Hebrew Parallelism

To be absolutely sure that the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence is another name for the Holy Spirit, your best tool is Hebrew parallelism—by far the most common poetic device in the Bible. When we say “poetic device” we mean something like rhyme or meter.

Rhyme is the most common poetic device in modern English. You know very well what rhyme is because you hear it in music all the time, like in the song All Creatures of our God and King:

Meter was one of Shakespeare's most famous poetic devices. It's not as popular now among poets as it used to be. Meter is the rhythm of words, like the heartbeat of a poem. But parallelism is what we will study today.

A good knowledge of parallelism is necessary for interpretation of the Bible. Why? Because, as we said, it's the most common poetic device in the Hebrew language--and the Bible was written in Hebrew!

Translators can effectively transfer Hebrew parallelism to English and you'll see it in your English Bible, but they can’t transfer English rhyme to Hebrew. It doesn't go both ways. It goes from Hebrew to every language in the World, making Hebrew poetry something that can be shared with Gentiles everywhere--according to the evangelistic plan of the Only Wise God (Romans 16:27).

Reading in English, you should easily be able to notice how Hebrew parallelism is used in the psalms below. Whenever the writer puts two similar ideas side-by-side, that's parallelism. When ideas run "parallel" to each other, that's parallelism.

The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,

the World, and all who live in it;

for he founded it on the seas

and established it on the waters.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?

The one who has clean hands

and a pure heart,

who does not trust in an idol

or swear by a false god (Psalm 24:1-4).

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words;

no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the Earth,

their words to the ends of the World (Psalm 19:1-4).

Organized Ideas

This is exciting and beautiful, but parallelism is more than aesthetics—it’s more than something to get you excited. Parallelism organizes ideas in a predictable order so that when you see it used in the Bible, you can interpret the verses much easier.

If you can identify this poetic device (and it’s everywhere, even in the New Testament sayings of Christ), parallelism becomes one of your most reliable tools for interpretation. Context is another big tool for interpretation. Knowing the meaning of Greek or Hebrew words helps. Knowing the historical context is yet another tool. But with parallelism, wherever you identify it, you’ll be able to interpret the Bible better.

Consider how Jesus used parallelism. Can you interpret the Beatitudes better by deciphering how he used parallelism? Sure you can! In the Beatitudes Jesus contrasted two lifestyles, and explained the consequences of each lifestyle by showing two contrasting results. The contrast is called "antithetical parallelism" because it uses two opposing concepts.

Blessed are you who are poor, 

for yours is the Kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you...

But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

Woe to you who are well fed now,

for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,

for you will mourn and weep.

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you... (Luke 6:20-26)

Parallelism Revealed

Here we diagram Isaiah 63:8-10.

A) In all their distress he [Yahweh] too was distressed,

B) and the Angel of his Presence saved them.

C) In his love and mercy, he [Yahweh] redeemed them;

C1) he [Yahweh] lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

B1) Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit.

A1) So he [Yahweh] turned and became their enemy and He Himself fought against them.

“Diagraming” is a grammatical term and what it means is breaking down a passage into its respective components—the so-called “parts of speech” (subject, verb, object, adjective, adverb, article, etc.) Once we diagram a passage (like we've done above), you’ll be much more able to see what Hebrew parallelism looks like. The underlying parallelism of Hebrew poetry is laid bare through diagramming. It's exposed!

But keep in mind that as we look at the way the Hebrews composed poetry, you must be ready for variety. It’s not as simple as two ideas side-by-side. Remember what we just learned: The parallelism in Isaiah is different from the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are what grammarians call “antithetical” parallelism because they contrast opposing ideas. But the most common kind of parallelism in the Bible is one where similar ideas are put side-by-side. We call that “synonymous” parallelism.

Synonymous parallelism is not as complicated as it sounds. It’s when a Bible writer uses similar ideas (synonymous comes from the word synonym, which means the same thing as another) and places them right next to each other. In other words, it puts them in parallel positions.

This kind of parallelism is super-common in Proverbs. Here are two examples:

Wisdom shouts in the street,

she lifts her voice in the square (Proverbs 1:20).

An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue (Proverbs17:4).

But then there’s another kind of parallelism and it’s more advanced. Grammarians and students of Hebrew poetry call this other parallelism “synonymous chiasmus parallelism.” Whoa! Don’t get scared away by the terminology. Let’s ignore the long and technical name, and break it down so that you understand what it means.

The word chiasmus is the Greek word for "marking something with an X." We would say “crossing something out” in English. If a Bible passage has chiasmus, that means that you can diagram the verses in the form of an X. The Isaiah passage we’re looking at does that. Check out the X in this diagram:

Isaiah: Poet of Parallelism

The prophet Isaiah was also a poet. He used the poetic device of parallelism. Isaiah presented his ideas in Isaiah 63:8-10 in the poetic order ABC, and then he repeated the same ideas in a different order, the "crossing over" order of CBA. In other words, Isaiah switched the positions of A and C, while he kept B in the middle. He made an X!

