Vertical Grammar of Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew

Introduction

David Tsumura, Vertical Grammar of Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2023).

David Tsumura has been writing about Biblical Hebrew poetry and "vertical grammar" since the late 1970's. Many of his articles are available on his Academia page. His new (142 page) book, Vertical Grammar of Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew, is an edited collection of much of his previous work on Hebrew poetry.^[1]

Tsumura's contribution to the study of Biblical Hebrew poetry is in the vein of the "Standard Description of Biblical Hebrew Poetry," first put forward by Robert Lowth (1753), refined by others such as George Gray (1915), and put on solid linguistic footing by scholars such as Berlin (1985). This standard description, according to Tsumura, remains lacking in one key area: "What is still needed for a rigorous linguistic analysis of parallelism is an explanation of the vertical grammatical relation between parallel lines" (4).

Summary

Outline

Definition of Parallelism
Classification of Parallelism
Verbal Ellipsis, Double-Duty, or Vertical Grammar
Vertical Grammar in Parallelism
Syntax and Scansion in Biblical Hebrew Poetry
Janus Parallelism: Wordplay and Verticality
Verticality in Hebrew Narrative Prose
Vertical Grammar of Parallelism in Ugaritic Poetry

Key Concepts

Parallelism

"...as if they were two wheels of a railway truck so that the parallel lines as a whole may carry one and unitary thought" (5)

"Parallelism is the poetic device of expressing 'one thought through two lines.' Its two basic features are repetition and correspondence of elements (i.e., sounds, affixes, words, and phrases) between two parallel lines. It is thus a linguistic and stylistic device of poetry in which two or more lines constitute a complex sentence and their elements correspond to each other semantically, grammatically, or even phonetically, with repetition and variation" (1).^[2] To illustrate his definition of parallelism, Tsumura uses the image of a railway car. Just as a railway car has multiple wheels which travel along parallel rails, so "parallel lines as a whole may carry one and unity thought" (5).

The various semantic relationships which might exist between parallel lines has been traditionally categorized as (1) synonymous (e.g., Ps. 24:3), (2) antithetical (e.g., Ps. 1:6), and (3) synthetic.^[3] Tsumura attempts to refine these categories by combining the first two categories (synonymous and antithetical) into a single category: "superimposition."^[4] He further dispenses with the ambiguous category "synthetic" and proposes a new category: "hyponymous," wherein "the first line presents a theme or item in a general sense, while in the parallel line it is focused by a detailed description with greater precision" (45).^[5]

But parallelism cannot be adequately described in terms of semantics alone. According to Tsumura, parallelism—"the device of expressing one sentence through two lines" (4)—is characterised by distinct grammatical rules. Parallelism is, Tsumura claims, "a linguistic phenomenon that has its own grammar" (24).

Vertical Grammar

Parallelism, according to Tsumura, is characterised by "vertical grammar." Vertical grammar is the phenomenon in which constituents in different (parallel) lines are in a grammatical relationship with one another. "The normal bicolon has the pattern a-b // a'-b', where a has a relationship with b and a' with b'. However, sometimes a bicolon follows the pattern of a↓-x // b↑-x', where a and b, although in different lines, are related grammatically to each other, while x' is simply a restatement of x" (47).

Horizontal grammar

a — b

a' — b'

Vertical grammar

a↓-x

b↑-x'

"In most cases, elements are in a grammatical relationship with other elements in the same line, that is, horizontally. However, in rarer cases, there is also a grammatical relation between the elements of different lines, that is, vertically. (47).

Examples of vertical grammar

Bicolons

Ps. 24:6^[6]	Horizontal Grammar	Vertical Grammar
זֶ֭ה דּ֣וֹר דֹּרְשָׁ֑ו	Such is the generation of those who seek him,	Such is the generation of Jacob, those who seek him, that is, who seek your face.^[7]
מְבַקְשֵׁ֨י פָנֶ֖יךָ יַעֲקֹ֣ב	who seek your face, Jacob.

Other examples: Isa. 64:10b; Mic. 7:3b; Hab. 1:16; 2:1b; 3:6a; 3:13b; 3:16a; Pss. 2:4; 18:41.

Tricolons

Ps. 2:2	Horizontal Grammar	Vertical Grammar
יִ֥תְיַצְּב֨וּ ׀ מַלְכֵי־אֶ֗רֶץ	[Why do] the kings of the earth stand	[Why do] the kings of the earth, namely, rulers, stand before YHWH and before his anointed and yet take counsel together?^[8]
וְרוֹזְנִ֥ים נֽוֹסְדוּ־יָ֑חַד	and rulers take counsel together
עַל־יְ֝הוָה וְעַל־מְשִׁיחֽוֹ׃	against YHWH and against his anointed?

