01.09e. Various Figures of the Bible (6)
SEC. 74. SYNONYMOUS PARALLELISM.--This is when the lines contain the same thought, or nearly the same thought.
"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech
For I have slain a man for wounding me,
And a young man for bruising me
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold" (Gen 4:23-24). This may be denominated identical, for some of these lines contain exactly the same thought. Adah and Zillah were the same as the wives of Lamech, and the man that wounded him was the same as the young man that bruised him. In such cases we have the same thing repeated for the sake of beauty and force.
(1.) We give, then, the first form of this kind of parallelism as identical, for the comparison is made by employing a part of the same words, intended to convey the same thought.
"Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
Thou art taken with the words of thy mouth" (Pro 6:2).
"The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their waves.
Above the voices of many waters,
The mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord on high is mighty" (Psa 93:3-4). In Isa 45:6-7, we have a parallelism that is more nearly of this order than any other, and therefore we quote it:
"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,
Call ye upon him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts:
And let him return unto the Lord,
And he will have mercy upon him;
And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
(2.) A similar synonymous parallelism is one in which the lines have the same meaning, or nearly the same, but not couched in the same words.
"Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?
Or loweth the ox over his fodder?
Can that which hath no savour be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
My soul refuseth to touch them;
They are as loathsome meat to me.
Oh that I might have my request;
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
Even that it would please God to crush me;
That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off" (Job 6:5-10). A good example of this is found in Hos 11:8-9.
"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?
How shall I deliver thee, Israel?
How shall I make thee as Admah?
How shall I set thee as Zeboim?
Mine heart is turned within me,
My compassions are kindled together.
I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger,
I will not return to destroy Ephraim
For I am God, and not man;
The Holy One in the midst of thee" (Hos 11:8-9).
"At their presence the peoples are in anguish
All faces are waxed pale.
They shall run like mighty men;
They climb the wall like men of war;
And they march every one on his ways,
And they break not their ranks.
Neither doth one thrust another;
They march every one in his path
And they burst through the weapons,
And break not off their course.
They leap upon the city;
They run upon the wall;
They climb up into the houses;
They enter in at the windows like a thief" (Joe 2:6-9).
"Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under feet" (Psa 91:13).
SEC. 75. ANTITHETIC PARALLELISM is that in which lines and sentences are made to oppose each other. Truth is often made to appear by the use of antithesis; and this may be done in poetry, as well as elsewhere.
(1.) Simple antithetic parallelism is that in which the sentences opposed are simple.
"In the multitude of people is the king’s glory:
But in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
He that is slow to anger is of great understanding:
But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
A sound heart is the life of the flesh:
But envy is the rottenness of the bones.
He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker:
But he that hath mercy on the needy honoureth him.
The wicked is thrust down in his evil-doing:
But the righteous hath hope in his death.
Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding:
But that which is in the inward part of fools is made known.
Righteousness exalteth a nation:
But sin is a reproach to any people.
The king’s favour is toward a servant that dealeth wisely:
But his wrath shall be against him that causeth shame.
A soft answer turneth away wrath:
But a grievous word stirreth up anger.
The tongue of the wise uttereth knowledge aright:
But the mouth of fools poureth out folly" (Pro 14:28-35, Pro 15:1-2).
(2.) A compound antithetic parallelism is one in which the sentences opposed are compound, or have less of the directness and simplicity of the former.
"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib:
But Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider" (Isa 1:3)
"Come now, and let us reason together, with the Lord:
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
Though they be red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword" (Isa 1:18-20). In Isa 54:7-8, we have this form of parallelism, though it seems a kind of mixture.
"For a small moment have I forsaken thee;
But with great mercies will I gather thee.
In overflowing wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment;
But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee."
SEC. 76. SYNTHETIC PARALLELISM.--This is where the words and sentences do not answer to each other. There may be several lines running parallel bearing certain relations to each other, as our blank verse, with a view of bringing out a certain thought.
(1.) The corresponding synthetic parallelism is where the correspondence is between relative sentences. Sometimes the responding thought is found in one sentence, and sometimes in two or more.
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psa 27:1).
Any one will see that these sentences contain the same thought, and that the author repeated the thought of the first in the second, for the sake of strength. In Psa 35:25-26, we have a more difficult form of this figure:
"Let them not say in their heart, Aha, so would we have it:
Let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
Let them be ashamed and confounded together that rejoice at mine hurt:
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me."
It will be seen that these sentences respond to each other; that they present the same view, but that they do so in different ways. In this way thought is intensified by being set forth in this compound or double manner.
(2.) Cumulative synthetic parallelism.--This is ordinarily climacteric: each line or sentence is supposed to be a gain on the preceding one in some particular, until the purpose of the author finds satisfaction in a completed statement. The full truth might have been stated at the beginning, but the bearing, force and beauty would have suffered by that directness. It should be remembered that this is dust as competent to present the descendent as the ascendant scale. From not noticing that thoughts are increased in a downward course as well as in an upward, many beautiful Scriptures have been misinterpreted.
Some examples of the ascendant scale (Psa 19:1-14): In Psa 19:1-6, the author gives us a view of the greatness of God, seen in the work of creation.
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament showeth his handywork.
