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LITERARY DEVICE AS A KEY TO THE UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT TODAY

A Research paper

Presented to Trinity College of the Bible

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course

OT 514 Introduction to the Old Testament

By

James M. Italiano 2131033973

November 23, 2014

 Introduction

As we sit down to read the Old Testament in the 21st century, we are holding a

collection of books composed from approximately 1450 B.C. (Genesis) to approximately

430 B.C. (Malachi)1. But the story line doesn’t start at 1450 B.C. The birth of the first

patriarch Abraham can be traced to the year 2166 BC2, and his genealogy starts at the

eleventh chapter of Genesis, verse 10. Future back, from Genesis 1:1 to 11:9 we has a

pre-historic or pre-patriarchal narrative. 3 Being so far removed from these ancient dates,

care must be taken when reading and seeking to understand the text. It is obvious that the

original listeners/readers of the Old Testament lived in a very different culture with very

different customs than we do. This simple distinction alone can help us read the Old

Testament better. But just how was this literature composed back then? How should we

read the Old Testament today? Is it like modern poetry with rhythmic and sensitive

aesthetic qualities of language? Does it resemble a technical manual with lists of

information and data? Or do we engage it like a drama with its highs and lows, bringing

us to a touching or tragic moment? What sort of genre is the Old Testament? Is the Old

Testament a novel or history? Is it humor or an epic? Are we reading fiction like the

movies of today, or spiritual poetry? What literary techniques were used and how can

they assist us in our quest to read the Bible intelligently? My desire is to shed some light

on these questions.
1
Thomas R. Rodgers, Panorama of the Old Testament (Newburgh, Indiana: Trinity
Press Publishing, 2012), 24.
2
Ibid. , 14.
3
Samuel J. Schultz, The Old Testament Speaks (New York, NY: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1960), 31.
 The Entrance of Thy Word Bringeth Light

Before I present these Old Testament Literary devices as aids to the understanding

and appreciation of Scripture, let us examine some statements from the pages of the Old

Testament canon itself. The Psalmist David, around 1000 BC, joyfully exclaimed in

Psalm 119:1-2 “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD!

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” In

verse 14 He continues: “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all

riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways”. 4 Apparently

David appreciated and understood when he read God’s ‘laws, testimonies, precepts, and

ways’ or else he could not of boasted in them. The book of Proverbs continues in

exhortation to the reader: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in

all your getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). Where is this wisdom found and how

can today’s Old Testament reader benefit from it? The answer is found earlier; For the

LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs

2:6). The Old Testament claims to have God’s Word spoken from God’s Mouth.5 We are

exhorted to “Get wisdom! Get understanding!” (Proverbs 4:5). All this awaits the

diligent student of these Writings today.

As an aid to the appreciation and understanding of the Old Testament, I will point

out some Literary Devices employed by the Writers of this ancient magnificent text we

call the “Old Testament”. Some are apparent and will be easily recognized. Others hide in

4
Unless otherwise indicated all Bible references in this paper are to the New King
James Version (Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002).
5
An example of this is Exodus 20:1 “And God spoke all these words saying:” This
verse increases the force of Proverbs 2:6. See also Peter C. Craige, Page H. Kelley,
and Joel Drinkard, Jr., Jeremiah 1-25, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 26
(Dallas, Texas: Word, Inc. 1991), 216 on the ‘Word of the Lord came to me’ formula.
the stories of the OT books. Some are not recognized in our English translations at all,

and have been brought to light by scholars in the fields of Old Testament and Ancient

Near East studies. A fact to remember is that these Literary Devices may be new to us,

but the original hearers and readers of these texts saw and heard them, and understood

what the author was putting forth. Our job is to recognize these motifs, appreciate the

device, and read with understanding. When this newfound insight shines on the pages of

the Old Testament, we benefit by “getting understanding” from the wisdom found in its

pages. As the light shine in out hearts and our minds, we can walk in His laws like David

and thus we can live a more successful life.

