The Poetical Books
 Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of
Solomon. They don’t relate historical experiences.
Rather they relate the experiences of heart.
 Unlike the Pentateuch and twelve historical books,
the poetical books do not advance the story of the
nation Israel. Instead, they delve deeply into crucial
questions about pain, God, wisdom, life, and love—
all in the present tense.
Introduction – Poetical Books
 Three Kinds of Poetry
 1. Lyric Poetry – (ex. Psalms)
 2. Didactic Poetry – (ex. Proverbs ,
Ecclesiastes)
 3. Dramatic Poetry – ( Job, Song of
Solomon)
Poetry – Introduction ...Continues....
 Two Key Elements of Hebrew Poetry:
 1. Parallelism
 2. Figures of Speech
 **Hebrew poetry is characterized by vivid figures of
speech:
Poetry – Introduction Continues...
 Parallelism
 A. Synonymous – The thought of the first line is
basically repeated in different words in the second
line (Psalms 2:4; 3:1; 7:17)
 B. Antithetical – The thought of the first line is
emphasized by a contrasting thought in the second
line (Psalms 1:6; 34:10). They are often identified
with “but”.
Poetry – Introduction Continues...
 Parallelism
 C. Synthetic - The second line explains or further
develops the idea of the first line (Ps 1:3; 95:3).
 D. Climatic - The second line repeats with the
exception of the Last terms (Psalms 29:1).
 E. Emblematic - One line conveys the main point,
the second line illuminates it by an image (Psalms
42:1; 23:1).
Poetry Introduction .... Continues....
 Figures of Speech
 1. Simile (Ps. 1: 3-4)
 2. Metaphor (Ps. 23:1)
 3. Implication ( Ps. 22;16, Jer. 4:7)
 4. Hyperbole- The use of exaggeration to
emphasize a point (Ps. 6:6; 78:27; 107:26).
 5. Rhetorical Questions (Ps. 35:10, 56:8, 94:6;
106:2).
Poetry Introduction ..... Continues
 6. Metonymy (ps.5:9; 18:2; 57:9; 73:9)
 7.
Anthropomorphism - Assigning an appropriate
part of human body to God’s Person to convey some
truth about God. (Ps. 11:4; 18:15; 31:2; 32:8)
 8. Zoomorphism – (Ps 17:8; 36:7; 63:7; 91:4)
 9. Personification – Assigning the characteristics of a
human to lifeless objects (Ps 35:10; 77:16; 96:11,
104:19).
 10. Apostrophe – Addressing lifeless objects (Ps
114:5.
Poetry – Introduction Continues....
 Another technique in Hebrew Poetry is the
Alphabetic acrostic – the first Hebrew letter in a line
is the first letter of the alphabet, the second is the
second letter of the alphabet, and so on.
 **There are also three books of wisdom within the
poets: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes.
JOB
 Theme: Blessings through suffering
 Date Written: 2000 – 1800 B.C.
 Author: Unknown ...
 Setting: Land of Uz
Job - Introduction
 The book of Job is considered by many Bible
scholars to be the oldest book in the Bible. Job
probably lived during the same time period as
Abraham. Like Abraham, Job is a wealthy and
upright man who fears God.
 The Book begins with a heavenly debate between
God and Satan, moves through three cycles of earthly
debates between Job and his friends, and concludes
with a dramatic “divine diagnosis” of Job’s problem.
Job – Introduction Continues...
 In the end, job acknowledges the sovereignty of God
in his life and receives back more than he had before
his trials.
 Iyyōb is the Hebrew title for the book. It could be
derived from the Hebrew word for persecution, it
means “Persecuted one”.
Some Sources of Suffering
 The fall of man – Genesis 3:16-19
 The consequences of your sins – Galatians 6:7
 The sins of others – Genesis 37:26-28
 Unavoidable consequences – Luke 10:30
 Unavoidable disaster –Luke 13:1-5
 Consequences of your beliefs – Philippians 1:29; 2
Timothy 3:12
 God’s Plan greater Plan – Job 1:1 – 2:13
Life lessons from Job
 Spiritual affairs are going on in heaven that you know





nothing about.
Life issues cannot always be understood in human terms
God’s people do suffer. Bad things do happen to good
people.
You cannot always judge a person’s spirituality by his or
her pain or prosperity.
God always has a reason for what you are asked to
endure.
Suffering should improve your worship as you draw
closer to God and His comfort.
Survey of Job
 Chapters 1 -2 The Dilemma of Job

(Controversy between God and Satan)
 Chapters 4 – 37 The Debates of Job

(3 cycles of Debate and the final Defense of Job)
 Chapters 38 to 42 The Deliverance of Job