Look again at the example of how Isaiah 63 should be diagrammed. We've outlined it for you below. Look and you’ll see that lines B and B1 speak of the same spirit-being. They are about the one who worked closely with God—the one who is called the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence in the first line, we call it "B." But by the time you read B, the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence is still a mystery.

We are not sure who the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence is until the corresponding line B1 resolves the mystery. How does it solve the mystery? By stating clearly the parallel to the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence. The parallel is his Holy Spirit. So we deduce that the author, when he speaks of the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence is talking about the Holy Spirit.

Here’s the passage:

A) In all their distress he [Yahweh] too was distressed,

B) and the Angel of his Presence saved them.

C) In his love and mercy, he [Yahweh] redeemed them;

C1) he [Yahweh] lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

B1) Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit.

A1) So he [Yahweh] turned and became their enemy and He Himself fought against them.

Observe how A-A1 and C-C1 speak of Yahweh, the One God. The lines A, C, A1, and C1 use the pronoun he for Yahweh. These four references to God demonstrate the preeminence of God in Isaiah's Scripture.

Isaiah gave the Father the first place, as he should, and Isaiah unsurprisingly culminates his beautiful passage with an emphatic He Himself in A1, reinforcing God’s glorious position as Number One in the Universe. Isaiah wanted us to know that the Father is Tops! We hope you agree.

Meanwhile, as we honor the Father in his role as the One God, something special is revealed about the Spirit in this particular passage (Isaiah 63:8-10). We drew the X illustration to help you see that the Holy Spirit is in the middle position (B and B1). When you match up the two Bs, you get a wonderful insight into the Spirit’s identity—that is that he is the Angel of God’s Presence.

Lessons Learned

So, what do we learn about the Holy Spirit from this revelation? Something big. Something beautiful. As we learned about Jesus, who appeared as the Angel of Yahweh, the special Messenger of God, on numerous occasions in the Old Testament, so also is the Holy Spirit a special Messenger of God. Indeed, the Holy Spirit has been God’s Messenger since ancient times. He revealed the Scriptures to the prophets—men like Isaiah, for example. That’s why the New Testament tells us:

… no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:21; NASB).

And, again it says:

All Scripture is God-breathed… (2 Timothy 3:16)

God's Breath, the same Breath of Life he used to make Adam into a living being, and the same Breath of Life he uses to make you alive through the New Birth, is the Holy Spirit.

Now, the Holy Spirit is not just a Messenger of God, our Father. The Holy Spirit is also Jesus’ Messenger. Since God resurrected Jesus, he gave Jesus authority over the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Holy Spirit is now subordinate to Jesus and one of his biggest tasks is to reveal to us everything Jesus taught.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things… (John 14:26)

What a privilege it is to have the Holy Spirit with us! It's like having a resident teacher always at our side. It's like having a skillful tutor.

A Wonderful Revelation

Like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is divine—that is, he has the divine nature. Like Jesus, he was at Creation and the Spirit has revealed the Gospel to us. The things the Spirit reveals to us, angels long to look. Angels wish they could research and study the things your tutor, the Holy Spirit, is teaching you.

But those things are too magnificent for angels. They have been reserved for us, the ones who will rule with Christ. They are the things transmitted to us from the Holy Spirit.

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he [the Holy Spirit] predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven—things into which angels long to look (1 Peter 1:10-12; NASB).

If you know this much about the Holy Spirit—that he has the divine nature—then you know enough for a basic understanding of him. But you must go beyond the basics. You need to know also that the Spirit will grant the divine nature to us. He will give the same divine nature Jesus has to you and me!

Did you know this? Are you actively pursuing its fulfillment?

Christ in You

If the Spirit is living in you now—that is, if you’ve been born of the Spirit—then that same Holy Spirit will resurrect you in the future. Together Jesus and the Holy Spirit have come to give us the new birth. Will you take what they are offering?

Let's rewind, review, and conclude now. Start with this: The deepest mystery is not simply that Jesus was the Angel of the LORD. It’s a great thing if you know that Jesus was the Angel of the LORD because it's true. It’s fascinating and it helps you to understand the Bible from beginning to end. With that bit of knowledge, you can interpret the Bible much better than the Old Testament believers who struggled and longed to gain insight into the mystery of the Christ.

But a deeper mystery than “who is the Christ” is the mystery of Christ in you! In other words, the fact that we can have the Holy Spirit living within us is Jesus’ resurrection power applied to our lives. This is not only a wonderful revelation, it's a life-transforming experience! And it's ours in Christ.

I have become its [the Church’s] servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the Word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the Hope of glory (Colossians 1:25-27).

The indwelling of the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence in you and me is our privilege in Christ. If you have been baptized into Christ, then ask also for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Ask for the Angel of Yahweh’s Presence to live within you. God will be happy to grant your request.

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 13:11)