Old Testament Literary Styles

The Same Story Written in Four Different Literary Styles

The following four example comes from Lesson 2 of the Old Testament Bethel Bible Series. This is the best illustration of these four literary styles I’ve ever seen. The historical report example is the style of writing we are most familiar with today. Notice how you can follow the story in the next three versions of this story once you understand what they are trying to describe. The problem we have when reading sections of the Bible that use the non-historical styles is that we often are not sure of what the original “historical” story was.

Historical Reporting

A great fire raged through the Northeast residential area of Centerville today, taking hundreds of lives and destroying millions of dollars’ worth of property. A strong north wind hampered the efforts of the fire fighters to bring the flames under control. Tonight, hundreds of Red Cross workers converged on the charred city to bring aid to the stricken citizens.

Personification

“The loud voices of flames bid the winds welcome,
while trees mourned and hills grimaced in pain.
A remnant of the living tried valiantly to silence the mouths of the flames
but fell useless under the belching breath of the conqueror.
While midst the chaos stood a band of angels,
binding up the wounds of the fallen.”

Imagery and Symbolism

“O torturous memory of searing flames and the cries of the dying
Begone and let us rest;
What bleakness thou has cast upon us,
And cruel wind, why didst thou visit us in this ill-appointed hour?
Why didst thou choose to heap sorrow upon sorrow?
But for the angels of mercy crossed in red,
We might all have gone down in pits.
O torturous memory of searing flames and the cries of the dying,
Begone and let us rest.

Examples from the Bible of Different Literary Styles

Here are some examples of the above four styles that I’ve pulled from the Bible. A brief explanation of what is being said is given in the notes following each of the non-historical styles along with a “historical” paraphrase. Whenever you are trying to understand a non-historical section of the Bible, see if you can write your own paraphrase of it. This will help deepen your understanding of what you are reading.

Historical Reporting of an Event (Luke 2:1-7)

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Notes:

Since this is the style of writing we are accustomed to, there is no need for a paraphrase.

Historical event in poetic media (Judges 5:15b-18)

In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
     Why did you stay among the campfires
        to hear the whistling for the flocks?

In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
     Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan.
          And Dan, why did he linger by the ships?
     Asher remained on the coast
          and stayed in his coves.

The people of Zebulun risked their very lives;
     so did Naphtali on the heights of the field.

Notes:

During the time of the Judges Deborah was a prophetess. The Israelites were being oppressed by Sisera because they had fallen into apostasy. Deborah told Barak of Naphtali to take 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun and that the Lord would give Sisera into their hands. This section is from a poem written about that event. To understand this section of it, you need to know the geography of ancient Israel.

Verses 13-15 before this section show that the following tribes joined Naphtali and Zebulun in fighting Sisera: Ephraim, Benjamin, Makir (a term for both east and west Manassea) and Issachar. In this section Reuben, Gad (referred to as Giliead), Dan, and Asher are rebuked for not sending any men. Judah and Simeon are not mentioned. Perhaps this was because they were already engaged with the Philistines.

Naphtali and Zebulun are the two of the northern sections of Israel. Reuben was the most southern region on the eastern side of the Jordan. Gilead is in Gad just north of Reuben. Dan is on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Asher is next to Naphtali and Zebulun on the coast.

My paraphrase in standard non-symbolic prose:

The tribe of Reuben stayed home pondering whether or not they should join Deborah and Barak. Their reluctance to fight was questioned by Deborah. Likewise, Gad stayed out of the fight on the other side of the Jordan and Dan remained on the coast tending their boats along with Asher. While, these tribes failed to come, Zebulun and Naphtali were fighting for their very survival.

Imagery and Symbolism (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7)

1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
   before the days of trouble come
      and the years approach when you will say,
      “I find no pleasure in them”—
2 before the sun and the light
      and the moon and the stars grow dark,
      and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
      and the strong men stoop,
  when the grinders cease because they are few,
      and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
      and the sound of grinding fades;
  when men rise up at the sound of birds,
      but all their songs grow faint;
5 when men are afraid of heights
      and of dangers in the streets;
  when the almond tree blossoms
      and the grasshopper drags himself along
      and desire no longer is stirred.
Then man goes to his eternal home
      and mourners go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
      or the golden bowl is broken;
  before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
       or the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from,
       and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Notes:

This is an allegory of aging that presents a graphic description of man’s progressive deterioration using vivid imagery and symbolism.

Keepers of the house: This and the other metaphors may refer to parts of the body (hands, legs, etc.). But the imagery should not be pressed to the extent that it destroys the poetry, which moves freely between figures such as darkness, storm, a house in decline, and a deserted well, and such literal descriptions as in verse 5a (men afraid of heights & dangers of the street)

Almond tree: its pale blossom possibly suggests the white hair of age.

Grasshopper: Normally agile, its slow movements on a cold morning recall the stiffness of old age. A grasshopper can also be seen as a symbol of youth—children are always hopping about. Here youth is gone and turned into stiffness.

Eternal home: In context, probably points simply to the grave, not beyond it.

Silver cord . . . golden bowl: a hanging lamp suspended by a silver chain. If only one link snaps, this light and beauty will perish, suggesting how fragile life is.

My paraphrase in standard non-symbolic prose:

Remember your Creator while you are young. Do not wait until you are old and troubled by the ills of age that make day to day life difficult. Old age is a troubled time when you tremble and become stooped over; when you lose your teeth and your eye sight grows dim. Slowly your senses fade and you venture less and less into the world because you become more fearful. Your hair turns white and the agility of youth gives way to the stiffness of old age. Finally you die. Just as the utensils we use in life are fragile and easily broken, so also is life fragile and quickly over.