Day unto day uttereth speech,
And night unto night sheweth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language;
Their voice can not be heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
His going forth is from the end of the heaven,
And his circuit unto the ends of it
And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." In this way the Psalmist accumulates, and adds to the statements already made, till his mind is satisfied. And having sufficiently praised God for the wonderful work of His hands, for the wisdom and goodness everywhere displayed, he gives us his still higher appreciation of the law of the Lord in the same way. See Psa 19:7-11 :
"The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:
The judgements of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
In keeping of them there is great reward." To indicate the revealed will of God, the author uses the terms law, testimony, precepts, commandment, fear, judgments; and to show his appreciation of it, has employed the terms perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true; and says of it, in a general way, that it restores the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, endures forever; and, not yet satisfied, he goes on to say that it is more valuable than gold, and more delightful than honey. While it can not be said that each line is a stronger statement than the preceding one, still, as a cumulative synthetic parallelism, it is very valuable.
Psa 29:1-9 contains an ode to the voice of the Lord, in which this manner of accumulating thought is followed. It may be studied with profit.
(3.) The descendent scale is seen also in many passages of Scripture.-- Pro 9:13-17 contains Solomon’s view of the woman of folly. She talks much, but knows nothing of any value; she shows herself at her own door, and in the prominent places in the city. She calls the attention of those who would otherwise go on and attend to their business, and suggests that secret vices are very pleasant; but her guests are killed. This begins in the ways that are not so palpably wrong, and by the cumulative method the whole road to evil is pointed out, and the terrible and awful results. The first Psalm, which has been a favorite with preachers as being easy of interpretation, has been quite generally misinterpreted from a want of acquaintance with this form of parallelism. David’s aim is to show the difference between the righteous man and the unrighteous. He changes terms in presenting the man who is not blessed, but the degrees are made known in the other words indicative of conduct.
If he will have the blessing of the Lord, he must not walk in the counsel of the wicked--no, he must not stand in the way of sinners--no, nor even sit among those who make light of divine things. Nor is that all--he must not only not be on the wrong side, but he must be on the right side: he must delight in the law of the Lord; yea, and must meditate upon it day and night. If he shall thus refuse the wrong and do the right, then he shall be like the tree beside the waters, that shall not be injured by any temporal calamity.
(4.) Irregular synthetic parallelism is one in which the thoughts are brought together in an irregular way.--We choose to denominate it irregular, because there are no exact rules or forms by which the thoughts are gathered. Sometimes there are three lines of comparative expression; sometimes there are four; but the first and the third are matched, and the second and fourth; sometimes the first and the last, and the two intermediate, are to be read together, while at other times there are several lines of comparative thought to be put in antithesis with a line before and one or more afterwards. To follow this out and illustrate ail these irregularities, would demand more space than we can give to it.
"My son, if thine heart be wise,
My heart shall be glad, even mine:
Yea, my reins shall rejoice,
When thy lips speak right things" (Pro 23:15-16).
It is common to denominate this the inverted form, but it is rather the introverted, as it reads from the inside out, thus:
"My heart shall be glad, even mine,
Yea, my reins shall rejoice,
If the heart of my son is wise,
And his lips speak right things."
One of the loftiest Psalms containing a Messianic prophecy, has been composed on the plan of introverted parallelism. That this may appear, we will have to quote it as we think it should be read, in order to get its meaning (Psa 35:15-21). In this we will find that Psa 35:15 matches Psa 35:21; Psa 35:16 matches Psa 35:20; Psa 35:17 matches Psa 35:19; and Psa 35:18 is last, and is the relief that comes in the just judgment of God.
Psa 35:15 : "But when I halted they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together;
The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not;
They did tear me, and ceased not."
Psa 35:21 : Yea, they opened their mouth wide against Me:
They said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it."
Psa 35:16 : "Like the profane mockers in feasts,
They gnashed upon me with their teeth."
Psa 35:20 : "For they speak not peace
But they devise deceitful words against them that are quiet in the land."
Psa 35:17 : "Lord, how long wilt thou look on?
Rescue my soul from their destructions,
My darling from the lions."
Psa 35:19 : "Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me
Neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause."
Psa 35:18 : "I will give thee thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise thee among much people."
I was never able to see why the Psalmist should have stopped in the midst of the crucifixion of the Saviour to give praise to the Father, and then repeat the same things, or proceed to deliver himself with respect to the mocking of the high priests. But with this reading all is plain. In Isa 65:21-22, there is a parallelism in which the alternate lines are in antithesis, answering to each other in that way:
"And they shall build houses, and inhabit them
And they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build, and another inhabit;
They shall not plant, and another eat."
Sometimes the parallelism is in triplets--there will be three lines expressing the same thing, or one answering to two; at other times there are four expressing the same thing, but this is unusual. The Saviour and the apostles many times quote from the Psalms a beautiful parallelism, but it is so written in the gospels and epistles as not to be noticed.
Many times the copulative is employed for the purpose of intensification, where the thought is to be repeated either in the same, or nearly the same, words. The import of these passages is, many times, mistaken, from the want of noticing the figure of speech that has been employed.
"And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye,
And let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
And he will teach us of his ways,
And we will walk in his paths:
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isa 2:3).
Here the thoughts are repeated in couplets, and joined together, not by way of adding new thought, but to intensify the one already stated.
"My son, hear the instruction of thy father,
And forsake not the law of thy mother:
For they shall be a chaplet of grace unto thy head,
And chains about thy neck" (Pro 1:8-9).
"Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble,
And as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame,
So their root shall be as rottenness,
And their blossom shall go up as dust:
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel" (Isa 5:24).
Very many times there is demanded the use of the disjunctive, that negative truth shall have the proper emphasis. Two very striking passages will be enough to cite-- Neh 1:7; 2Ki 17:34.
There is need of caution, however, in the use of this fact. While this figure has made the use of the conjunction that we have mentioned, we shall need to exercise care lest many truths shall be thrown away, by supposing the presence of the figure, when it is not present.