Other examples: Hab. 1:7b; 3:8a; Pss. 18:11; 19:14^[9]

Tetracolons

Ps. 89:37-38	Horizontal Grammar	Vertical Grammar
זַ֭רְעוֹ לְעוֹלָ֣ם יִהְיֶ֑ה	His offspring shall be forever,	His offspring shall be forever as a faithful witness in the clouds. His throne, which is like the sun and moon before me, will be established forever.^[10]
וְכִסְא֖וֹ כַשֶּׁ֣מֶשׁ נֶגְדִּֽי׃	and his throne like the sun before me.
כְּ֭יָרֵחַ יִכּ֣וֹן עוֹלָ֑ם	Like the moon, it shall be established forever,
וְעֵ֥ד בַּ֝שַּׁ֗חַק נֶאֱמָ֥ן	a faithful witness in the clouds.

Other examples: 2 Sam. 3:33b-34c; Amos 1:5; Pss. 9:6; Job 12:24-25; Song 5:5; 8:14

Vertical Grammar vs Ellipsis

Vertical grammar should be distinguished from "ellipsis"/"gapping."^[11]

The following grammatical diagram of Ps. 8:5 is an example of ellipsis or gapping. In the second clause (v. 5b), the interrogative pronoun מה is elided, resulting in two clauses which have a horizontal grammar: (1) What is mankind that you consider him, and (2) [what] is a son of man that you are mindful of him.

The same verse might also be understood, however, as an example of vertical grammar. Notice that in this example, there are not two independent clauses but one, and a constituent in the first line (מה) functions grammatically in the second line as well: What is mankind, that is, a son of man, that you should consider him, that you should be mindful of him?

Tsumura acknowledges that both ellipsis and vertical grammar occur in Biblical Hebrew poetry, and he admits that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two.^[12]

Key Arguments


<Vertical grammar>: Parallelism in Biblical Hebrew Poetry is "characterized by vertical grammar" (4).
 + <Best explanation>: Vertical grammar—when one constituent in a line of poetry is related grammatically to a constituent in a parallel line—offers the best explanation of the grammar in many cases of parallelism.
  + [Vertical grammar in bicolons]: E.g., Isa. 64:10b; Mic. 7:3b; Hab. 1:16; 2:1b; 3:6a; 3:13b; 3:16a; Pss. 2:4; 18:41; 24:6
  + [Vertical grammar in tricolons]: E.g., Hab. 1:7b; 3:8a; Pss. 2:2; 18:11; 19:14
  + [Vertical grammar in tetracolons]: E.g., 2 Sam. 3:33b-34c; Amos 1:5; Pss. 9:6; 89:37-38; Job 12:24-25; Song 5:5; 8:14

Key Evidence

Poetry in the Hebrew Bible, especially Psalms and Habakkuk
Ugaritic poetry (ch. 8)^[13]

Impact

Important ideas

Parallelism is the expression of one thought through two lines.
Parallelism is characterised by vertical grammar.