On Appreciation

To appreciate is to recognize of the quality, significance, or magnitude of

something. To enjoy and understand critically or emotionally: appreciate literature and

music.6 Brueggemann and Linafelt echo this definition stating, “ Once we become aware

of the distinctive elements of both biblical narrative style and biblical poetic style, we can

appreciate with fresh eyes the rich literary artfulness of the Old Testament. Moreover,

having knowledge of and appreciation for the literary style and conventions of the Bible

may well facilitate a deeper engagement with the ethical and theological dimension of the

text.”7 We come to appreciate the Scripture as God-breathed when we see the unity, rich

literary artfulness, and loftiness of the portion we are reading. Biblical Scholarship in the

last 60 years has acknowledged that viewing the Old Testament and especially the book

of Genesis as a unified literary whole can yield much fruit. Preparation for this paper has

6
(The American Heritage Dictionary 2nd College ed., s.v. “appreciate”).
7
Walter Brueggemann and Tod Linafelt, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The
Canon and Christian Imagination, 2nd ed. (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John
Knox Press, 2003), 17.
shown me, that this fruitfulness was due to the use of literary devices purposely

employed in the Hebrew text. Biblical authors worked very hard to produce literature of a

very high quality.8

Most Scholars, however, since Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918) would disagree.9

Wellhausen is credited for postulating the JEDP theory or Documentary Hypothesis in its

classical form. Much of the Biblical scholarship, since his hypothesis, has operated under

the theory that the Biblical text should be broken into its original independent units and

then understood in the context of which the traditions originally arose. According to this

view, the Pentateuch in composed of four distinct sources, each given a corresponding

letter to match the recurring language style, with a date much later than the traditional

time of Moses. They are as follows: J= Yahwist (10/9 century), E = Elohist (9/8th

century), D= Dueteronomist (7th century) and P= Priestly (6/5th century). These sources

were all independent of each other, brought together in a more or less haphazard fashion

by a later redactor. This theory would of course exclude Mosaic authorship. Other new

ideas were suggested, e.g. the prophets of Israel came before the Law of Moses.

Wellhausen also declared that the Old Testament did not furnish a history of

Israel, but it supplies the materials from which such a history can be constructed.10 These

views shook many traditional Jewish and evangelical paradigms. In retrospect one can

see anti-Jewish and anti-Catholic bias in his theory and this was par with the times.11 Did

not classical rabbinic Judaism esteem the biblical text itself as a vehicle of revelation, and

8
Ibid. , 32.
9
Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 1
(Dallas, Texas: Word, Inc. 1991),xxvi.
10
Mark S. Gignilliat, A Brief History of Old Testament Criticism (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Zondervan 2012), 57-67.
11
Ibid. , 75-76.
every word holy and immutable? How could we look at the Old Testament as a beautiful

unified piece of literature, a divinely inspired whole, if it were a cheap patchwork of a

later redactor?

Modern Scholarship

I thank God that fresh new approaches to the biblical scholarship have brought

new insights and reward. Wenham writes “ While traditional critical views of the JEDP

theory have been under debate using traditional critical methods of argument, a quite

fresh look at Genesis has come from scholars concerned to appreciate it as a piece of

literature in its own right. This is part of a strong interest in biblical narrative and its

techniques that has come to the fore in the last decade. Clearly biblical storytellers were

masters of the craft.... What the secret to their craft was has barely been explored till

recently; now there are so many studies that it is hard to keep up.”12

It was the recognition of literary devices and lexical links in the Old Testament

that strengthened the traditional high view of Torah in scholarly minds. The Jews had

always dealt with and commented on minor discrepancies in the Old Testament. What

Wellhausen may have perceived as contradictions in an ancient text, as a result of rational

logic, may not have been perceived as such by the ancient authors or readers.13 Robert

Alter also disagrees with Wellhausen, and submits that the so-called redacted text, which

has come down to us, though not without certain limited contradictions and disparate

elements, has a powerful coherence as a literary work, and this coherence is above all

what we need to address as readers.14 Paul Borgman writes: “ Literary unity: Here we are
12
Ibid. , xxxiii.
13
Gary A. Rendsburg , “The Book of Genesis”, Lecture notes from CD 6. The Teaching
Company, 2006.
14
Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses: A Translation and Commentary. (New York:
W.W. Norton& Company, Inc., 2004),10.
at the heart of that critical approach treating the Bible “as literature”- a critical endeavor

that accepts gratefully the finding of the biblical scholar, while neither denying nor

denigrating the Bible as sacred text for those who believe. Style, diction, imagery,

episode, scene, character, and plot – all are literary elements to be explored in the light of

the whole. The gain is no less than meaning, and an appreciation for the Bible as a

repository of the most sophisticated and compelling literature in the ancient world.”15

With this fresh approach to reading and studying the Old Testament as we have received

it, as a sophisticated literary whole, our appreciation and respect for this ancient text can

sky rocket! Let’s explore.

