Part 1
By Marilyn Green Faulkner
In the four years that I have been writing this column we’ve examined nearly fifty classic works – novels, plays, and memoirs – that have influenced the world in positive ways. But we have neglected the greatest literary work we possess. So as we embark on a new year I think it’s time to get back to the best book of all, the Bible.
The Bible, of course, is not a book; it is a collection of books, containing prophecies, poems, narratives, and songs. To study the Bible as a literary text rather than strictly as a religious document may raise concerns for the devout, but I submit that the two pursuits are not incompatible, and may in fact complement each other.
The evolution of the Bible – its many translations, redactions and the way certain texts were included and others left out – can be troubling for the Bible student who relies on the infallibility of every word therein. As Latter-day Saints, we may lay that fear to rest, for, according to our eighth Article of Faith, we accept those parts of the Bible that have been “translated correctly.” This means that we wholeheartedly believe in the people and the events recorded there, and accept the doctrine it teaches as the word of God, but make some allowance for the long road this information has traveled before reaching us. We are therefore in a unique position to examine the Bible for its literary qualities, since we are not required to take every word as literal and unchangeable.
The literary study of the Bible may make some people nervous, since “literature” is associated with “fiction,” and the Bible is a work of truth. Why do we call it literature? The Bible is a book of scripture, yet it is far more than that. Though the Bible is a true story, or a series of true stories, it is presented to us in a “literary” style. It’s not a science text, nor merely a list of instructions. Its authors used poetic and figurative language to make its truths memorable. As a work, it represents the foundation of our cultural heritage, and is by far the most widely referenced text in all of Western literature. Its fundamental themes, such as creation, the fall (or loss of innocence,) the search for divine truth and redemption, family love and betrayal, wandering in the wilderness, death and a renewal of life, comprise the themes of all great literature.
The literary nature of the Bible begins with its origin as oral tradition. A great story must be told well, with language that stimulates the imagination through use of metaphor. The story must have a deeper layer of meaning that can be understood only through many repetitions and studied interpretation, and this is accomplished through symbolism.
As the oral tradition metamorphosed into the written word, inspired authors sought to pack the most meaning and emotion into the fewest possible words, and poems and psalms were born. Prophecies were couched in figurative language to force the reader to seek understanding through inspiration, and in some cases perhaps, to protect the authors from the objects of their condemnation. Their inspired amalgams of imagery are our roots.
It’s All Greek to Me, or Hebrew, or Aramaic …
When I was a freshman at BYU, I took one semester of voice lessons. One semester was all that was required to know that I would never be a great singer, but in that time I learned the mechanics of singing, and began to appreciate the way that the human body can become a vocal instrument. Later that year my brother Marty (who is a great singer and composer) invited me to a concert to hear a new tenor named Luciano Pavarotti. Marty thought this guy had a real future. Pavarotti, of course, blew us all away, but the great moment in the concert for me was when he performed the simple aria, “Caro Mio Ben,” that I had learned in my voice lessons. My study of the mechanics of vocal production gave me an appreciation for that simple song, made thrilling by this most unique talent. That moment will stay with me forever, but it would never have happened without an understanding of how great vocal production is made.
The same is true, I believe, with the inspired literature of the scriptures. We certainly appreciate the truth of the message, but with a little study of the mechanics involved, we can come to a much greater appreciation of the beauty of the language of the Bible.
One of our greatest scholars, Arthur Henry King, wrote, “We, for the most part, have lost the learning of language as a totality, and insofar as we have lost it, we have lost the power not simply to read the great classics, but also to read the scriptures. Learning to read the scriptures and learning to read the classics are much the same kind of activity, because the scriptures and the classics come from the same rhetorical tradition.” (Arm the Children, p. 201)
Every great writer has a box of tools, and the Biblical authors were no exception. Because they wrote in languages other than English, however, their tools were different. Let’s take a peek in the Biblical toolbox and see some of the devices its authors used to convey meaning.
Hyperbole
Hey, everybody exaggerates, right? (Oops, I just did.) Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration for effect, and is a common device used in the Bible. It is easy to become confused if we don’t understand how important hyperbole was to Hebrew writers.
When God tells Abraham that his posterity will be as “the dust of the earth,” or Jesus complains of the Pharisees who “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel,” neither is speaking literally. The use of hyperbole stretches the mind with an image that it cannot realistically contain. A more subtle use of hyperbole is the use of larger numbers than are strictly correct. For example, when we are told that 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep are sacrificed at the dedication of Solomon’s temple, or that 600,000 men were part of the Exodus from Egypt, or that the gallows upon which Haman was hanged was 75 feet high, we may assume that the numbers are often exaggerated in order to convey the grandeur of the experience.
