Glossary

alliteration: the repetition of consonants. §3.2

analogy: another name for metaphor. §8.1

anaphora: the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of a line or several successive lines. §3.4c

anthropomorphism: the understanding of God as being like a human being. §8.6

apposition: a word or phrase is in apposition when it follows and explains another word. §5.1e

association: the connection between things that belong to the same group or cognitive domain. §1.3a

assonance: the repetition of vowels. §3.2

author: the person who created the text, and distinct from the narrator who tells a story and the poetic voice who speaks in a poem. Though often conflated, the author is not necessarily the same one who speaks. §12.5

basic plot:  a storyline that captures a basic human event. §12.1a

call narrative, prophetic: the story of the call of the prophet which is one of the basic subplots. §15.2; §12.1a

characters: all those who speak and act in a story. §12.2

chiasm (pronounced: KAI-asum): the arrangement ab | ba in which the second line ends with what the first began, and the second line begins with what ends the first line. §5.1g
       a Those who love me | b I will deliver
       b I will protect             | a those who know my name.

closure:  the sense of an ending that resolves the story’s overriding tension and the questions. In general, audiences dislike the lack of closure. §12.1

cognitive domain: the intellectual network(s) to which a word belongs. §1.3a, §6.2

comparison: another name for metaphor. §8.1

connotation: the natural, cultural, and personal connections that words have for us; it is similar to the word’s cognitive domain. §6.3

contrasting pairs: words that are opposite in some respect, such as the wise and the foolish. §4.2c

couplet: two lines of poetry; sometimes called a cola or stich. §2.1

curse: a negative wish, frequently in this form: “Let/May something bad happen to X.” §13.7d

defamiliarization: making the familiar different so that we can see it again as if for the first time; according to Viktor Shklovsky, this is a primary function of art. §1.1

denotation: another name for the literal meaning of a word. §6.3

drama: a story presented directly by the characters, as distinct from a narrative mediated by the narrator. Part III

duration or narrative time: the amount of time and the number of times something is told. Typically, the more narrative time an element receives, the more important it is. §12.6

ellipsis: the omission of a word or phrase from a previous line that a reader must supply to make sense of the second line. §5.1c

entities: those things in the story, in addition to the characters, that serve some function in the story. §12.3

flashback: a narrative scene out of sequence that takes the audience back to an earlier event needed to understand the present action. §12.1

flashforward: a scene out of sequence that takes the audience forward in time to reveal what will happen. In the Bible, prophecy has this function and helps the audience see the consequences of the present action. §12.1

flat character: a stereotype that represents an idea or trait. §12.2

gaps: the things that the narrator does not tell us but that we want or need to know about the story. Some gaps are inconsequential, but the way in which we fill in other gaps can have important consequences for the interpretation.

half and half: a type of merismus that names the two halves to convey the whole, as in “day and night” for all time. §4.3d

history: an account that corresponds to what happened and so should be verifiable. §12.1

hymn: statements about God and God’s deeds either in general (praise) or as related to “me” or “us” (thanksgiving), often with a call for others to join the psalmist or a vow or the formula: Blessed be God. §11.1-2

implied narrative: a text that presumes a story with some tension and a projected resolution, which the audience must reconstruct from what the speaker says. §12.1b

inclusio: the repetition of the same phrase or line at the beginning and end of a text. §3.4b

irony: a statement marked by incongruity and hostility. §9.1

judgment oracle: a speech by God, often with a call to the defendant or to witnesses, followed by accusations and then the judgment, often introduced by “therefore,”  with its punishment and reasons. §15.4a

key word: a repeating word or phrase that signals critical themes in the story or poem. §3.4a

lament: another name for the psalm of petition or prayer psalm. §13.0

lawsuit: rîb in Hebrew, an expanded form of the judgment oracle based on the process of a law court in which witnesses are called; the defendant is accused, the plaintiff is defended, and the judgment is given with its punishment and reason. In the biblical lawsuit, the Lord is the plaintiff, prosecutor, and judge. §15.4a

line: a line of poetry followed by a pause; sometimes called by the Greek terms colon, stich, or hemistich. §2.1

literal language: the use of words corresponding to their basic dictionary meaning. §6.1

lyric: not a story, but the direct presentation of reaction or idea by a single voice. §10.0

merismus: something divided into two (or three) essential parts to convey a sense of the whole. §4.3d

metaphor: an assertion that something is like something else: A is (like) B. Comparison, analogy, and simile are other names for this assertion of likeness. §8.1

meter: the regular appearance of stressed syllables. While English poetry Traditionally has a regular number of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables, Hebrew has only a regular number of stressed syllables (more or less). §3.1

metonym (MET-uh-nim): a piece of metonymy. §7.1

metonymy (mi-TAHN-i-mee):  the use of an entity for something associated with it: X for Y. The part for the whole is the easiest example: “My mouth is filled with your praise” (Ps 71:8): X: mouth for Y: the whole person. §7.1

motif: a recurring concrete image connected to a theme, a recurring idea. §3.4a

multiplicity or ambiguity: a statement with various possibilities. §9.4

narrative space: the geography of the story which carries thematic dimensions. §12.4

narrative time or duration: the amount of time and the number of times something is told. Typically, the more narrative time an element receives, the more important it is. §12.6

narrative time: the amount of time given to telling the parts of the story. The more narrative time an event receives, the more important it is. §12.6

narrative, also referred to as story: a plot with a sequence of events moving from tension to a resolution, told by a narrator/storyteller. Part III

narrator, also called the storyteller: the voice that tells the story. Part III

narrator, first person: a narrator who tells the story from “my” point of view, usually as a character in the story; many of the prayer psalms are speeches in the first person. §12.5

narrator, third person: a narrator outside the story, typically possessing an omniscient understanding of the characters and events. This narrator typically gives the impression of impartiality and objectivity but plays a crucial role in shaping the story, its worldview, and the narrative lens. See also “voice.” §12.5

oracle: a message from God brought by a human being to others, with God speaking in the first person. §15.4

overstatement or hyperbole: a statement that claims more than is reasonable. §9.2

performative language: an utterance that does not describe but performs the action it names, such as betting, vowing, and swearing. By saying, “I swear, so help me God,” a person performs the act of taking an oath. §12.1b

plot or storyline: the skeletal events with its characters. §12.1

polar pairs: the naming of the beginning and the end to convey the whole, as in “head to toe.” §4.3d

praise hymn: see hymn

prayer psalm: another name for the lament or psalm of petition. §13.0

proverb: a memorable saying, which in the Bible typically comes as a couplet of parallel lines. §14.3a

psalm of petition: a plea for God to come and save the psalmist with a thanksgiving hymn added sometimes; also called prayer psalm or lament. §13.0

realism: a presentation of the world true to our experience with its round characters and complex motives. §12.2; 13.8

refrain: the regular repetition of one or more lines in a poem. §3.4d

repetition: a basic strategy used to create emphasis, time to react, and design. Repetition is a sign of what the text deems important and demands the audience’s attention. §3.0

resolution: whatever brings a tension to an end. Stories typically have a major resolution that brings the whole to an end, but along the way, smaller tensions demand their own resolution so that the story can move ahead. §12.1

rhyme: the repetition of the last syllables of lines of poetry. §3.2

round character: E.M. Forster’s term for a realistic character who possesses the complication and surprise of real human beings. §12.2

salvation oracle: a message by God announcing coming salvation. §15.4b

sameness: a complete overlap with no difference. §1.3b

sequence of events: the chronological unfolding of the events of the story which may or may not be the way in which the narrator tells the story. The narrator may add flashbacks and flashforwards to provide the information needed for the story. §12.1

similar pairs: two words that are similar and could stand for each other. §4.2

similarity: a sharing of much in common, but also with differences. §1.3b

simile: a type of metaphor that acknowledges the comparison with the word “like” or “as.” §8.1

story: another word for narrative. §12.1

storyline: the skeletal events with its characters. §12.1

stress: the accented syllable of a word. §3.1

synecdoche (si-NEK-doh-key): a subcategory of metonymy which names a part used for the whole. §7.1

tension: a problem that the characters must resolve for the story to move forward and come to closure. A story typically has a major tension whose resolution brings the whole to an end. Between them, small tensions arise and demand resolution for the story to move forward. Part III, §12.1

thanksgiving hymn: statements about what God has done for “me” or “us,” sometimes with a call for others to join or a vow by the psalmist to thank God. §11.3; §13.6; §13.7i

theme: a recurring idea in a text. §3.4a

time of the story: the time when the story takes place, in contrast to the time of its composition, the time of its reading, and also its narrative time. §12.4

understatement or litotes: a statement that presents something as less than it is. §9.3voice: the speaker in a poem which may be a disembodied, authoritative voice or a personal voice recounting “my” experiences. Hymns and wisdom texts often have an authoritative voice, while the laments often have very personal voices, whether individual or communal. §12.5, 14.2

wisdom instruction or monology: a didactic speech by a wisdom figure, constructed of linking proverbs. §14.3b

word pairs: words that connect through similarity, contrast, sequence, and metonymy. They form the building blocks of biblical poetry. §4.0

worldview: the story’s understanding of how its world works. This worldview is largely presented rather than explained. Therefore,  the audience must reconstruct this understanding from what the narrator presents. This understanding is also called “the implied author.” For a biblical story, the worldview could also be called its theology—that is, its understanding(s) of God, humanity, creation, and their relationship to each other. §12.5