Among the books of the Old Testament, says Bishop
Lowth, there is such an apparent diversity in style, as sufficiently
discovers which of them are to be considered as poetical, and which as
prose. While the historical books and legislative writings of Moses are
evidently prosaic compositions, the book of Job, the Psalms of David,
the Song of Solomon, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, a great part of the
prophetical writings, and several passages scattered occasionally
through the historical books, carry the most plain and distinguishing
marks of poetical writing. There is not the least reason for doubting
that originally these were written in verse, or some kind of measured
numbers; though, as the ancient pronunciation of the Hebrew language is
now lost, we are not able to ascertain the nature of the Hebrew verse,
or at most can ascertain it but imperfectly. Let any person read the
historical introduction to the book of Job, contained in the first and
second chapters, and then go on to Job’s speech in the beginning of the
third chapter, and he cannot avoid being sensible that he passes all at
once from the region of prose to that of poetry. From the earliest times
music and poetry were cultivated among the Hebrews. In the days of the
judges mention is made of the schools or colleges of the prophets, where
one part of the employment of the persons trained in such schools was to
sing the praises of God, accompanied with various instruments. But in
the days of King David music and poetry were carried to the greatest
height. In 1 Chron. xxv, an account is given of David’s institutions
relating to the sacred music and poetry, which were certainly more
costly, more splendid and magnificent, than ever obtained in the public
service of any other nation. See PSALMS.
The general construction of the Hebrew poetry is of a singular nature,
and peculiar to itself. It consists in dividing every period into
correspondent, for the most part into equal, members, which answer to
one another both in sense and sound. In the first member of the period a
sentiment is expressed; and in the second member the same sentiment is
amplified, or is repeated in different terms, or sometimes contrasted
with its opposite; but in such a manner, that the same structure, and
nearly the same number of words, is preserved. This is the general
strain of all the Hebrew poetry. Instances of it occur every where on
opening the Old Testament. Thus, in Psalm xcvi:--
Sing unto the Lord a new song.
Sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
Sing unto the Lord, and bless his name.
Show forth his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the Heathen,
His wonders among all the people.
For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised.
He is to be feared above all the gods.
Honour and majesty are before him;
Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”
It is owing in a great measure to this form of composition, that our
version, though in prose, retains so much of a poetical cast: for, the
version being strictly word for word after the original, the form and
order of the original sentence are preserved; which, by this artificial
structure, this regular alternation and correspondence of parts, makes
the ear sensible of a departure from the common style and tone of prose.
The origin of this form of poetical composition among the Hebrews is
clearly to be deduced from the manner in which their sacred hymns were
wont to be sung. They were accompanied with music, and they were
performed by choirs or bands of singers and musicians, who answered
alternately to each other. When, for instance, one band began the hymn
thus: The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice;” the chorus, or
semi-chorus, took up the corresponding versicle, Let the multitude of
the isles be glad thereof.” “Clouds and darkness are round about him,”
sung the one; the other replied, Judgment and righteousness are the
habitation of his throne.” And in this manner their poetry, when set to
music, naturally divided itself into a succession of strophes and
antistrophes correspondent to each other; whence it is probable the
antiphon, or responsory, in the public religious service of so many
Christian churches, derived its origin. The twenty-fourth Psalm, in
particular, which is thought to have been composed on the great and
solemn occasion of the ark of the covenant being brought back to Mount
Zion, must have had a noble effect when performed after this manner, as
Dr. Lowth has illustrated it. The whole people are supposed to be
attending the procession. The Levites and singers, divided into their
several courses, and accompanied with all their musical instruments, led
the way. After the introduction to the Psalm, in the two first verses,
when the procession begins to ascend the sacred mount, the question is
put, as by a semi-chorus, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord,
and who shall stand in his holy place?” The response is made by the full
chorus with the greatest dignity: He that hath clean hands and a pure
heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully.” As the procession approaches to the doors of the
tabernacle, the chorus, with all their instruments, join in this
exclamation: Lift up your heads, ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.” Here the
semi-chorus plainly breaks in, as with a lower voice, Who is this King
of glory?” And at the moment when the ark is introduced into the
tabernacle, the response is made by the burst of the whole chorus: The
Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle.”