(Controversy of God and Job)
PSALMS
 Theme: Praise
 Date Written: 1410 – 450 B.C.
 Author: Various authors
 Setting: Heaven and Earth.
Psalms - Introduction
 The Psalms are poetic expressions of human and
religious feeling, and are divided into five books that
comprise a total of 150 individual psalms. The
Psalms span the ten centuries from Moses to the
days after the Jewish people’s exile.
 They consist of a wide variety of styles and purposes
and emotions, such as lament, thanksgiving, praise,
worship, pilgrimage, petition, and penitence.
Psalms – Introduction Continues...
 The Book of Psalms is the largest and perhaps most
widely used book in the Bible.
 The Psalms were set to the accompaniment of
stringed instruments served as the Temple
hymnbook and devotional guide for the Jewish
people.
Major Contributors of the Psalms
Book
Book 1
(1-41)
Book 2
(42-72)
Book 3
(73-89)
Book 4
(90-106)
Chief
Author
David
David/
Korah
Asaph
Anonymous David/
Anonymous
Number of
Psalms
41
31
17
17
Topical
Likeness to
Pentateuch
Genesis:
Man
and
Creation
Exodus:
Deliverance
and
Redemption
Leviticus:
Numbers:
Worship and Wilderness
Sanctuary
and
wandering
Deuteronomy
Possible
Compiler
David
Hezekiah or
Josiah
Hezekiah or
Josiah
Ezra or
Nehemiah
Ezra or
Nehemiah
c. 970 – 610
B.C.
c. 970 – 610
B.C.
Until c. 430
B.C.
Until c. 430
B.C.
Possible
c. 1020
Dates of
– 970
Compilation B.C.
Book 5
(107 - 150)
44
Psalms - Book One (Psalms 1 -41)
 David is designated as being the author of almost
half of the Psalms (73 of the 150 Psalms). He
authored all the Psalms in this first book. David’s
wide range of experience as a shepherd, musician,
warrior, and king are reflected in his psalms. The
Psalms in this book are basically songs of praise and
worship. The most well-known psalm in this section
is Psalm 23, which begins with the familiar and wellloved word, “The LORD is my shepherd” (Psalms
23:1)
Psalms – Book Two (Psalms 42-72)
 David and sons of Korah ( a group of singers and
composers) account for most of the psalms in book
two. Most of the Psalms in this grouping are hymns
of national interest and describe God’s nature and
His judgment of the wicked and the deliverance of
the righteous. David’s public song of repentance
after his sinful affair with Bathsheba is located in this
section. In it David cries out, “have mercy upon me,
O God, according to Your lovingkindness” (Psalm
51:1). These Psalms help us reserve a sense of
wonder and thankfulness toward God in our
worship.
Psalms – Book Three (Psalms 73-89)
 Asaph was appointed by David as leader of one the
temple choirs (1 Chronicles 25:1), and is the author
of the majority of the Psalms in this section. This
book of “songs” celebrate the sovereignty of God,
God’s hand in history, His faithfulness, and covenant
with David. These psalms remind us that the
worship of our great God should be continual. The
Psalmist declared, I will sing of the mercies of the
Lord forever; with my mouth will I make known
Your faithfulness to all generations” (Psalms 89:1).
Psalms – Book Four (Psalms 90-106)
 Although five of these psalms are attributed to
David, most of them were written
anonymously. Primarily these psalms are
anthems of praise and reflection, and prayer by
Moses is the opening psalm in this section.
Moses reminds us that our time on this earth is
limited and we are to use it wisely. He tells us
to “number our days, that we may gain a heart
of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
Psalms – Book Five (Psalms 107 – 150)
 Many of these psalms attributed to David,
and many are anthems of praise. They exalt
God’s works, recount the blessings of
righteous living, and the longest psalm
(Psalm 119) praises God for His wonderful
Word. The poetry in this book reminds us
that the most perfect sacrifice we can offer to
God is a faithful and Obedient life.
Life lessons from the Psalms
 The Psalms give you a better understanding of God.
 The Psalms can guide you in your ongoing
relationship with God.
 The Psalms are a source of comfort in times of pain
and distress.
 The Psalms remind you often of God’s control over
all things.
 The Psalms provide a model for praise and worship.
PROVERBS
 Theme: Practical wisdom
 Date Written: 971 – 681 B.C.
 Author: Primarily Solomon
 Setting: Everyday Life
Proverbs - Introduction
 While David is the author of a majority of the
Psalms, his son, Solomon, is the author of most of
the book of Proverbs.
 The Book of Proverbs is the most practical book in
the Old Testament because it gives simple
illustrations and insights about the basic realities of
everyday life.
 The book of Proverbs is meant to be to your practical
life what the book of Psalms is to your devotional
life.
Proverbs – Introduction Continues...
 The key word in Proverbs is wisdom, “the ability to live
life skillfully”.
 Proverbs provides God’s detailed instruction for His
people to deal successfully with the practical affairs of
everyday life: how to relate to God, parents, children,
neighbours, and government.
 According to First Kings 4:32, he spoke 3000 proverbs
and 1,005 songs. Only about 800 of his 3000 proverbs
are included in the two Solomonic collections in this
book.
Proverbs – Introduction Continues...
 Who are the contributors of Proverbs?
 1. Solomon
 2. Proverbs of Solomon Copied by Hezekiah’s Men
(25:1 – 29:27.
 3. Agur (30)
 4. Lemuel (31)
Survey of Proverbs
 Purpose of Proverbs 1:1 -1:7
 Proverbs to Youth 1:8 – 9:18
 Proverbs of Solomon 10:1 – 24:34
 Proverbs of Solomon (Hezekiah) 25:1 –
29:27
 Words of Agur 30:1 - 30:33
 Words of Lemuel 31:1 – 31:31
Life Lessons from Proverbs
 Chose God’s ways. He will lead you into making




