Glossary

Acrostic

A poem in which the first letter of each verse follows the order of letters in the Hebrew alphabet

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which the writer addresses someone absent as though present and capable of responding

Beatitude

A declaration of supreme blessedness or happiness

Imprecatory

Imprecatory poems are those which invoke curses upon enemies

Inclusio

A repeated phrase or line that stands at the beginning and end of a poetic unit (stanza or poem) (DOTWPW)

Lament

A lament is a poem that defines a crises and invokes God for help (LSB)

Maskil

to give instruction

Messiah

The anointed one, the great deliverer promised by God in the Old Testament

Messianic

An Old Testament text of prophetic predictions related to the Messiah

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (MWCD)

Miktam

Literally means permanent and pictures that which is steadfast and unmovable (TTB)

Ode

a lyric poem usually marked by exaltation of feeling and style, varying length of line, and complexity of stanza forms (MWCD)

Parallelism

Two or more poetic lines that form a pattern based on repetition or balance of thought and grammar and/or syntax (LSB)

Personification

A figure of speech in which human attributes are given to something nonhuman

Proverb

A short, memorable statement giving insight into life

Selah

meditate on this

Simile

a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (MWCD)

Zion

refers to Jerusalem, where the temple was located