The method of composition which has been explained, by correspondent
versicles being universally introduced into the hymns or musical poetry
of the Jews, easily spread itself through their other poetical writings,
which were not designed to be sung in alternate portions, and which,
therefore, did not so much require this mode of composition. But the
mode became familiar to their ears, and carried with it a certain solemn
majesty of style, particularly suited to sacred subjects. Hence,
throughout the prophetical writings, we find it prevailing as much as in
the Psalms of David. This form of writing is one of the great
characteristics of the ancient Hebrew poetry; very different from, and
even opposite to, the style of the Greek and Roman poets. Independently
of this peculiar mode of construction, the sacred poetry is
distinguished by the highest beauties of strong, concise, bold, and
figurative expression. Conciseness and strength are two of its most
remarkable characters. One might, indeed, imagine that the practice of
the Hebrew poets, of always amplifying the same thought, by repetition
or contrast, might tend to enfeeble their style. But they conduct
themselves so as not to produce this effect. Their sentences are always
short. Few superfluous words are used. The same thought is never dwelt
upon long. To their conciseness and sobriety of expression their poetry
is indebted for much of its sublimity; and all writers who attempt the
sublime might profit much by imitating, in this respect, the style of
the Old Testament.
No writings whatever abound so much with the most bold and animated
figures as the sacred books. In order to do justice to these, it is
necessary that we transport ourselves as much as we can into the land of
Judea, and place before our eyes that scenery and those objects with
which the Hebrew writers were conversant. Natural objects are in some
measure common to them with poets of all ages and countries. Light and
darkness, trees and flowers, the forest and the cultivated field,
suggest to them many beautiful figures. But, in order to relish their
figures of this kind, we must take notice that several of them arise
from the particular circumstances of the land of Judea. During the
summer months little or no rain falls throughout all that region. While
the heats continued, the country was intolerably parched; want of water
was a great distress; and a plentiful shower falling, or a rivulet
breaking forth, altered the whole face of nature, and introduced much
higher ideas of refreshment and pleasure than the like causes can
suggest to us. Hence, to represent distress, such frequent allusions
among them, to a dry and thirsty land where no water is;” and hence, to
describe a change from distress to prosperity, their metaphors are
founded on the falling of showers, and the bursting out of springs in
the desert. Thus: The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad,
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. For in the
wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert; and the
parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land, springs of
water; in the habitation of dragons there shall be grass, with rushes
and reeds,” Isaiah xxxv, 1, 6, 7. Images of this nature are very
familiar to Isaiah, and occur in many parts of his book. Again: as Judea
was a hilly country, it was, during the rainy months, exposed to
frequent inundations by the rushing of torrents, which came down
suddenly from the mountains, and carried every thing before them; and
Jordan, their only great river, annually overflowed its banks. Hence the
frequent allusions to the noise, and to the rushings of many waters;”
and hence great calamities so often compared to the overflowing torrent,
which, in such a country, must have been images particularly striking:
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts; all thy waves
and thy billows are gone over me,” Psalm xlii, 7. The two most
remarkable mountains of the country were Lebanon and Carmel; the former
noted for its height, and the woods of lofty cedars that covered it; the
latter, for its beauty and fertility, the richness of its vines and
olives. Hence, with the greatest propriety, Lebanon is employed as an
image of whatever is great, strong, or magnificent; Carmel, of what is
smiling and beautiful. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, and
the excellency of Carmel,” Isaiah xxxv, 2. Lebanon is often put
metaphorically for the whole state or people of Israel, for the temple,
for the king of Assyria; Carmel, for the blessings of peace and
prosperity. His countenance is as Lebanon,” says Solomon, speaking of
the dignity of a man’s appearance; but when he describes female beauty,
Thine head is like Mount Carmel,” Cant. v, 15; vii, 5. It is farther to
be remarked under this head, that, in the images of the awful and
terrible kind, with which the sacred poets abound, they plainly draw
their descriptions from that violence of the elements, and those great
concussions of nature, with which their climate rendered them
acquainted. Earthquakes were not unfrequent; and the tempests of hail,
thunder, and lightning, in Judea and Arabia, accompanied with whirlwinds
and darkness, far exceed any thing of that sort which happens in more
temperate regions. Isaiah, xxiv, 20, describes, with great majesty, the
earth, reeling to and fro like a drunkard, and removed like a cottage.”
