Pick a Psalm that you want to study.
For our purpose, ideally this psalm would be no longer than 10 verses.
Here are some suggestions: Psalm 1, 3, 4, 8, 20, 23, 47, 52, 114, 121, 124, 130, 142
Before moving forward
Read the Psalm several times to get a good feel of it!
Gem Digging Guide
There are Two Big Questions to ask
when studying a Hebrew poem.
What is the Structure?
What is the Message?
Related to both Questions
is a KEY CONCEPT
Repeated Words and Ideas
inform both the STRUCTURE and MESSAGE.
Therefore our study
has a KEY STEP
FIND and COLOR
Repeated Words and Ideas
Lets get Started!
Question One - What is the Structure?
All Hebrew poems are written in stanzas and each stanza is a package of ideas with its own coherent logic. Dividing the poem into its stanzas allows the reader to think clearly about each stanza’s message before connecting them to other stanzas and how they fit into the big picture. To confidently identify the stanza divisions, we must first look at the levels of structure in a poem.
There are 3 general levels of structure to a poem - Stanza, Strophe, Lines; a poem is made of stanzas, stanzas are made of strophes, and strophes are made of lines. Reading from the top of the poem, we want to check the lines, collect the lines into strophes, and collect the strophes into stanzas.
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An interpretation of the line divisions are provided by default. However, the original line divisions in the Hebrew may not be so black and white. As you read the poem from top to bottom, you may notice that some lines might read better splitting into two lines, some words from one line may read better as part of the next line, perhaps two lines read better when combined as a single line - the Web App provides tools for you to edit these line divisions.xt goes here
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Reading the poem from the top line-by-line; each time you notice an idea is completed and a new idea is about to be introduced, divide this section into a new strophe - select the first word of a new strophe and click “New Strophe”. Tip 1 - generally a strophe comprises 2-6 lines. Tip 2- In ESV, this often corresponds to 1-2 verses, but at times, you might want to split a verse into two parts because you might think the second half fits better into the next strophe. If you want to edit your strophe later, the you can use the buttons “merge with next strophe” or “merge with previous strophe” to edit your strophes.
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Once the whole poem is split into strophes, collect the strophes into stanzas - each stanza should communicate a set of ideas that are distinct from other stanzas. The most reliable indicator is a topic shift; perhaps one stanza describes the wicked, the next stanza focuses on God’s, and the next stanza focuses on the author’s reponse. On this note, often you can also identify a new stanza by the change in subject and its introduction of new keywords. To mark a new stanza, select a strophe and click “New stanza”. Tip - most stanzas have 2 to 5 strophes. Tip 2 - really short poems may only have one stanza
Important Concept - Repeated Words and Ideas informs the STRUCTURE
In addition to topic shift as mentioned above, when the Hebrew poets want to start a new strophe or stanza, they often use repeated words and ideas to signal the end of a section - formally this is called an Inclusio. As such, you may notice repeated words and ideas between the first and last strophe of a stanza. Similarly, you may find notice repeated words and ideas between the first and last stanzas of the entire poem. Because of these literary techniques, finding and coloring repeated words and ideas is useful for both initially marking out the strophes and stanzas and for checking your work after.
Our Key Step
Find and Color
Repeated Words
and Ideas
When you notice a repeated word or idea, color it to keep track of what you notice!
You can do this manually by clicking individual word boxes and assigning them a different Fill Color, Border Color, or Font Color. We also have a Motif Tab that provides a list of repeated words and repeated synonyms; there you can quickly select and highly word boxes in bulk.
Important Concept - Repeated Words and Ideas informs the MESSAGE
You may have noticed there are a ton of repeating words and ideas throughout the poem! When you zoom out, you may even notice a pattern to how these words are arranged. But, these word repetitions are not merely decorative, they often mark an important message developed in the strophe or stanza. Exploring how these words, strophes, and stanzas are related to one another is where the magic happens. By paying close attention to their connections, we discover how ideas are richly developed by the biblical authors throughout the poem.
Question Two - What is the Message?
Now that you have divided the poem into its strophes and stanzas structures and highlighted repeated words and ideas, the next goal is to look at each stanza separately and identify its message. A stanza usually captures the interplay of multiple ideas; these ideas are richly intertwined and nested together. There could be a circular development of ideas, a linear top-down development of ideas, or chiastic development of ideas, or a combination of them. Exploring the author’s rich message will first require discerning the relationships between the strophes and directional movement of ideas within a stanza.
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You might find that the writer opens with an idea and revisits it later on. As such, you'll often find that the first strophe and last strophe of a stanza shares many of the same keywords and ideas. When a large cluster of ideas are repeated, perhaps the strophe at hand is meant to parallel a prior strophe. You can keep track of these observations by changing the Fill Color or Border Color of the Strophes Boxes. Tip - circular development of ideas are quite common.
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The repeated ideas between the first and last strophe are never identical; noticing the nuanced differences between these ideas is key to identifying the logical flow of ideas and the direction of the flow. Perhaps the first strophe starts with “I will praise”, but in the last strophe, it repeats the idea of praise, but this time it says “we will all praise”. The development of ideas can move from simple to intense, from singular to plural, from problem to solution, and others. Again, you can keep track of these observations by using the color tools however you see fit. Tip - there is always a linear development of ideas. Tip - a poem can have both a circular and linear development of ideas.
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If there are multiple strophes in the stanza, it is important to check if this is a more elaborate structure called Chiasm - Chiasms are very common in Hebrew Poetry. Broadly, a chiasm is a structure with an A B A pattern; however, chiasms could come in many different variations and complexities - eg. A B C B A, or A B B A, or AB C C AB, etc. You can identify chiasms but the pattern of repeated words in each strophe. For example Strophe 1 and 5 might have the keyword “praise”, strophe 2 and 4 might have the keyword “Righteous” and the middle strophe has the keyword “Justice”. One of the key functions of a chiasm is to create a meaningful center. In this center, the writer develops an idea that is of key importance; in a sense all the surrounding ideas and strophes contribute and culminate into this meaningful center. In the example of A B C B A, “C” is the center strophe, and all of As and Bs strophes relate to the center strophe in a significant way. To identify a center strophe, note that it often has unique words and ideas that are not found elsewhere in the stanza; in addition, it could also have ideas repeated from surrounding strophes that hint at their close relationship with the center. Tip - chiasms always focus on the center strophe.
Putting it all together
What is the message of each Strophe? Now that the structure is identified, repeated words are colored, and the directional movement of ideas are discerned, synthesize all your observations into succinct statements that answer: What are the main ideas communicated in each strophe and how does each strophe relate to one another?
What is the message of each Stanza? Looking at the relationships between the strophes, how do the strophes collectively paint a picture of the main message of the stanza? What is the main message of this stanza? Tip - if this is a Chiasm, the main message is hinged on how the strophes relate to the center strophe. Tip - even in chiasms, there can still be a linear development of ideas from top to bottom, although this is unlikely the main message.
What is the message of the Poem?
So far, we have looked for repeated words and ideas to help us understand the relationship between strophes, ultimately helping us paint a picture of the stanza’s main message.
Now we want to use the stanzas to help us find the message of the whole poem. The steps are similar; we want to ask: Are the repeated words and ideas between the stanzas? Is there a circular development of ideas between the stanzas? Is there a linear development of ideas between stanzas? Does the poem have a meaningful center stanza? What is the main message of each stanza? How do the stanzas relate to one another? How does each stanza come together to help paint a picture of the message of the whole poem? Tip - One stanza might be chiastic while the second stanza might be purely linear. Tip - if a poem has two stanzas, they are likely parallel to one another, inviting direct comparison between them.