ACD Hebrew Roots featurette, August 1, 2006

Parallelism: A Key to Interpretation

by Brian Knowles

he translation and interpretation of the Bible has long been a politicized process. The interests of political powers – especially kings and religious leaders – have been read into, or out of, the texts and translations of Scripture. Psalm 105:15 is a case in point.

            In the King James Version of this verse we read: “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” Early Anglicans used this verse to justify the doctrine of the divine right of kings. After all, aren’t kings anointed at the time of their coronation? So, they concluded, this verse must be talking about kings. An ancient treatise dating from 1642 fully develops this notion. It was written anonymously and entitled “The Sovereignty of Kings.”

            In opposition to this idea, the Puritans said that the term “anointed” refers to God’s people as a whole.

            Both ideas are incorrect. Had the 17^th century Puritans and Anglicans known more about the Hebrew language, they would have realized that this verse is a parallelism. A parallelism is a characteristic of Hebrew poetry, found especially in the book of Psalms. In parallel constructions, two sequential lines may exhibit synonymous (Psalm 61:1), antithetic (Proverbs 17:22), or synthetic parallels of thought (Psalm 2:2). In the case of Psalm 105:15, we have a synonymous parallelism: “Touch not mine anointed” is the equivalent of “do my prophets no harm.”

            “Do no harm” means the same as “touch not.” “Mine anointed” means “my prophets.” The verse has nothing to do with any divine right of kings. Nor does it refer to the people in general. It is talking about those whom God has anointed to speak on his behalf to the nations – his nevi’im or prophets. Those who hinder or harm them will be accountable to God.

A New Testament Example

The recognition of Hebrew poetic parallelisms is often the key to understanding a given passage of Scripture. The Psalms are full of such constructions. We even find them in the New Testament. For example, in the so-called Lord’s Prayer (it would be better titled “The Disciple’s Prayer”) we read, “…your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10 NIV).

            This too is a synonymous parallelism. When God’s will is done on the earth, his kingdom is being manifested. Synoptic scholar, the late Robert Lindsey, interpreted the thrust of this verse as follows: “May your prince hood become real, and more and more people come under the dominion of your power in the kingdom of heaven and do God’s will.” God’s kingdom, or dominion, expands as more and more people voluntarily bring themselves into alignment with his will.

Psalm 131:1

In this psalm, we see another example of parallelism. David writes, “My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Psalm 131:1-2 NIV).

            In this poem, the clauses echo each other. The first one makes a statement that is then expanded on in the following clauses. Both the meaning of the words and the grammar link the three clauses of verse one together. David rejects pride at three different levels of his being: his inner man (heart), his external demeanor (eyes) and in his actions.

            Commenting on the second verse, Tremper Longman III, writes: “The English translation of the Hebrew verbs (“have stilled” and “have quieted”) indicates that David’s confidence is rooted in the past and continues in the present. He then illustrates his present disposition by using the word ‘like.’ Note that David does not use a generic term for child, but the word for a weaned child, one that does not need its mother’s milk, is especially calm in its mother’s lap. It does not grasp for the source of sustenance, but rests quietly in its mother’s arms” (Making Sense of the Old Testament, p. 49).

More on Pride

Parallelism is frequently found in the Proverbs as well: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). The second clause is another way of saying the first.

            Often, when the first part of a parallelism is difficult, the second part may open up the meaning. An example might be: “He who despises his neighbor sins…” (Proverbs 14:21a). What does it mean to “despise” one’s neighbor? The second part of the proverb tells us: “…but blessed is he who is kind to the needy” (Proverbs 14:21b). To despise one’s neighbor is to ignore his needs – to turn ones back on him when one could help. This thought is reinforced in another verse: “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Proverbs 14:31). This verse uses an antithetic parallelism to make its point. Oppressing the poor and being kind to the needy are opposites. Showing contempt for one’s Maker and honoring God are opposites.

            All three types of parallelism are found throughout Scripture. Once we understand how they work; the meaning of many otherwise obscure verses opens up.