And in those circumstances of terror, with which an appearance of the
Almighty is described, in Psalm xviii, when his pavilion round about him
was darkness; when hail stones and coals of fire were his voice; and
when, at his rebuke, the channels of the waters are said to be seen, and
the foundations of the hills discovered; though there may be some
reference, as Dr. Lowth thinks, to the history of God’s descent upon
Mount Sinai; yet it seems more probable that the figures were taken
directly from those commotions of nature with which the author was
acquainted, and which suggested stronger and nobler images than those
which now occur to us.
Beside the natural objects of their own country, we find the rites of
their religion, and the arts and employments of their common life,
frequently employed as grounds of imagery among the Hebrews. Hence
flowed, of course, the many allusions to pastoral life, to the green
pastures and the still waters,” and to the care and watchfulness of a
shepherd over his flock, which carry to this day so much beauty and
tenderness in them, in Psalm xxiii, and in many other passages of the
poetical writings of Scripture. Hence all the images founded upon rural
employments, upon the wine press, the threshing floor, the stubble and
the chaff. To disrelish all such images is the effect of false delicacy.
Homer is at least as frequent, and much more minute and particular, in
his similes, founded on what we now call low life; but, in his
management of them, far inferior to the sacred writers, who generally
mix with their comparisons of this kind somewhat of dignity and grandeur
to ennoble them. What inexpressible grandeur does the following rural
image in Isaiah, for instance, receive from the intervention of the
Deity!--“The nations shall rush like the rushings of many waters; but
God shall rebuke them, and they shall fly far off; and they shall be
chased as the chaff of the mountain before the wind, and like the down
of the thistle before the whirlwind.” Figurative allusions, too, we
frequently find to the rites and ceremonies of their religion, to the
legal distinctions of things clean and unclean, to the mode of their
temple service, to the dress of their priests, and to the most noted
incidents recorded in their sacred history; as, to the destruction of
Sodom, the descent of God upon Mount Sinai, and the miraculous passage
of the Israelites through the Red Sea. The religion of the Hebrews
included the whole of their laws and civil constitution. It was full of
splendid external rites, that occupied their senses; it was connected
with every part of their national history and establishment; and hence,
all ideas founded on religion possessed in this nation a dignity and
importance peculiar to themselves, and were uncommonly suited to impress
the imagination.
From all this it results that the imagery of the sacred poets is, in a
high degree, expressive and natural; it is copied directly from real
objects that were before their eyes; it has this advantage, of being
more complete within itself, more entirely founded on national ideas and
manners, than that of the most of other poets. In reading their works we
find ourselves continually in the land of Judea. The palm trees, and the
cedars of Lebanon, are ever rising in our view. The face of their
territory, the circumstances of their climate, the manners of the
people, and the august ceremonies of their religion, constantly pass
under different forms before us. The comparisons employed by the sacred
poets are generally short, touching on one point only of resemblance,
rather than branching out into little episodes. In this respect they
have an advantage over the Greek and Roman authors; whose comparisons,
by the length to which they are extended, sometimes interrupt the
narration too much, and carry too visible marks of study and labour;
whereas, in the Hebrew poets, they appear more like the glowings of a
lively fancy, just glancing aside to some resembling object, and
presently returning to its track. Such is the following fine comparison,
introduced to describe the happy influence of good government upon a
people, in what are called the last words of David: He that ruleth over
men must be just, ruling in the fear of God; and he shall be as the
light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds;
as the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after
rain,” 2 Sam. xxiii, 3. This is one of the most regular and formal
comparisons in the sacred books.