In another version of hyperbole, numbers are rounded up, or down, to equal more important, symbolic numbers, like 7, 12, 40 and 70. (It may possibly have rained for 39 or 41 days and nights, but 40 is the important number – it connects the flood to other stories, like the Exodus and Jesus’ fast in the desert) Here are some examples of hyperbole:
“What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor?” (Isaiah 3:15)
“Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the lord…” (Isaiah 2:10)
(Number hyperbole) “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
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(2 Samuel 18:7)
Note: We’re not the only ones that get confused! A danger in both hyperbole and parallelism is that we will take the verses too literally. For example, in Zechariah 9:9 it is prophesied: “behold, thy King cometh unto thee … lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” Taking this literally, Matthew records that Jesus’ disciples (practical men, not poets) brought both a donkey and a foal for his entry into Jerusalem, so that the scripture would be completely fulfilled.
Metaphor and Simile
A device as old as language itself, where a literal object is taken out of its usual context and used to illustrate a more abstract concept. If the words “like” or “as” are used, the device is called a simile. The Bible uses more similes than metaphors.
“It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty …” (29:8)
“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning …” (58:8)
Think of the metaphor as two circles that overlap at some point. The two objects will have some things in common which the poet is trying to emphasize, but if we stretch the metaphor too far, the qualities that are unlike will dilute its effect. In the hands of the Master of language, the metaphor is perfectly used:
“I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15: 5)
Allegory
When a metaphor is rich and deep enough, (as in the one above) it can be extended into an allegory. One example used throughout the scriptures is an allegory of trees and vineyards. This is interesting because it is rather like putting actors on a stage. Things start to happen and the action unfolds. It is more like parallel lines than intersecting circles, with actual people or events corresponding exactly to symbolic images. The best example in Isaiah is chapter 5: 1-7: “Now I will sing unto my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard.” In the allegory the imagery is extended and Isaiah gives the interpretation in the seventh verse. A similar allegory occurs in the Book of Mormon in Jacob 5.
Parallelism
Hebrew poetry is not based on rhyme or meter, it is based on phrases, or “sense units” balanced against each other. While Western writers are wary of repetition Hebrew writers delight in it and use it to build an emotional response. The idea is not simply to repeat, it is to use the repetition to increase the intensity of the message.
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground;
he hath no form nor comeliness;
and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2
Here’s a lovely example of parallelism from the psalm of Nephi:
Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin.
Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. 2 Nephi 4:28
Chiasmus
Chiasmus is a type of parallelism that expresses two opposite points, often in order to show the difference between good and evil or the righteous and the wicked. The sense units are presented in a definite pattern that ascends and descends. Its use in the Book of Mormon is often noted as a proof of its authenticity. Joseph Smith could have known nothing about chiasmus!
Personification
Personification is making a person out of a thing, a place or a concept.
Zion is a woman: Isaiah 52:1-3
Christ is a vine: John 15:1
Mountains sing: Isaiah 55:12
Wordplay
This is the most used device in Hebrew, besides parallelism, and is almost impossible to translate. Hebrew rhymes the closing or opening syllables, uses onomatopoeia (words that sound like what they mean, like “popcorn poppin’ on the apricot tree”). The poet/translators of the King James Version used poetic devices such as alliteration (prince of peace), repetition, internal rhyme (the viper and the fiery flying serpent), and of course, rhyme and meter to try to convey the sense of Hebrew wordplay.
Symbolism
Symbols, where a concrete object stands for a subjective reality, are something deeper than metaphor. A symbol has meaning on many levels, and may change as our spiritual sensitivities deepen. Isaiah speaks of “the bread of adversity and the water of affliction” (30:20), which immediately calls up all of the other connotations of bread and water in the scriptures (manna and the flood for example), and in life (sustenance, fulfillment, even money in our century). Jesus builds on the Old Testament symbols and breathes new life into them when He uses bread and water to symbolize His body and blood.
What does it all mean to us?
These tools, or poetic devices, help language connect with our emotions. The repetitive rhythm and the visual images of the psalms and the prophecies, the long, sonorous passages or the short, staccato declarations, have an effect on both the heart and the mind.
Take an extra moment during your personal study to find examples of symbolism, wordplay, parallelism, personification, chiasmus and allegory. These great writers of the Bible took language to heights that have never been duplicated. Let me close with just one familiar passage from Isaiah and invite you to examine the poetic devices he used to help us feel the ways the Lord will bless and strengthen us as we look to Him for protection:
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.
And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. Isaiah 54: 10-13
An Inspired Translation
Next time, we’ll take a look at the miraculous translation of the King James Version of the Bible, and explore ways that we can make the language of the scriptures come alive for our children.