Sophisticated Literary Structure in Genesis

Observing the literary structure in Genesis is a great starting point for research in

Hebrew artistic literary prowess. Literary structure refers to the way the author of a text

organizes the different parts of the story or material. We will look at this structure now,

and it will lead us into our first literary device, namely, chiasm or chiastic structure.

David R. Bauer defines chiasm as “ also called chiasmus, a Latin transliteration of the

Greek chiasma, referring to the Greek letter X (chi). Chiasm is the repetition of the same

elements in inverted order: a-b-b’-a’; or if the middle element is present: a-b-c-b’-a’

chiastic arrangement. Conceived graphically, resembles the letter X”.16

The book of Genesis presents a macro-chiasmus structure on the story or narrative

level, and a micro-chiasmus structure on smaller line or verse level. Gary A. Rendsburg

15
Paul Borgman, “Literary Interpretation, OT.” The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of
The Bible, Vol. 3, General ed. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (Nashville : Abingdon
Press),672. Emphasis mine.
16
David R. Bauer, “Chiasm”. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of The Bible, Vol. 1,
General ed. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld (Nashville : Abingdon Press),587.
expounds on this type of redactional structuring in Genesis, and he strikes at the heart of

those who want to diminish the greatness and verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible,

which Christians and Jews hold dear.17 Instead of dividing up the Old Testament in to

minuet fragments consisting of legend and lore, pasted together late in Israel’s history, as

these higher critics were doing since the 1700’s and well into the ninetieth century as

mentioned above, Rendsburg, furthering the work of great scholars of the Old Testament

such as Umberto Cassuto (1883-1951), Michael Fishbane (b. 1943), and Jack Sasson (b.

1941), found great literary unity in the Old Testament and especially the book of Genesis.

This was important work for Bible believers everywhere because Genesis is the seed plot

of the whole Bible. If the roots of our faith are flawed, we are in trouble and would be on

a shaky foundation for our faith. I will rely primarily on Rendsburg’s work in this paper,

although I have read Cassuto’s lectures and commentaries with great profit.

Macro-Chiasmus Structure

In the book of Genesis, we see a literary arrangement of separate patriarchal

narratives, rather large disparate units artistically organized: the Abraham cycle or

material (Gen. 12-22), the Jacob material (Gen. 25-35), and the Joseph story or novella

(Gen. 37-50). They all have an underlying palistrophe, or symmetric structure. This is

also called chiasm, and it operates in a big and small way. We will look at the macro first.

All three of these structures work the same way18

1. The story builds from its onset with a series of episodes in the life of the

individual hero (the patriarch).

17
Gary A. Rendsburg, The Redaction of Genesis (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns,
1986), 1-106.
18
Ibid. , 28-97
 2. The story reaches a climax, or focal point, halfway through the

narrative, on which everything turns.

3. The cycle (or story) concludes with another series of episodes, each of

which matches, in reverse order, the episodes in the first half of the

narrative. This shows chiastic structure: a-b-c-b’ (b prime) –a’ (a

prime).

This overarching unity seems to be a deliberate literary move, guiding the reader

to theological conclusions. Lets look at the Abraham Cycle or story.

