Bible Lexicons

Bullinger's Figures of Speech Used in the BibleBullinger's Figures of Speech

Parallelism; or Parallel Lines

The Repetition of similar, synonymous, or opposite Thoughts or Words in parallel or successive Lines

This form of sacred writing has been noted from the earliest times. De Rossi,* [Note: Kitto. Bib. Cyc. III. 702.] a learned Jew of the sixteenth century, first published a mass of information on the subject in a remarkable work, Meor Enajim (i.e., The Light of the Eyes). Bishop Lowth translated chapter 60† [Note: Lowth’s Translation of Isaiah, Prel. Dis. p. xxviii. (15th Ed. 1857).] , which deals with the construction of lines: and Bishop Jebb in his Sacred Literature extended the study. But none of these got beyond Parallelism as it is applied to lines. This has universally gone under the name of, and been treated as, Poetry.

It is a form of the figure Synonymia, by which the subject of one line is repeated in the next line in different, but so-called, synonymous terms.

Parallelism is of seven kinds: three simple and four complex:-

I. Simple.

1. Synonymous or Gradational.

2. Antithetic or Opposite.

3. Synthetic or Constructive.

II. Complex.

1. Alternate. Two lines repeated only once (four lines in all).

2. Repeated Alternation. Two lines repeated more than once.

3. Extended Alternation. Three or more lines repeated.

4. Introverted.

I. Simple

1. Synonymous or Gradational

This is when the lines are parallel in thought, and in the use of synonymous words.

The oldest example, and the first in the Bible, is in

Genesis 4:23-24.-In these oldest human poetic lines Lamech celebrates the invention of weapons of war: and it is significant that this should be the first subject of poetry! Lamech’s son was "an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron," and the injury of others was the earliest application of the art.

Lamech is so elated with that which would give him power among men that he at once breaks out in eulogy; and boasts that if any one injures him, he would outdo even Jehovah in His punishment of those who should injure Cain.

There are three pairs of lines, and the synonymous words will be at once seen, as we have exhibited them:-

"Adah and Zillah hearken to my voice;

Ye wives of Lamech listen to my speech.

For I can slay a man, if he injures me,

And a young man, if he hurts me.

If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold,

Truly Lamech [shall be avenged]* [Note: See under Ellipsis.] seventy-seven-fold."

Luke 1:46-47.-

"My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."

Psalms 1:1.-"Blessed is the man

that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor standeth in the way of sinners,

nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

Here, we have three series of gradation:-

Walketh,	standeth,	sitteth,
Counsel,	way,	seat.
Ungodly,	sinners,	scornful.

These gradations point us to the fact that there is a mine of truth contained in the verse, on which a volume might be written.

The tenses also have their lessons for us too, for they imply "that never did walk … stand … sit": and so help to teach us that in this first Psalm David speaketh "concerning": i.e., "with an ultimate reference to" (εἰς, eis), "Christ" (see Acts 2:25). In fact, this first Psalm speaks of Christ as the one perfect Man; while the second speaks of Him as the one perfect King: ("the model Shepherd," He Himself says He is: ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός (ho poimeen ho kalos), not simply ὁ καλὸς ποιμήν (ho kalos poimeen): and then twice over at least (see John 10:11; John 14:1-31); and so, too, is He the "model" Man and the "model" King.

2. Antithetic, or Opposite

This is when the words are contrasted in the two or more lines, being opposed in sense the one to the other.

Proverbs 10:1.-

"A wise son maketh a glad father;

But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother"

Proverbs 27:6.-

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend,

But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy"

3. Synthetic, or Constructive

This is where the parallelism consists only in the similar form of construction:-

Psalms 19:7-9.-

"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:

The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:

The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever:

The judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether"

Here, there is neither gradation nor opposition of words in the several lines; which are independent, and depend for their parallelism on their construction.

In all the above cases the lines are simply parallel, and are chiefly in pairs.

When the parallelism appears in four or more lines, then it may be called

II. Complex

1. Alternate

This is when the lines are placed alternately. In this case, the first and third lines, and the second and fourth lines, may, as a rule, be read continuously, while the intervening line is thus placed in a parenthesis.

These alternate lines may be either synonymous or antithetic.

Genesis 19:25.-

a "The cities (and He overthrew)

b The plain (and all the plain),

a The inhabitants of the cities,

b The produce of the plain."

