by Bryan Sherwood

Created on: March 08, 2009   Last Updated: March 17, 2009

Again and again, poetry strikes the world as the highest art form of the soul. Throughout history, poems have transformed and transfixed human viewpoint, enduring across a world of time and knowledge.

But really, why speak in riddles when time is of the essence? In the words of Tremper Longman III, "it seem(s) as if poets intended to confuse everyone, probably out of intellectual snobbery. Why didn't they just say, plainly and directly, what they wanted to say?" So much for being a literary art form! More like a literary affliction!

Yet, if we pause for but a moment to consider, we'll find that there is so much more to poetry than merely the ability to manipulate written language. It must, after all, hold some level of importance, in order to have lasted this long. Level enough, at least, for literary genius Emily Dickenson to abandon her social life and devote herself to the creation of nearly 2000 pieces of poetry. Level enough, for over 80% of the Bible to be written in either story or poem.

When I was first confronted with the phrase "Biblical poetry", my train of thought immediately directed itself toward the books of Psalms and Proverbs. Sure, I knew that Biblical poetry existed in other areas of the Bible as well, but the STAGGERING amount of it had never occurred to me! If one were to take the Bible and flip through it, he or she will find that vast sections of Biblical text are composed of poetry. Makes a person wonder what God is trying to communicate with all this artistic jib-jab! Perhaps, He just wanted to, for the sake of being graceful with His words. Or maybe He got bored of all that prose.

NO! Poetry suits God's purpose in delivering an incredible amount of wisdom with cutting proficiency. Each word packs quite a powerful punch. Oftentimes, poetry condenses pages of text into a single LINE! As a result, one should keep in mind four major points necessary to the successful interpretation of Biblical poetry:

1. Developing and taking in imagery

2. Developing and taking in parallelism

3. The conclusion is KEY

4. Slow down!

Biblical poetry should be interpreted with a mindset open to exploring images. Images present truth in a tangible, easier-to-relate-to way. Tools commonly found in poetry, such as metaphors, similes, symbols, hyperboles, allusions, etc., all contribute to the images summoned by descriptions. For example, 2 Samuel 22:31 describes God as a shield. Through the image of a shield, God shows himself as Protector, Defender, and Refuge. He is

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