Allegory, likewise, is a figure frequently found in them. But the
poetical figure which, beyond all others, elevates the style of
Scripture, and gives it a peculiar boldness and sublimity, is
_prosopopœia_, or personification. No personifications employed by
any poets are so magnificent and striking as those of the inspired
writers. On great occasions they animate every part of nature,
especially when any appearance or operation of the Almighty is
concerned. Before him went the pestilence.” “The waters saw thee, O God,
and were afraid.” The mountains saw thee, and they trembled.” “The
overflowing of the water passed by.” The deep uttered his voice, and
lifted up his hands on high.” When inquiry is made about the place of
wisdom, Job introduces the deep, saying, It is not in me; and the sea
saith, It is not in me. Destruction and death say, We have heard the
fame thereof with our ears.” That noted sublime passage in the book of
Isaiah, which describes the fall of the king of Assyria, is full of
personified objects; the fir trees and cedars of Lebanon breaking forth
into exultation on the fall of the tyrant; hell from beneath stirring up
all the dead to meet him at his coming; and the dead kings introduced as
speaking and joining in the triumph. In the same strain are those many
lively and passionate apostrophes to cities and countries, to persons
and things, with which the prophetical writings every where abound. O
thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put
thyself up into the scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet,”
as the reply is instantly made, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge
against Askelon, and the sea shore? there hath he appointed it,” Jer.
xlvii, 6. In general, for it would carry us too far to enlarge upon all
the instances, the style of the poetical books of the Old Testament is,
beyond the style of all other poetical works, fervid, bold, and
animated. It is extremely different from that regular correct expression
to which our ears are accustomed in modern poetry. It is the burst of
inspiration. The scenes are not coolly described, but represented as
passing before our eyes. Every object and every person is addressed and
spoken to, as if present. The transition is often abrupt; the connection
often obscure; the persons are often changed; figures crowded, and
heaped upon one another. Bold sublimity, not correct elegance, is its
character. We see the spirit of the writer raised beyond himself, and
labouring to find vent for ideas too mighty for his utterance.
The several kinds of poetical composition which we find in Scripture are
chiefly the didactic, elegiac, pastoral, and lyric. Of the didactic
species of poetry, the book of Proverbs is the principal instance. The
first nine chapters of that book are highly poetical, adorned with many
distinguished graces, and figures of expression. The book of
Ecclesiastes comes, likewise, under this head; and some of the Psalms,
as the hundred and nineteenth in particular. Of elegiac poetry, many
very beautiful specimens occur in Scripture; such as the lamentation of
David over his friend Jonathan; several passages in the prophetical
books; and several of David’s Psalms, composed on occasions of distress
and mourning. The forty-second Psalm, in particular, is, in the highest
degree, tender and plaintive. But the most regular and perfect elegiac
composition in the Scripture, perhaps in the whole world, is the
Lamentations of Jeremiah. As the prophet mourns, in that book, over the
destruction of the temple and the holy city, and the overthrow of the
whole state, he assembles all the affecting images which a subject so
melancholy could suggest. The Song of Solomon affords us a high
exemplification of pastoral poetry. Considered with respect to its
spiritual meaning, it is undoubtedly a mystical allegory; in its form it
is a dramatic pastoral, or a perpetual dialogue between personages in
the character of shepherds; and, suitably to that form, it is full of
rural and pastoral images from beginning to end. Of lyric poetry, or
that which is intended to be accompanied with music, the Old Testament
is full. Beside a great number of hymns and songs, which we find
scattered in the historical and prophetical books, such as the song of
Moses, the song of Deborah, and many others of like nature, the whole
book of Psalms is to be considered as a collection of sacred odes. In
these we find the ode exhibited in all the varieties of its form, and
supported with the highest spirit of lyric poetry; sometimes sprightly,
cheerful, and triumphant; sometimes solemn and magnificent; sometimes
tender and soft. From these instances it clearly appears, that there are
contained in the Holy Scriptures full exemplifications of several of the
chief kinds of poetical writing.