Deuteronomy 32:21.-

a "They have moved me to jealousy

b with that which is not God:

a They have provoked me to anger

b with their vanities:

c And I will move them to jealousy

d with those which are not a people:

c I will provoke them to anger

d with a foolish nation."

Deuteronomy 32:42.-Here a and a are continuous, and likewise b and b. They must be so read, thus dispensing with the italics. The line b we give from the R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.]

a "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,

b and my sword shall devour much flesh;

a with the blood of the slain and of the captives,

b from the head of the leaders of the enemy."

Here a and a relate to the arrows, while b and b refer to the sword.

1 Chronicles 21:22.-

a Request. "Grant me the place of this threshingfloor."

b Design. "That I may build an altar therein unto the Lord."

a Request. "Thou shalt grant it me for the full price."

b Design. "That the plague may be stayed from the people."

Here a and a are continuous, likewise b and b. We must read on from b to b, placing a in a parenthesis. This shows that the plague was stayed, not because David paid the full price for the place, but because of the atoning sacrifice which he offered.

a The king. "If it please the king."

b Esther’s personal influence. "And if I have found favour."

a The king. "And the thing seem right before the king."

b Esther’s personal influence. "And I be pleasing in his eyes."

Proverbs 18:24, -The parallel here is lost owing to an obscurity in the Hebrew. The Massorah records that the word אִשׁ (îsh) (which has been taken by translators as another spelling of אִישׁ (eesh), a man) is put three times* [Note: The other two passages are (where the sense is unaffected, "If there is any that turn" meaning "none can turn"), and , where the reading called Sevir which is equal in authority to the Keri, is boldly adopted into the Text by both the A.V. and the R.V. "Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked," etc.] for יֵשׁ (yesh), there is.

The R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] avoids the italics of the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] which are put in to make some sort of sense owing to the A.V. [Note: The Authorized Version, or current Text of our English Bible, 1611.] having taken לְהִתְרוֹעֵעַ from the wrong root (רָעָה, to feed), instead of רָעַה, to break). So that instead of meaning to make friends, it means (as in the R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ) to be broken in pieces. Hence, to ruin oneself.

The point and the parallel, therefore, lies in the plural "friends": i.e., or many friends in contrast with the faithfulness of the one "friend":-

a "There are "friends

b to our own detriment:

a But there is a friend

b that sticketh closer than a brother."

See under Paronomasia.

a "Fret not thyself because of evil men,

b neither be thou envious at the wicked;

a For there shall be no reward to the evil man;

b The candle of the wicked shall be put out."

Isaiah 1:29-30.-

a "For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired,

b And ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

a For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth,

b And as a garden that hath no water."

Isaiah 9:10.-

a "The bricks are fallen down,

b but we will build with hewn stones:

a The sycomores are cut down,

b But we will change them into cedars."

Isaiah 14:26-27.-

a "This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth:

b And this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations,

a For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it?

b And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?"

Isaiah 17:7-8.-

a "At that day shall a man look to his Maker,

b and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel,

a And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands,

b neither shall respect that which his fingers have made:"

Isaiah 18:6.-

a Fowls. "They shall be left, etc."

b Beasts. "And to the beasts, etc."

a Fowls. "And the fowls, etc."

b Beasts. "And all the beasts, etc."

Isaiah 31:3.-

a "The Egyptians are men,

b and not God:

a And their horses flesh,

b and not spirit."

See under Pleonasm.

Isaiah 34:6.-Here the first and third lines are continuous, as are also the second and fourth lines.

a "The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,

b it is made fat with fatness,

a and with the blood of lambs and goats,

b with the fat of the kidneys of rams."

Isaiah 51:20 (R.V. [Note: The Revised Version, 1881.] ).-Here a and a, and b and b must be read together in order to catch the sense.

a "Thy sons have fainted,

b they lie [i.e., are cast down]

a at the top of all the streets,

b as an antelope in a net."

Isaiah 59:5-6.-

a "They hatch cockatrice’ eggs,

b and weave the spide’s web;

a He that eateth of their eggs dieth …

b Their webs shall not become garments."

Isaiah 61:4.-

a "And they shall build the old wastes,

b They shall raise up the former desolations,

a and they shall repair the waste cities,

b The desolations of many generations."

See also under Epanodos, Antimetabole, and Chiasmos.

2. Repeated Alternation

This is not confined to two alternate lines repeated, making four lines in all, as in the preceding examples; but in the repetition of the two parallel subjects in several lines.