The Abraham Cycle

A Genealogy of Terah (11:27-32)
B Start of Abram’s spiritual odyssey (12:1-9)
C Sarai in foreign palace; ordeal ends in peace and success;
Abram/Lot part (12:10-13:18)
D Abram comes to the rescue of Sodom and Lot (14:1-24).
E Covenant with Abram; annunciation of Ismael (15:1-16:16)
FOCAL POINT: a) Abram’s name changed to Abraham
b) Elohim appears for the first time in story

E’ Covenant with Abraham: annunciation of Ismael (17:1-18:15)

D’ Abraham comes to the rescue of Sodom and Lot (18:16- 19:38)
C’ Sarah in a foreign palace; ordeal ends in peace and success;
Abraham and Ishmael part (20:1-21:34)
B’ Climax of Abraham’s spiritual odyssey (22: 1-19)
A’ Genealogy of Nahor (22:20-24)

The Abraham cycle in the above chart builds to a focal point in Genesis 17:1-3,

after which the themes and stories are repeated in reverse order, creating a chiastic

structure, and this shows our first literary device. Rendsburg also points out that each of
the matching episodes contains ‘lexical links’.19 For example in Genesis 12: 1 “go forth”/

lekh lekha (B in example) matches 22:2 (B prime in example); also the place name

Moreh in 12:6 matches phonically Moriah in 22:2. Again, these linking catch phrases

appear in each of the matching episodes, another deliberate literary technique. We are

deprived of this literary skill in our English translations. The result is that we do not have

a mirror of the Hebrew original unless the translator takes the poetic beauties and crafts

them into the target language in like fashion. The Jacob Cycle also shows chiastic

structure and lexical linking.

The Jacob Cycle

A Oracle sought, struggle in childbirth, Jacob born (25: 19-34)

B Interlude: Rebekah in foreign palace, pact w/ foreigners (26:1-34)
C Jacob fears Esau and flees ( 27:1-28:9)
D Messengers (28:10-22)
E Arrival in Harran (29:1-30)
F Jacobs Wives are fertile (29:31- 30:24)
FOCAL PIONT: a) Rachel gives birth to Joseph
b) Jacob decides to return to Canaan
F’ Jacobs flocks are fertile (30:25-43)
E’ Flight from Harran (31:1-34)
D’ Messengers (32:1-32)
C’ Jacob returns and fears Esau (33:1-20)
B’ Interlude: Dinah in foreign palace, pact with foreigners (34:1-31)
A’ Oracle fulfilled, struggle in childbirth, Jacob becomes Israel (35:1-22)

The Jacob Cycle above (25:19-35:22) works in similar fashion as the Abraham

cycle. It also has matching episodes in the two halves, for example, Jacob’s dream about

the angels in chapter 28, (D in above example), and his encounter with an angel in

chapter 32, (D prime), and after the focal point in 30:22-25, where Joseph is born and

Jacob decides to return to Canaan, the themes and stories are repeated in reverse order.

19
Ibid. , 47-51.
Lexical links or key words in D and D prime are present for example, the Hebrew word

paga, is used in both 28:11 and 32:2. The reader would be reminded of the earlier link

word phonically or by sound. This would enhance the enjoyableness and strength of this

literary masterpiece. The Joseph Story can also follow the above treatment. These are

powerful literary insights into the unity and artistry of the book of Genesis.

It should be noted that there are two sections of linking material collecting less

important information between the three patriarchal cycles. This is material that closes

out Abraham’s life in 23:1-25:18 and material that bridges the Jacob cycle and the Joseph

story in 35:2320.

Chiastic arrangement can also be seen in Genesis 11: 1-9. 21

A the whole world (11:1)

B had one language (11:2)
C Shinar and settled there (11:3)
D Come, let us make bricks (11:4)
E Come let us build (11:4)
F a city with a tower (11:4)
>> G BUT THE LORD CAME DOWN (11:5)
F’ to see the city and the tower (11:5)
E’ the people were building (11:5)
D’ Come let us go down and confuse their language (11:7)
C’ Babel -- because there (11:9)
B’ the Lord confused the language (11:9)
A’ the whole world (11:9)

Although not as large as the Patriarchal narratives, this chiasm is still

enlightening. The focal point is The Lord, and truly we see God becoming involved in the

pre-historic past. We also should note that the readers of this text, in the world of the

20
Ibid. , 71-77.
21
J.P. Fokkeman, Narrative Art in Genesis (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1975), 13-22.
Referenced in J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word 3rd Edition
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 101.
Ancient Near East, with its pantheon of gods, would see Yahweh, the true God involving

Himself in the affairs of men in a way that was different then what they were used to –

He personally cared and was involved.