Lowth, there is such an apparent diversity in style, as sufficiently
discovers which of them are to be considered as poetical, and which as
prose. While the historical books and legislative writings of Moses are
evidently prosaic compositions, the book of Job, the Psalms of David,
the Song of Solomon, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, a great part of the
prophetical writings, and several passages scattered occasionally
through the historical books, carry the most plain and distinguishing
marks of poetical writing. There is not the least reason for doubting
that originally these were written in verse, or some kind of measured
numbers; though, as the ancient pronunciation of the Hebrew language is
now lost, we are not able to ascertain the nature of the Hebrew verse,
or at most can ascertain it but imperfectly. Let any person read the
historical introduction to the book of Job, contained in the first and
second chapters, and then go on to Job’s speech in the beginning of the
third chapter, and he cannot avoid being sensible that he passes all at
once from the region of prose to that of poetry. From the earliest times
music and poetry were cultivated among the Hebrews. In the days of the
judges mention is made of the schools or colleges of the prophets, where
one part of the employment of the persons trained in such schools was to
sing the praises of God, accompanied with various instruments. But in
the days of King David music and poetry were carried to the greatest
height. In 1 Chron. xxv, an account is given of David’s institutions
relating to the sacred music and poetry, which were certainly more
costly, more splendid and magnificent, than ever obtained in the public
service of any other nation. See PSALMS.
The general construction of the Hebrew poetry is of a singular nature,
and peculiar to itself. It consists in dividing every period into
correspondent, for the most part into equal, members, which answer to
one another both in sense and sound. In the first member of the period a
sentiment is expressed; and in the second member the same sentiment is
amplified, or is repeated in different terms, or sometimes contrasted
with its opposite; but in such a manner, that the same structure, and
nearly the same number of words, is preserved. This is the general
strain of all the Hebrew poetry. Instances of it occur every where on
opening the Old Testament. Thus, in Psalm xcvi:--
Sing unto the Lord a new song.
Sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
Sing unto the Lord, and bless his name.
Show forth his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the Heathen,
His wonders among all the people.
For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised.
He is to be feared above all the gods.
Honour and majesty are before him;
Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.”
It is owing in a great measure to this form of composition, that our
version, though in prose, retains so much of a poetical cast: for, the
version being strictly word for word after the original, the form and
order of the original sentence are preserved; which, by this artificial
structure, this regular alternation and correspondence of parts, makes
the ear sensible of a departure from the common style and tone of prose.
The origin of this form of poetical composition among the Hebrews is
clearly to be deduced from the manner in which their sacred hymns were
wont to be sung. They were accompanied with music, and they were
performed by choirs or bands of singers and musicians, who answered
alternately to each other. When, for instance, one band began the hymn
thus: The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice;” the chorus, or
semi-chorus, took up the corresponding versicle, Let the multitude of
the isles be glad thereof.” “Clouds and darkness are round about him,”
sung the one; the other replied, Judgment and righteousness are the
habitation of his throne.” And in this manner their poetry, when set to
music, naturally divided itself into a succession of strophes and
antistrophes correspondent to each other; whence it is probable the
antiphon, or responsory, in the public religious service of so many
Christian churches, derived its origin. The twenty-fourth Psalm, in
particular, which is thought to have been composed on the great and
solemn occasion of the ark of the covenant being brought back to Mount
Zion, must have had a noble effect when performed after this manner, as
Dr. Lowth has illustrated it. The whole people are supposed to be
attending the procession. The Levites and singers, divided into their
several courses, and accompanied with all their musical instruments, led
the way. After the introduction to the Psalm, in the two first verses,
when the procession begins to ascend the sacred mount, the question is
put, as by a semi-chorus, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord,
and who shall stand in his holy place?” The response is made by the full
chorus with the greatest dignity: He that hath clean hands and a pure
heart; who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully.” As the procession approaches to the doors of the
tabernacle, the chorus, with all their instruments, join in this
exclamation: Lift up your heads, ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in.” Here the
semi-chorus plainly breaks in, as with a lower voice, Who is this King
of glory?” And at the moment when the ark is introduced into the
tabernacle, the response is made by the burst of the whole chorus: The
Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord, mighty in battle.”