Isaiah 65:21-22.-

a1 "And they shall build houses,

b1 and inhabit them;

a2 And they shall plant vineyards,

b2 and eat the fruit of them.

a3 They shall not build,

b3 and another inhabit;

a4 They shall not plant,

b4 and another eat."

Or, these may be arranged in four longer alternate lines, thus:-

Positive.

a Houses (they shall build),

b Vineyards (they shall plant).

Negative.

a Houses (they shall not build),

b Vineyards (they shall not plant).

Where the first two lines are positive and the last negative.

1 John 2:15-16.-

a1 "If any man love the world,

b1 the love of the Father is not in him,

a2 For all that is in the world.

b2 is not of the Father,

a3 but is of the world."

3. Extended Alternation

The Scriptures abound with other illustrations of the arrangement of alternate parallel lines.

But these alternate lines may consist not merely of two pairs, or of four lines; or, of repeated alternations: the alternation may be extended. That is to say, the alternation may be extended so as to consist of three or more lines.

Judges 10:17.-

a "Then the children of Ammon

b were gathered together,

c and encamped in Gilead.

a And the children of Israel

b assembled themselves together,

c and encamped in Mizpeh."

Matthew 6:19-20.-

a "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,

b where moth and rust doth corrupt,

c and where thieves break through and steal:

a But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

b where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,

c and where thieves do not break through nor steal."

See under Epibole.

4. Introverted Parallelisms

This is when the parallel lines are so placed that if there be six lines, the first corresponds with the sixth, the second with the fifth, and the third with the fourth.

When this Introversion consists only of words and of the same words, it is called Epanodos (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).

When Propositions are introverted, it is called Antimetabole (q.v. [Note: Which see.] ).

When Subjects are introverted, it is called Chiasmus (see under Correspondence).

Genesis 3:19.-

a End. "Till thou return unto the ground."

b Origin. "For out of it was thou taken."

b Origin. "For dust thou art."

a End. "And unto dust shalt thou return."

Exodus 9:31.-

a "And the flax

b and the barley was smitten:

b For the barley was in the ear,

a and the flax was bolled."

Numbers 15:35-36.-

a "And the Lord said unto Moses,

b The man shall be surely put to death:

c they shall stone him with stones,

d all the congregation without the camp.

d And they brought him forth, all the congregation without the camp,

c and stoned him with stones,

b and he died;

a as the Lord commanded Moses."

Deuteronomy 32:16.-

a "They provoked Him to jealousy

b with strange gods:

b with abominations

a provoked they Him to anger."

This shows that when "abominations" are spoken of, idols are meant.

1 Samuel 1:2.-

a "The name of the one was Hannah,

b and the name of the other was Peninnah:

b And Peninnah had children,

a but Hannah had no children."

2 Samuel 3:1.-

a "Now there was long war between the house of Saul

b and the house of David:

b but [the house of] David waxed stronger and stronger,

a And the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker."

1 Kings 16:22.-

a "But the people that followed Omri prevailed

b against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath:

b So Tibni died,

a and Omri reigned."

2 Chronicles 32:7-8.-

a Our resource. "There be more with us."

b His resource. "Than with him."

b His resource. "With him is an arm of flesh."

a Our resource. "But with us is the Lord our God."

Psalms 76:1.-

a "In Judah

b is God known:

b His name is great

a In Israel."

This shows how "the Name" of God stands, and is put for God Himself. See under Metonomy.

Psalms 115:4-8.-

a 4-. The idols.

b -4. Their fabrication.

c 5-. Mouth without speech (singular in Heb.).

d -5. Eyes without sight (plural).

e 6-. Ears without hearing (pl. [Note: l. The Plural Number.] )

f -6. Nose without smell (sing. [Note: ing. The Singular Number.] )

e 7-. Hands without handling (pl. [Note: l. The Plural Number.] )

d -7. Feet without walking (pl. [Note: l. The Plural Number.] )

c -7. Throat without voice (sing. [Note: ing. The Singular Number.] )

b 8-. The fabricators.

a -8. The idolators.

Psalms 135:15-18.-

a The idols of the heathen.

b Their fabrication.

c Mouths without speech.

d Eyes without sight.

d Ears without hearing.

c Mouths without breath.

b The fabricators.

a The idolatrous heathen.

Proverbs 1:26-27.-

a "I also will laugh at your destruction,

b I will mock when your fear cometh;

b When your fear cometh as desolation,

a and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind."