Micro-Chiasmus Structuring

A simpler chiasm can be seen in be seen in Psalm 76:1:

“God is renowned in Judah;

In Israel his name is great.”

Chiasm:

A God is renowned
B in Judah
B’ in Israel
A’ His name is great.

Today’s readers of the Old Testament can recognize these literary devices as an

aid to the understanding and appreciation of this ancient text. But even more so, we are

supposed to see the hand of God in the Old Testament. There was a Divine Presence in

Israel’s history. The author22 deliberately crafted this literary structure to serve as the

blueprint for Israel’s religious traditions. The scripture was formed and fashioned this

way for our enlightenment also. The savant Brevard S. Childs writes, “…the first five

books constituted the ground of Israel’s life under God and provided a critical norm of

how the Mosaic tradition was to be understood by the covenant people. The fundamental

theological understanding of God’s redemptive work through law and grace, promise and

fulfillment, election and obedience was once and for all established.” 23 In the books of

22
I believe that Moses wad the author, and took the oral traditions, cuneiform tablets
and other Ancient Near East literary remains, and as an anointed redactor,
fashioned the Torah as God wanted mankind to have it. The Bible is a Revelation
from Him.
23
Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, 2011), 131.
the Old Testament, we begin to see the True God at work in creation, in the pagan world,

in the lives of the patriarchs, in Israel as a nation, and we should realize it in our own

lives as well. This is the purpose of our reading in the final analysis.

Elements of Hebrew Poetry

Now we will move on to some additional literary devices. We will use the book of

Proverbs to elaborate on this. The book of Proverbs falls into the genre of wisdom

literature. The Old Testament contains different genres of literature, which I alluded to in

my introduction. We have narrative, law, poetry, prophecy, wisdom and even court

narrative and apocalyptic prophecy24 as seen in Daniel. Our interpretation of the Bible

depends on our recognition of its books unique literary genre.

Duvall and Hays write “ Over one- third of the Bible is comprised of poetry. The

books of Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Lamentations are almost entirely

poetic. Furthermore, the prophetic books also embody poetry as a major literary

feature”25. Hebrew poetry is not easy to define due to its artistic nature, but we do see

elements that characterize Old Testament poetic texts. Duvall and Hays highlight:

1. Terseness (minimum number of words)

2. Structure:
A. Parallelism (synonymous, developmental, illustrative,
contrastive and formal)
B. Acrostics

3. Figurative Imagery:

A. Analogy (simile, metaphor, hyperbole,

personification)
B. Substitution (effects and causes, representation)
24
Tremper Longmann III & Raymond B. Dillard, An Introduction to The Old
Testament 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2006), 384.
25
Duvall & Hays, Grasping Gods Word, 373.
 C. Miscellaneous (apostrophe, irony)

D. Wordplays

Lets now look at these features.

The wisdom of Proverbs can highlight elements of Hebrew poetry with it’s literary

devices very nicely for us. Proverbs 10:19 reads: “In the multitude of words sin is not

lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise”. We are immediately confronted with the

brevity or terseness of the saying. The NKJV uses 17 words as quoted in English, but the

Hebrew only has 8 words.26 The writer is deliberately compressing this wisdom in a

compact form. The reader is signaled to slow down and reflect on the meaning of the

passage. We actually gain insight for successful living, as I promised in my introduction,

by observing the structure of this proverb. Observing the terseness and parallelism in this

proverb, the reader stops and reflects. God can speak to the reader through His Word.

The poetry of the Old Testament is also largely constructed of parallel lines.