The method of composition which has been explained, by correspondent
versicles being universally introduced into the hymns or musical poetry
of the Jews, easily spread itself through their other poetical writings,
which were not designed to be sung in alternate portions, and which,
therefore, did not so much require this mode of composition. But the
mode became familiar to their ears, and carried with it a certain solemn
majesty of style, particularly suited to sacred subjects. Hence,
throughout the prophetical writings, we find it prevailing as much as in
the Psalms of David. This form of writing is one of the great
characteristics of the ancient Hebrew poetry; very different from, and
even opposite to, the style of the Greek and Roman poets. Independently
of this peculiar mode of construction, the sacred poetry is
distinguished by the highest beauties of strong, concise, bold, and
figurative expression. Conciseness and strength are two of its most
remarkable characters. One might, indeed, imagine that the practice of
the Hebrew poets, of always amplifying the same thought, by repetition
or contrast, might tend to enfeeble their style. But they conduct
themselves so as not to produce this effect. Their sentences are always
short. Few superfluous words are used. The same thought is never dwelt
upon long. To their conciseness and sobriety of expression their poetry
is indebted for much of its sublimity; and all writers who attempt the
sublime might profit much by imitating, in this respect, the style of
the Old Testament.
No writings whatever abound so much with the most bold and animated
figures as the sacred books. In order to do justice to these, it is
necessary that we transport ourselves as much as we can into the land of
Judea, and place before our eyes that scenery and those objects with
which the Hebrew writers were conversant. Natural objects are in some
measure common to them with poets of all ages and countries. Light and
darkness, trees and flowers, the forest and the cultivated field,
suggest to them many beautiful figures. But, in order to relish their
figures of this kind, we must take notice that several of them arise
from the particular circumstances of the land of Judea. During the
summer months little or no rain falls throughout all that region. While
the heats continued, the country was intolerably parched; want of water
was a great distress; and a plentiful shower falling, or a rivulet
breaking forth, altered the whole face of nature, and introduced much
higher ideas of refreshment and pleasure than the like causes can
suggest to us. Hence, to represent distress, such frequent allusions
among them, to a dry and thirsty land where no water is;” and hence, to
describe a change from distress to prosperity, their metaphors are
founded on the falling of showers, and the bursting out of springs in
the desert. Thus: The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad,
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. For in the
wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert; and the
parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land, springs of
water; in the habitation of dragons there shall be grass, with rushes
and reeds,” Isaiah xxxv, 1, 6, 7. Images of this nature are very
familiar to Isaiah, and occur in many parts of his book. Again: as Judea
was a hilly country, it was, during the rainy months, exposed to
frequent inundations by the rushing of torrents, which came down
suddenly from the mountains, and carried every thing before them; and
Jordan, their only great river, annually overflowed its banks. Hence the
frequent allusions to the noise, and to the rushings of many waters;”
and hence great calamities so often compared to the overflowing torrent,
which, in such a country, must have been images particularly striking:
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water spouts; all thy waves
and thy billows are gone over me,” Psalm xlii, 7. The two most
remarkable mountains of the country were Lebanon and Carmel; the former
noted for its height, and the woods of lofty cedars that covered it; the
latter, for its beauty and fertility, the richness of its vines and
olives. Hence, with the greatest propriety, Lebanon is employed as an
image of whatever is great, strong, or magnificent; Carmel, of what is
smiling and beautiful. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, and
the excellency of Carmel,” Isaiah xxxv, 2. Lebanon is often put
metaphorically for the whole state or people of Israel, for the temple,
for the king of Assyria; Carmel, for the blessings of peace and
prosperity. His countenance is as Lebanon,” says Solomon, speaking of
the dignity of a man’s appearance; but when he describes female beauty,
Thine head is like Mount Carmel,” Cant. v, 15; vii, 5. It is farther to
be remarked under this head, that, in the images of the awful and
terrible kind, with which the sacred poets abound, they plainly draw
their descriptions from that violence of the elements, and those great
concussions of nature, with which their climate rendered them
acquainted. Earthquakes were not unfrequent; and the tempests of hail,
thunder, and lightning, in Judea and Arabia, accompanied with whirlwinds
and darkness, far exceed any thing of that sort which happens in more
temperate regions. Isaiah, xxiv, 20, describes, with great majesty, the
earth, reeling to and fro like a drunkard, and removed like a cottage.”