Reviews

References

↑ The compilatory nature of the book means that it is sometimes repetitive and sometimes unorganized. For example, sometimes the same subject or the same passage is discussed in multiple places—sometimes with the exact same words.
↑ Cf. Tsumura's definition of parallelism in his EHLL article on "Parallelism": 'Parallelism is a linguistic and stylistic device of poetry, in which two or more lines constitute a complete sentence and their elements correspond to each other semantically, grammatically, or even phonetically, with repetition and variation' (2013:15).
↑ This system of categorising parallelism was developed in the eighteenth century by Robert Lowth, and it remains influential today.
↑ "Both synonymous and antithetic parallelism, the first and the second categories of Lowth's semantic classification, are two aspects of the superimposed syntactic images... In both parallelisms the two parallel lines as a whole carry a single and unitary meaning" (8).
↑ Cf. David Clines, “The Parallelism of Greater Precision. Notes from Isaiah 40 for a Theory of Hebrew Poetry,” in Directions in Biblical Hebrew Poetry, ed. Elaine R. Follis, Journal for the study of the Old Testament 40 (Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1987).
↑ For a thorough discussion of this verse, see The Text, Grammar, and Meaning of Ps. 24:6
↑ "In this long-standing crux interpretum, the construct chain דור יעקב 'the generation of Jacob' (ab) is broken up by the insertion of the parallel phrases דרשו 'those who seek him' and מבקשי פניך 'those who seek your face' (x // x')" (63).
↑ "In view of the verbal phrase 'to stand before/by the presence of/beside' (יצב hitpael + על) found in passages such as Num. 23:3, 15; Zech. 6:5; Job. 1:6; 2:1; and 2 Chron. 11:13, it is better to take the two prepositional phrases עַל־יְ֝הוָה וְעַל־מְשִׁיחֽוֹ as modifying the verb יִתְיַצְּבוּ in the first line" (68).
↑ Another example, not mentioned by Tsumura, may be the tricolon in Ps. 68:19. See The Grammar and Meaning of Psalm 68:19c. The tricolon in Ps. 45:6 may be another example.
↑ Cf. David Tsumura, “`As the Faithful Witness in the Sky’ (Ps 89:38b),” Exegetica 7 (1996): 41–46.
↑ See O'Connor for a definition and illustration of "gapping."
↑ For example, Tsumura admits that "in an earlier article I explained Ps 18:14 and 105:20 as examples of vertical grammar (VG), namely, a syntactic relation between two parallel lines, but now I believe they are more likely to be examples of verbal ellipsis (VE), for both are easily analyzed as a pattern of a-b-c // (a')-b'-c'" (51).
↑ Tsumura cites the following passages as examples of vertical grammar and concludes that "the phenomenon of vertical grammar of parallelism is a characteristic of Ugaritic poetry just as it is of Biblical Hebrew poetry" (121): KTU 1.14.i.26-27; 1.3.i.20-22; 1.3.i.18-19; 1.2.iv.15-16; 1.18.iv.24-26, 36-37; 1.3.iii.28-31.

[1] The compilatory nature of the book means that it is sometimes repetitive and sometimes unorganized. For example, sometimes the same subject or the same passage is discussed in multiple places—sometimes with the exact same words.

[2] Cf. Tsumura's definition of parallelism in his EHLL article on "Parallelism": 'Parallelism is a linguistic and stylistic device of poetry, in which two or more lines constitute a complete sentence and their elements correspond to each other semantically, grammatically, or even phonetically, with repetition and variation' (2013:15).

[3] This system of categorising parallelism was developed in the eighteenth century by Robert Lowth, and it remains influential today.

[4] "Both synonymous and antithetic parallelism, the first and the second categories of Lowth's semantic classification, are two aspects of the superimposed syntactic images... In both parallelisms the two parallel lines as a whole carry a single and unitary meaning" (8).

[5] Cf. David Clines, “The Parallelism of Greater Precision. Notes from Isaiah 40 for a Theory of Hebrew Poetry,” in Directions in Biblical Hebrew Poetry, ed. Elaine R. Follis, Journal for the study of the Old Testament 40 (Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1987).

[6] For a thorough discussion of this verse, see The Text, Grammar, and Meaning of Ps. 24:6

[7] "In this long-standing crux interpretum, the construct chain דור יעקב 'the generation of Jacob' (ab) is broken up by the insertion of the parallel phrases דרשו 'those who seek him' and מבקשי פניך 'those who seek your face' (x // x')" (63).

[8] "In view of the verbal phrase 'to stand before/by the presence of/beside' (יצב hitpael + על) found in passages such as Num. 23:3, 15; Zech. 6:5; Job. 1:6; 2:1; and 2 Chron. 11:13, it is better to take the two prepositional phrases עַל־יְ֝הוָה וְעַל־מְשִׁיחֽוֹ as modifying the verb יִתְיַצְּבוּ in the first line" (68).

[9] Another example, not mentioned by Tsumura, may be the tricolon in Ps. 68:19. See The Grammar and Meaning of Psalm 68:19c. The tricolon in Ps. 45:6 may be another example.

[10] Cf. David Tsumura, “`As the Faithful Witness in the Sky’ (Ps 89:38b),” Exegetica 7 (1996): 41–46.

[11] See O'Connor for a definition and illustration of "gapping."

[12] For example, Tsumura admits that "in an earlier article I explained Ps 18:14 and 105:20 as examples of vertical grammar (VG), namely, a syntactic relation between two parallel lines, but now I believe they are more likely to be examples of verbal ellipsis (VE), for both are easily analyzed as a pattern of a-b-c // (a')-b'-c'" (51).

[13] Tsumura cites the following passages as examples of vertical grammar and concludes that "the phenomenon of vertical grammar of parallelism is a characteristic of Ugaritic poetry just as it is of Biblical Hebrew poetry" (121): KTU 1.14.i.26-27; 1.3.i.20-22; 1.3.i.18-19; 1.2.iv.15-16; 1.18.iv.24-26, 36-37; 1.3.iii.28-31.

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