Parallelism refers to the correspondence or echo that occurs between the phrases of a

poetic line.27 Instead of rhyme, as we are accustomed to in our English poetry, Hebrew

poetry, has little tangible syllabic rhythm or rhyme, but, instead, a parallel structure – a

“rhythm of thought” rather than sound.28 Look at Proverbs 16:13 “ Righteous lips are the

delight of kings, And they love him who speaks what is right.” We notice the echoing

effect that occurs between the two parts, or lines. Longman gives a literal translation that

makes this literary device even more forceful: “A king is pleased with righteous lips; he

26
Tremper Longman, How To Read Proverbs (Downer Grove, IL.: InterVarsity Press,
2002), 31.
27
Ibid. , 38-39.
28
Roy B Chamberlin & Herman Feldman, The Dartmouth Bible, An Abridgment of The
King James Version, With Aids To Its understanding as History And Literature, And As
A Source of Religious Experience (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1950), 6.
loves honest words.”29 The verb “loves” echoes “is pleased”; the object “righteous lips”

echoes “honest words”. Longman reminds us that this is not mere repetition. The echo is

not “saying the same thing twice” - a common misunderstanding of parallelism. Instead,

the second part sharpens and intensifies the thought of the first part. We reflect and ask,

how does the second part of the parallel line contribute to the first? We should not skim

over this literary device.30

Acrostics

Another fascinating structural feature of the Old Testament is the occasional use of

acrostics. An acrostic is a poem in which each successive line of poetry starts with the

next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.31 The book of Psalms contains numerous acrostics.

Psalms 25, 34, 111,112, and 145 are all acrostics. In Psalms 25, 34, and 145 the acrostic

is in the first letter of each verse. Thus the Psalms each have 22 verses, matching the 22

letters in the Hebrew alphabet (actually the Hebrew alphabet has 23 letters, but in

acrostics the writers combine the letters “s” and “sh” into a single letter).32 These

acrostics are not evident in our English Bibles unfortunately. Psalm 119 may be the most

popular and interesting acrostic. Every first word in each of the first eight verses starts

with the beginning letter of the Hebrew alphabet, aleph. Likewise verses 9 to 16 all start

with beth, the second letter. This continues eight lines at a time, all the way through

psalm 119 and all the way through the Hebrew alphabet. Acrostic texts are found in the

Bible, in extra-biblical sources, and in ancient Eastern literature. There is, however, no

certain answer as to the purpose for which these ancient authors used the device. One

29
Longman, 41
30
Longman, 46
31
Duvall & Hays, Grasping Gods Word, 379.
32
Ibid. , 379.
reason often suggested is that the poet employed acrostic as a mnemonic.33 A mnemonic

is a pattern of letters, ideas or associations that assist in remembering something. I

believe Biblical writers used this literary device as an aid for memorization of God’s

Word.

Figurative Imagery

A final literary device is called Figurative Imagery. Duvall & Hays write, “The

major medium through which the Old Testament poets communicate is figurative

imagery. They do not write essays; the paint pictures. The authors are conveying real

thoughts, events, and emotions to us- that is literal truth, but they express this truth

figuratively. Our job as readers is to grapple with the figures and to strive to grasp the

reality and the emotion that the poets are conveying by their figurative language.”34

Figures of speech in a wide variety of analogy:

1. Simile - Proverbs 11:22 “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, So is a lovely

woman who lacks discretion.” A comparison is made by the words like or as to

state the resemblance.

2. Metaphor – Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

3. Hyperbole - Psalm 42:3 “My tears have been my food day and night.”

4. Personification – Psalm 24: 7 “Lift up your heads, you gates.” Isaiah 44:23

“Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all trees.” Personification

involves attributing human features or characteristics to nonhuman entities.

33
Elie Assis, "The alphabetic acrostic in the Book of Lamentations." Catholic Biblical
Quarterly 69, no. 4 (October 1, 2007): 710-724. ATLA Religion Database with
ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed November 17, 2014).
34
Duvall & Hays, Grasping Gods Word, 380-381.
 5. Substitution (effect and cause) – Psalm 51:8 “ Let me hear joy and gladness.”

This is the effect. The cause, the action that David really is asking for, is

forgiveness for his sin with Bathsheba. Yet what he states is the result of that

forgiveness- joy and gladness. Davis used a figure of speech, substituting the

effect for the cause.35

6. Irony (Sarcastic Irony example) – Job 38:18-21 “ Have you comprehended the

breadth of the earth? Tell Me, since you know all this. Where is the way to the

dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place, that you may take it to its

territory, that you may know the paths to its home? You should know it, because

you were born then, and because the number of your days is so great! ”36 Italics

were added to show that God was saying the exact opposite of what He meant.

