Psalm 23 (Style)

Style

In ancient Hebrew poetry, the verse comprises the basic unit of thought. Generally the verse is broken into two parts in which the idea expressed in the first is balanced or expanded in the second. This characteristic is called parallelism, and there are several types common in the psalms. One type, synthetic parallelism, involves the explanation or elaboration in the second part of an idea presented in the first part. This is the chief device used in Psalm 23, and good examples of it can be seen in verses 4 and 5. In verse 4, the first part declares that the speaker walks “through the valley of the shadow of death,” but is not afraid. The second part explains why: God is with the speaker, protecting him or her the way a shepherd protects a lamb. Verse 5 shows a slightly different type of synthetic parallelism. While the first part introduces the idea of a “table” that God has prepared for the psalmist, the second part elaborates the idea with specific images. The table becomes a feast, replete with “oil” and a cup that “runneth over.”