And in those circumstances of terror, with which an appearance of the
Almighty is described, in Psalm xviii, when his pavilion round about him
was darkness; when hail stones and coals of fire were his voice; and
when, at his rebuke, the channels of the waters are said to be seen, and
the foundations of the hills discovered; though there may be some
reference, as Dr. Lowth thinks, to the history of God’s descent upon
Mount Sinai; yet it seems more probable that the figures were taken
directly from those commotions of nature with which the author was
acquainted, and which suggested stronger and nobler images than those
which now occur to us.
Beside the natural objects of their own country, we find the rites of
their religion, and the arts and employments of their common life,
frequently employed as grounds of imagery among the Hebrews. Hence
flowed, of course, the many allusions to pastoral life, to the green
pastures and the still waters,” and to the care and watchfulness of a
shepherd over his flock, which carry to this day so much beauty and
tenderness in them, in Psalm xxiii, and in many other passages of the
poetical writings of Scripture. Hence all the images founded upon rural
employments, upon the wine press, the threshing floor, the stubble and
the chaff. To disrelish all such images is the effect of false delicacy.
Homer is at least as frequent, and much more minute and particular, in
his similes, founded on what we now call low life; but, in his
management of them, far inferior to the sacred writers, who generally
mix with their comparisons of this kind somewhat of dignity and grandeur
to ennoble them. What inexpressible grandeur does the following rural
image in Isaiah, for instance, receive from the intervention of the
Deity!--“The nations shall rush like the rushings of many waters; but
God shall rebuke them, and they shall fly far off; and they shall be
chased as the chaff of the mountain before the wind, and like the down
of the thistle before the whirlwind.” Figurative allusions, too, we
frequently find to the rites and ceremonies of their religion, to the
legal distinctions of things clean and unclean, to the mode of their
temple service, to the dress of their priests, and to the most noted
incidents recorded in their sacred history; as, to the destruction of
Sodom, the descent of God upon Mount Sinai, and the miraculous passage
of the Israelites through the Red Sea. The religion of the Hebrews
included the whole of their laws and civil constitution. It was full of
splendid external rites, that occupied their senses; it was connected
with every part of their national history and establishment; and hence,
all ideas founded on religion possessed in this nation a dignity and
importance peculiar to themselves, and were uncommonly suited to impress
the imagination.
From all this it results that the imagery of the sacred poets is, in a
high degree, expressive and natural; it is copied directly from real
objects that were before their eyes; it has this advantage, of being
more complete within itself, more entirely founded on national ideas and
manners, than that of the most of other poets. In reading their works we
find ourselves continually in the land of Judea. The palm trees, and the
cedars of Lebanon, are ever rising in our view. The face of their
territory, the circumstances of their climate, the manners of the
people, and the august ceremonies of their religion, constantly pass
under different forms before us. The comparisons employed by the sacred
poets are generally short, touching on one point only of resemblance,
rather than branching out into little episodes. In this respect they
have an advantage over the Greek and Roman authors; whose comparisons,
by the length to which they are extended, sometimes interrupt the
narration too much, and carry too visible marks of study and labour;
whereas, in the Hebrew poets, they appear more like the glowings of a
lively fancy, just glancing aside to some resembling object, and
presently returning to its track. Such is the following fine comparison,
introduced to describe the happy influence of good government upon a
people, in what are called the last words of David: He that ruleth over
men must be just, ruling in the fear of God; and he shall be as the
light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds;
as the tender grass springing out of the earth, by clear shining after
rain,” 2 Sam. xxiii, 3. This is one of the most regular and formal
comparisons in the sacred books.