right decisions.
Chose your words carefully. They reveal your inner
character.
Chose to work diligently. God will be honored, and
you will profit and gain skills in your labors.
Chose your friends carefully. They are a reflection of
you.
Chose to develop moral character and devotion to
God. This is success in God’s eyes.
ECCLESIASTES
 Theme: All is vanity apart from
God.
 Date Written: 940 - 931 B.C.
 Author: Solomon
 Setting: The end of Solomon’s life
Ecclesiastes - Introduction
 This book is an autobiography written by King
Solomon at the end of his life after he strayed away
from God.
 Ecclesiastes is a profound recording an intense
search by the Preacher for meaning and satisfaction
in life.
 The Key word in Ecclesiastes is vanity, the futile
emptiness of trying to be happy apart from God.
Life lessons Ecclesiastes
 All your activities in life should be seen and
measured in the light of eternity.
 Nothing in this life will bring true meaning and
happiness—not wealth, fame, pleasure, or success.
Only in God can you find real fulfllment.
 There is much less that you can depend on than you
might think!
 True happiness comes only from obedience to God.
Survey of Ecclesiastes
 The Thesis that “All Is Vanity”
(1:1-11)
 The Proof that “All Is Vanity”
(1:12 - 6:12)
 The counsel for Living with Vanity
(7:1 - 12:14)
SONG OF SOLOMON
 Theme: Love and Marriage
 Date Written: 971 – 965 B.C.
 Author: Solomon
 Setting: Early in Solomon’s reign
Song of Solomon - Introduction
Song of Solomon is a love song written by Solomon
(1:1) and abounding in metaphors and oriental
imagery. Historically, it depicts the wooing and
wedding of a shepherdess by King Solomon, and the
joys and heartaches of wedded love.
Allegorically, it pictures Israel as God’s espoused bride
(see Hosea 2: 19-20), and the church as the bride of
Christ.
Song of Solomon Introduction Continues...
 This book is called by many names: Song of Songs,
Song of Solomon or “ The Best Song”.
 This song was written primarily from the point of
view of the Shulamite, the reason could be Solomon’s
relationship with the Shulamite was the only pure
romance he ever experienced even though he had
many wives.
 This book is arranged like scenes in a drama with
three main speakers: the bride (Shulamite), the king
(Solomon), and a chorus (daughters of Jerusalem).
Christ in Song of Solomon
 In the Old Testament, Israel is regarded
as the bride of Yahweh ( See Is. 54:5-6;
Jer. 2:2; Ezek. 16:8-14; Hosea 2:1620). In the New Testament, the church
is seen as the bride of Christ (see 2 Cor.
11:2; Eph. 5:23-25; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:9).
The Song of Solomon illustrates the
former and anticipates the latter.
Song of Solomon...Introduction Continues...
Is this book fictional, allegorical or historical??
1.
Fictional – Fictional drama that portrays
Solomon’s courtship of and marriage to a poor but
beautiful girl from the country.
2. Allegorical – it illustrate the truth of God’s love for
his people.
3. Historical – it is a poetic record of Solomon’s actual
romance with a Shulamite woman.
Survey of Song of Solomon
 Title
(1:1)
 Falling in Love
(1:2 - 3:5)
 United in Love
(3:6 - 5:1)
 Struggling in Love (5:2 - 7:10)
 Maturing in Love (7:11 – 8:14)