This is irony.

7. Wordplay – often missed in our English Bibles, wordplay is a literary device,

which plays off variant possible meanings of a word, or play off sound

similarities. For example, “ ' Drop the gun,' Tom said with a disarming smile.”

Jeremiah 3:22 is a great example “Return, you backsliding children, And I will

heal your backslidings.” A literal translation would be “ Turn, you sons of

turning and I will cure your turning.” Wordplay.

Conclusion

I have a strong persuasion that the Bible is the Word of God. It testifies of it own

divine origin, has a unique consistency, and its message is alive and life changing. It has

stood the test of time and has endured endless assault from its enemies. My life was

35
Ibid. , 385.
36
This is my paraphrase.
drastically changed when I first heard the Bible preached and I still marvel at its

revelation. The principles of God’s Word have also brought me much blessing. I believe

the Bible and the God who stands behind what He said.

My persuasion has been strengthened by the recognition of the literary structure

of Scripture that we viewed in the book of Genesis. I disagree with the theories postulated

by higher critics of the Old Testament, mythologizing the Scriptures, making them more

“logical”. I will admit that scholarship has helped our understanding of the Bible in a

myriad of ways, and one can benefit from becoming familiar with differing views on

Bible subjects. But taking the supernatural out of the picture distorts the truth of what we

read. In contrast, our reading of the Old Testament is energized when we see God’s

involvement with mankind and His willingness to use His power to deliver His children.

Our grasp on God’s Word is greatly improved by the recognition of the literary devices

employed. I have grown to appreciate the Scriptures much more by this study, and I hope

yours has also.

The danger in all research and study is that we can forget that God’s Word is our

“daily bread” (metaphor) and not a study book, and we can also forget that “As far as the

east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (simile). These

are facts are found in plain sight and cause us to say with King David “Oh how I love

Your Law.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books
Alter, Robert. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation and Commentary. New York:
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2004.

Brueggemann, Walter., and Tod Linafelt, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The
Canon and Christian Imagination, 2nd ed. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster
John Knox Press, 2003.

Chamberlin, Roy B. and Herman Feldman, The Dartmouth Bible, An Abridgment of

The King James Version, With Aids To Its understanding as History And
Literature, And As A Source of Religious Experience. Boston, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1950.

Childs, Brevard S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. Philadelphia:

Fortress Press, 2011.

Craige, Peter C., Page H. Kelley, and Joel Drinkard, Jr., Jeremiah 1-25, Word Biblical
Commentary, Vol. 26. Dallas, Texas: Word, Inc. 1991.

Duvall, J. Scott. , and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word 3rd Edition . Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2012.

Gignilliat, Mark S. A Brief History of Old Testament Criticism. Grand Rapids,

Michigan: Zondervan 2012.

Longman III, Tremper. How To Read Proverbs. Downer Grove, IL.: InterVarsity
Press, 2002.

Longman III, Tremper., and Raymond B. Dillard, An Introduction to The Old

Testament 2nd Ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2006.

New King James Version (NKJV). Oxford University Press, Inc., 2002.

Rendsburg, Gary A. The Redaction of Genesis. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns,

1986.

Rodgers, Thomas. Panorama of the Old Testament. Newburgh, Indiana: Trinity Press
Publishing, 2012.

Sakenfeld, Katharine Doob, General ed. The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of The
Bible, Vol. 1 and Vol. 3. Nashville : Abingdon Press, 2006.

Schultz, Samuel J. The Old Testament Speaks. New York, NY: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1960.

Wenham, Gordon J. Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 1.

 Dallas, Texas: Word, Inc. 1991.

Periodicals

Assis, Elie. "The alphabetic acrostic in the Book of Lamentations." Catholic Biblical
Quarterly 69, no. 4 (October 1, 2007): 710-724. ATLA Religion Database with
ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed November 17, 2014).

Other Sources

Rendsburg , Gary A. “The Book of Genesis”, Lecture notes from CD 6. The Teaching
Company, 2006.