Personification — Example 1: Isaiah 55:12b

. . . the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Notes:

A simple standard prose paraphrase of Isaiah 55:12b would be: “It will be a time of joy.”

Personification — Example 2: Proverbs 1:20-21

20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
    she raises her voice in the public squares;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,
    in the gateways of the city she makes her speech

Notes:

Wisdom is personified. The open areas inside a fortified city was where the marketplace was located. The gateways of the city are where the leaders of the city met to hold court.

My paraphrase of this in standard non-symbolic prose:

You will find people who are wise sharing their wisdom for anyone who wishes to learn in the market place and in the gateways of the city where court is held.

Personification — Example 3: Proverbs 1: 10-14

As a young man confronts life in these two social contexts, two voices lure him, appeal for his allegiance and seek to shape his life. The first is the voice of wisdom as exemplified in the instructions of the teachers of wisdom. The second is the voice of folly as exemplified in the sinners of verses 10-14 and the adulteress of 5:3, 6:24, 7:5.

1:10 My son, if sinners entice you,
   do not give in to them.
11 If they say, “Come along with us;
   let’s lie in wait for someone's blood,
   let's waylay some harmless soul;
12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave,
   and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
   and fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot with us,
    and we will share a common purse”

5:3 For the lips of an adulteress drip honey,
   and her speech is smoother than oil;

6:24 keeping you from the immoral woman,
    from the smooth tongue of the wayward wife.

5 they will keep you from the adulteress,
    from the wayward wife with her seductive words.

Thus in the midst of life the youth must learn to exercise discretion. Here and in chapters 8-9 wisdom makes her appeal. She speaks neither out of heaven (by special revelation, as do the prophets) nor out of the earth (through voices from the dead) but out of the center of the life of the city, where man’s communal experience of the created order (established by God’s wisdom, 8:22-31) is concentrated. It is also there that the godly, the truly wise, test human experience in the crucible of faith and afterward give divine wisdom a human voice in their wise instructions—as in Proverbs.

Historical Allusion Through Fable (Judges 9:8-15)

8 “One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
   9 But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’
   10 Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’
   11 But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’
   12 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’
   13 But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?’
   14 Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’
   15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’”

Notes:

This allegory follows the story of Gideon in the book of Judges. Fables of this type, in which inanimate objects speak and act, were popular among Eastern peoples of that time.

Gideon had defeated the Midianites who had been oppressing the Israelites and “the land enjoyed peace for forty years.” The Israelites asked Gideon to be their ruler, but he told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” As soon as Gideon died the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals (v 33).

Abimelech  (The son of Jerub-Baal=Gideon) asked the citizens of Shechem to make him king.

Shechem, a city located forty-one miles north of Jerusalem in the pass between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. It dominated an important trade route and controlled a fertile valley to the east where Jacob’s sons pastured their flocks.

Shechem was the first city visited by Abraham in his migration from Haran, but figures most prominently in the traditions associated with Jacob. It was the scene of the rape of Dinah by Shechem, the son of Hamor, king of Shechem. When the Hebrews returned to Canaan from Egyptian slavery, they brought Jacob’s mummified body with them and buried it in a tomb near the city.

Shechem was the earliest religious center of the Israeli tribes. At Shechem Joshua renewed the Sinai covenant with Israel’s tribal leaders, probably at the temple of the Lord of the Covenant.

Abimelech, a son of Gideon by a concubine who lived at Shechem, roused the Shechemites to his support and had himself declared king, against the spirit and traditions of the old tribal confederacy, which held that the Lord was the only king in Israel. Shechem soon revolted against Abimelech’s rule and in reprisal he destroyed the city.

The trees: The people of Shechem

The Olive, fig, and vine: The most valuable plants of the time symbolize honorable and valuable men such as Gideon and his sons who were slain by Abimelech.

Thornbush: it produces nothing of value and thus symbolizes Abimelech.

Shade: symbolizes the protection a king offers his people.

Cedars of Lebanon: the most valuable of Near Eastern trees, symbolize the leading citizens of Shechem.

Fire come out . . . and consume: a grim prediction that Abimelech and the people of Shechem would destroy each other. This came true as Abimelech eventually destroyed and razed Shechem then was killed while besieging another town, Thebez, where a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head from the wall.

My paraphrase of this fable in standard prose:

The people of Shechem went out to anoint for themselves a king. They asked Gideon to be their king, but he said “no”. Then there were Gideon’s sons, nobel and just, who also refused keeping the Lord as their king in the traditions and commandments of their fathers. A scoundrel named Abimelech, however, came and asked to be king. He was the son of Gideon’s slave girl and he murdered his seventy honorable brother’s in his quest to become king. I predict that if you make him king, you will destroy each other.

Allegory (Psalm 80:8-12)

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
       you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
       and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
       the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its boughs to the Sea,
       its shoots as far as the River.
12 Why have you broken down its walls
       so that all who pass by pick its grapes?

Notes:

My paraphrase of Psalm 80:8-12 in standard prose:

God, You brought your chosen people out of the land of Egypt. You gave it the promised land and drove out the people who were there so the nation of Israel could settle it and become prosperous. Your people inhabited the land from the coast of the Mediterranean as far as the Jordan. Why have you allowed it to be conquered and plundered by foreigners?

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