Proverbs 3:16.-

a Blessings. "Length of days."

b Hand. "Is in her right hand."

b Hand. "And in her left hand."

a Blessings. "Riches and honour."

Isaiah 5:7.-

a "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts

b is the house of Israel,

b and the men of Judah

a His pleasant plant."

Isaiah 6:10.-

a "Make the heart of this people fat,

b and make their ears heavy,

c and shut their eyes;

c lest they see with their eyes,

b and hear with their ears,

a and understand with their heart."

See under Polyptoton, page 299.

Isaiah 11:4.-

a "He shall smite the oppressor,

b with the rod of his mouth,

b and with the breath of his lips

a Shall He slay the wicked."

The current Hebrew Text reads אֶרֶץ (eretz), the earth, but this is manifestly a scribal error for עָרִץ (aritz), the oppressor. The Aleph (א) being similar in sound with Ayin (ע) was easily exchanged by transcribers. And the Parallelism shows beyond doubt that this is the case here.* [Note: This is from the ms. notes for the second edition of Dr. Ginsburg’s Hebrew Bible.]

Isaiah 50:1.-

a "Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away?

b or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you?

b Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves,

a And for your transgressions is your mother put away."

Isaiah 51:8-9.-

a "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

b Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord,

b For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so aremy ways higher than your ways,

a and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Here the whole paragraph is introverted. In a and a we have "thoughts," in b and b we have "ways." But the pronouns in a and a are alternate as to the "thoughts":-

c My thoughts.

d Your thoughts.

c My thoughts.

d Your thoughts.

While they are introverted in b and b as to the "ways":-

e Your ways.

f My ways.

f My ways.

e Your ways.

Further we may note that a and b are negative; and b and a are positive.

Isaiah 60:1-3.-

a "Arise,

b Shine; for thy light is come,

c and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

d For behold darkness shall cover the earth,

d and gross darkness the people:

c but the Lord shall arise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon thee.

b And the Gentiles shall come to thy light,

a and kings to the brightness of thy rising."

All these structures may be described, as well as set forth in full. Thus:-

a The rising of Israel. ("Rising up.")

b The Light received.

c The glory of the Lord.

d The darkness of the earth.

d The darkness of the peoples.

c The glory of the Lord.

b The Light reflected.

a -The rising of Israel. (Dawning: "Thy sunrise.")

Daniel 5:19.-

a Severity ("Whom he would he slew").

b Favour ("and whom he would he kept alive").

b Favour ("and whom he would he set up").

a Severity ("and whom he would he put down").

Matthew 6:24.-

a "No man can serve two masters:

b For either he will hate the one

c and love the other:

c or else he will hold to the one

b and despise the other.

a Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Matthew 7:6.-

a "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs,

b neither cast ye your pearls before swine,

b lest they trample them under their feet,

a and turn again and rend you."

Here, the introversion shows that it is the swine who tread the pearls under foot, and the dogs which rend.

Romans 11:21-23.-

a "If God spared not the natural branches,

b take heed lest He also spare not thee.

c Behold therefore the goodness

d and severity of God:

d on them which fell, severity;

c but toward thee, goodness, …

b otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

a And they also (the natural branches), if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in."

This passage occurs in the Dispensational part of the Epistle to the Romans (9-11). See under Correspondence. Hence, it relates to Jew and Gentile as such; and consequently it is not to be interpreted of the Church, the standing of which is so clearly set forth in chapter 8. So that the statement in line b can have no reference to those who are in Christ, for whom there is no condemnation and no separation.

1 Corinthians 1:24-25.-

a Power. "Christ the power of God."

b Wisdom. "And the wisdom of God."

b Wisdom. "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men."

a Power. "And the weakness of God is stronger than men."

2 Corinthians 1:3.-

a Deity. "Blessed be God."

b Paternity. "Even the Father."

b Paternity. "The Father of mercies."

a Deity. "And the God of all comfort."

2 Corinthians 8:14.-

a Equality. "By an equality."

b Liberality. "That now … at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want."

b Liberality. "That their abundance also may be a supply for your want.

a Equality. "That there may be … equality."

Galatians 2:7-8.-

a Paul’s commission. "When they saw that the Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me."

b Peter’s. "As the Gospel of circumcision was unto Peter."

b Peter’s. "For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision."

a Paul’s commission. "The same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles."