Week 14 - Poetic and Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament

Class Notes

There are three types of poetic literature in the New Testament :

Direct quotes from the Old Testament.
Examples are Acts 2:17-23 and Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:25-28 and Psalm 16:8-11
Poetry which has close parallels to passages of the Old Testament.
An example is the "Song of Mary", Luke 1:46-55, and the "Song of Hannah", I Samuel 2:1-10
Psalms and songs and Wisdom which, though sharing the same traditions as the older poetic literature, are new compositions.
Examples are the Beatitudes and the Songs in the Book of Revelation, eg. Matthew 5:3-12, Revelation 5:9-10, 12-13

Scripture Readings :

These are only a sampling of relevant passages. There are many more which could be included.

Matthew 4:15-16
Matthew 5:3-12
Matthew 12:18-21
Matthew 13:14-15
Matthew 21:5, 9, 13, 16, 42
Matthew 22:44
Matthew 24:29
Mark 1:2
Luke 1:46-55
Luke 1:68-79
Luke 2:29-32
Luke 3:4-6
Luke 4:18-19
Acts 2:17-21, 25-28, 31, 34-35
Acts 4:25-26
Acts 8:32-33
Acts 28:26-27
Romans 3:10-18
Romans 9:25-26
Romans 11:33-36
1 Corinthians 15:54-55
2 Corinthians 6:16-18
Ephesians 5:14
This is probably part of an early Christian hymn sung at baptisms.
It is based on Isaiah 60:1
Philippians 2:6-11
1 Timothy 3:16
This is probably part of an early Christian hymn or a Declaration of Faith
2 Timothy 2:11-13
This is probably part of an early Christian hymn
Hebrews, chapters 1-3
Hebrews 5:5-6
Hebrews 8:8-12
James 4:6-10
The initial quote is based on Proverbs 3:34.
The rest of the passage is drawn from a variety of sources in the Old Testament
1 Peter 1:24-25
1 Peter 2:4-10
1 Peter 3:10-12
1 John 2:12-14
Revelation 1:2-8
Revelation, chapters 4 & 5
This passage is not all written in poetic form, but it includes several songs
Revelation 7:10, 12, 14-17
Revelation 11:15-18
Revelation 12:10-12
Revelation 15:3-4
Revelation, chapter 18
Revelation 19:1-8
Revelation 21:3-4
Revelation 22:16-17

This Week's Assignment : Five Mini-Essays

Each mini-Essay should be 1-3 pages in length and should contain relevant quotations from the Old Testament

Discuss some of the ways Jesus used the poetic literature of the Old Testament (from the Psalms and the Prophets). Write out at least five examples to illustrate your answer
Discuss some of the ways Peter used the poetic literature of the Old Testament (from the Book of Acts, and from the Epistles). Write out at least five examples to illustrate your answer
Discuss some of the ways Paul used the poetic literature of the Old Testament (from the Book of Acts, and from the Epistles). Write out at least five examples to illustrate your answer
Compare and contrast the "Song of Mary" and the "Song of Hannah"
Choose a section of poetry from the Book of Revelation. Discuss its poetic structure, its relation to Old Testament passages, and its message

Remember to cite your sources
Use MSWord or a text editor such as Notepad to prepare and save your work, then send it as an Attachment to, or pasted into, an email message to Dr. Rollinson at rollinsondr@yahoo.com,rollinsondr@hellokitty.com,rollinsondr@mail2world.com.
Please use all 3 email addresses in case any of the mailboxes go down.

Station 19, ENMU
Portales, NM 88130

Last Updated : August 2, 2011