewhere into the history of those seventeen books. The next section to be covered, the Poetical, is a much smaller section consisting of five books—Job...
Author:
While we know the title of this book obviously comes from its main character, Job, and that he was an historical person (Ezek. 14:14, 20; James 5:11), the author is unknown and there are no textual claims as to the author’s identify. Commentators have suggested Job himself, Elihu, Moses, Solomon, and others.
Date:
It is important to distinguish between the date of writing and of the events of the book. Regarding the date, Ryrie writes; The date of the events in the book and the date of the writing of the book are two different matters. The events may have taken place in a patriarchal society in the second millennium B.C., around the time of Abraham. Several facts support this dating: (1) Job lived more than 140 years (42:16), a not uncommon life span during the patriarchal period; (2) the economy of Jo...
Title of the Book:
Set in the time of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, the Book of Job derives its name from its chief character, a man called Job, who, experiencing extreme suffering (the loss of wealth, family and health), struggles with the question of why? The English name, Job, comes from the Hebrew áIyo‚b. Some believe it comes from áa„yab, which basically means, “to be hostile to, to be an enemy,” by there is little linguistic evidence to support this.30But not all agree. Earlier attempts to determine...
Author:
The Book of Psalms is not only the largest book of the Bible, but it perhaps the most widely used book in Scripture because of the way it speaks to the human heart in all of our experiences in life. Again and again sighing is turned into singing through prayer and praise. For the most part, though the texts of the psalms do not designate their authors, the titles do often indicate the author of the various psalms. The following chart designates the authors of these psalms as they are found in...
Division and Classification of the Psalms:
The Psalms are really five books in one. Each of the following book division concludes with a doxology while Psalm 150occupies the place of the doxology and forms an appropriate conclusion to the entire collection. Epiphanius said, “The Hebrews divided the Psalter into five books so that it would be another Pentateuch.” The Midrash of Psa. 1:1 states, “Moses gave the Israelites the five books of the Law, and to correspond to these David gave to them the Book of the Psalms in five books.”35 Th...
Date:
With their very broad chronological range, the wide thematic arrangement, and the many different audiences living under a variety of conditions, the psalms reflect a multitude of moods and experiences that make them extremely relevant to the reader regardless of the day in which he lives. Regarding the date of the various psalms, Archer writes: Of these, the earliest would naturally be Ps. 90, by Moses, presumably composed about 1405 b.c. The Davidic psalms would have originated between 1020...
Author:
According to 1 Kings 4:32, Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. And while he wrote most of proverbs in this book, later chapters indicate that he was not the only author of the book. Three sections of the proverbs are ascribed to Solomon; chapters 1:1-9:18; 10:1-22:16, and 25:1-29:27. However, the proverbs in the latter section (25:1-29:27) were selected from Solomon’s collection by King Hezekiah’s committee (25:1). Proverbs 22:17 refers to the “sayings of the wise,” and 24:23 mentio...
Date:
950-700 B.C. As a book of wisdom, Proverbs is not an historical book but rather the product of the school of wisdom in Israel. Solomon’s proverbs were written before his death in 931 B.C., and those collected by Hezekiah’s scribes probably around 700 B.C.
Title of the Book:
Proverbs obviously gets it name from its contents—short sayings or maxims that convey truth in a pointed and pithy way. The Hebrew word for proverb (from ma„sŒa„l, “to be like, represent”) means “parallel,” “similar,” or “a comparison.” It refers to a comparison or simile as underlying the moral maxim. As a pithy saying, a proverb centers in a comparison or an antithesis. The title comes from the fact this writing is a compendium of moral and spiritual instruction designed to enable one to li...
Author:
There are two lines of evidence (external and internal) that point to Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes. For the external evidence, the Jewish tradition attributes the book to Solomon. Internally, a number of lines of evidence show that Solomon was surely the author. First, the author identifies himself as “the son of David, king in Jerusalem” (1:1). Then, references in the book to the author’s unrivaled wisdom (1:16), extreme wealth (2:7), opportunities for pleasure (2:3), and extensive...
Date:
931 B.C. According to Jewish tradition, Solomon wrote the Song in his early years, expressing a young man’s love. He wrote the Proverbs in his mature years, manifesting a middle-aged man’s wisdom. He reportedly wrote Ecclesiastes in his declining years, revealing an old man’s sorrow (cf. 12:1). Perhaps Ecclesiastes is the record of Solomon’s regret for and repentance from his grave moral lapses recorded in 1 Kings 11. The Book of Ecclesiastes, then, would have been written just before Solomon...
Title of the Book:
The name Ecclesiastes stems from the title given in the Greek translation, the Septuagint. Greek term, ecclesiastes, means “assembly” and is derived from the word ekkle„sia, “assembly, church.” “The Hebrew title is Qoheleth, which means “one who convenes and speaks at an assembly,” or “an ecclesiastic” or “preacher.”
Author:
Though some critics reject King Solomon as the author and take 1:1 to mean, “which is about Solomon,” the internal evidence supports the traditional belief that Solomon is its author. The contents of the book agree with all that we know about the abilities and wisdom of Solomon, and there is no compelling reason not to regard him as the author.45 Solomon is mentioned seven times (1:1, 5; 3:7, 9, 11; 8:11-12), and he is identified as the groom. Verse 1 asserts that Solomon wrote this song as o...
Date:
About 965 B.C. The Song was probably written early in Solomon’s career, about 965. At this point, Solomon had sixty queens and eighty concubines (6:8), but later in his life, he would have seven hundred queens and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11:3).
Title of the Book:
Regarding the title of this book Ryrie writes: This book has been titled several ways: the Hebrew title from verse 1, The Song of Songs, which means “the most superlative, or best, of songs”; the English title, also from verse 1, The Song of Solomon, which designates the author; and the Canticles, meaning simply “songs,” derived from the Latin.46
Old Testament poetry. There are five Old Testament books—Job, Psalms, Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, and Lamentations— that are written entirely or almost entirely in poetic form. Many narrative books contain poetry and so do all but two of the prophetic books. Isaiah contains some of the most magnificent poetry in all of the Old Testament.
Art of Biblical Poetry, his companion to the seminal The Art of Biblical Narrative, Alter takes his analysis beyond narrative craft to investigate the distinctive working of Hebrew poetry in the Bible. in his path-breaking analysis of biblical poetry’s structure and function, Alter
- Genesis. Genesis answers two big questions: “How did God’s relationship with the world begin?” and “Where did the nation of Israel come from?” Author: Traditionally Moses, but the stories are much older.
- Exodus. God saves Israel from slavery in Egypt, and then enters into a special relationship with them. Author: Traditionally Moses.
- Leviticus. God gives Israel instructions for how to worship Him. Author: traditionally Moses.
- Numbers. Israel fails to trust and obey God, and wanders in the wilderness for 40 years. Author: Traditionally Moses.
Understanding what it is and how poetry works can help us gain deeper insight into the God behind the words. Join us as we explore the poetry of the Bible and hear God ever more clearly. Download PDF from Discovery Series.
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Jun 25, 2019 · The writing of the Poetry and Wisdom Books of the Bible spanned from the time of Abraham through the end of the Old Testament period. Possibly the oldest of the books, Job is of unknown authorship. The Psalms have many different writers, King David being the most notable and others remaining anonymous.