Allegory, likewise, is a figure frequently found in them. But the
poetical figure which, beyond all others, elevates the style of
Scripture, and gives it a peculiar boldness and sublimity, is
_prosopopœia_, or personification. No personifications employed by
any poets are so magnificent and striking as those of the inspired
writers. On great occasions they animate every part of nature,
especially when any appearance or operation of the Almighty is
concerned. Before him went the pestilence.” “The waters saw thee, O God,
and were afraid.” The mountains saw thee, and they trembled.” “The
overflowing of the water passed by.” The deep uttered his voice, and
lifted up his hands on high.” When inquiry is made about the place of
wisdom, Job introduces the deep, saying, It is not in me; and the sea
saith, It is not in me. Destruction and death say, We have heard the
fame thereof with our ears.” That noted sublime passage in the book of
Isaiah, which describes the fall of the king of Assyria, is full of
personified objects; the fir trees and cedars of Lebanon breaking forth
into exultation on the fall of the tyrant; hell from beneath stirring up
all the dead to meet him at his coming; and the dead kings introduced as
speaking and joining in the triumph. In the same strain are those many
lively and passionate apostrophes to cities and countries, to persons
and things, with which the prophetical writings every where abound. O
thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put
thyself up into the scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet,”
as the reply is instantly made, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge
against Askelon, and the sea shore? there hath he appointed it,” Jer.
xlvii, 6. In general, for it would carry us too far to enlarge upon all
the instances, the style of the poetical books of the Old Testament is,
beyond the style of all other poetical works, fervid, bold, and
animated. It is extremely different from that regular correct expression
to which our ears are accustomed in modern poetry. It is the burst of
inspiration. The scenes are not coolly described, but represented as
passing before our eyes. Every object and every person is addressed and
spoken to, as if present. The transition is often abrupt; the connection
often obscure; the persons are often changed; figures crowded, and
heaped upon one another. Bold sublimity, not correct elegance, is its
character. We see the spirit of the writer raised beyond himself, and
labouring to find vent for ideas too mighty for his utterance.
The several kinds of poetical composition which we find in Scripture are
chiefly the didactic, elegiac, pastoral, and lyric. Of the didactic
species of poetry, the book of Proverbs is the principal instance. The
first nine chapters of that book are highly poetical, adorned with many
distinguished graces, and figures of expression. The book of
Ecclesiastes comes, likewise, under this head; and some of the Psalms,
as the hundred and nineteenth in particular. Of elegiac poetry, many
very beautiful specimens occur in Scripture; such as the lamentation of
David over his friend Jonathan; several passages in the prophetical
books; and several of David’s Psalms, composed on occasions of distress
and mourning. The forty-second Psalm, in particular, is, in the highest
degree, tender and plaintive. But the most regular and perfect elegiac
composition in the Scripture, perhaps in the whole world, is the
Lamentations of Jeremiah. As the prophet mourns, in that book, over the
destruction of the temple and the holy city, and the overthrow of the
whole state, he assembles all the affecting images which a subject so
melancholy could suggest. The Song of Solomon affords us a high
exemplification of pastoral poetry. Considered with respect to its
spiritual meaning, it is undoubtedly a mystical allegory; in its form it
is a dramatic pastoral, or a perpetual dialogue between personages in
the character of shepherds; and, suitably to that form, it is full of
rural and pastoral images from beginning to end. Of lyric poetry, or
that which is intended to be accompanied with music, the Old Testament
is full. Beside a great number of hymns and songs, which we find
scattered in the historical and prophetical books, such as the song of
Moses, the song of Deborah, and many others of like nature, the whole
book of Psalms is to be considered as a collection of sacred odes. In
these we find the ode exhibited in all the varieties of its form, and
supported with the highest spirit of lyric poetry; sometimes sprightly,
cheerful, and triumphant; sometimes solemn and magnificent; sometimes
tender and soft. From these instances it clearly appears, that there are
contained in the Holy Scriptures full exemplifications of several of the
chief kinds of poetical writing.