ACROSTICS IN THE BIBLE

The bulk of poetry in the Bible is surprisingly easy to translate into any language since it doesn't depend on rhyme patterns, puns, or any other type of similarity between word sounds. But one exception to this rule is the occasional presence of acrostics in poetic passages.

Just in case you are not that familiar with acrostics, here are some of the lyrics to a sentimental song, that in the words of the Beatles “was a hit before your mother was born though she was born a long, long time ago.” The title is M-O-T-H-E-R, and begins “M is for the million things she gave me, O means only that she's growing old, etc.” It ends with “Put them all together, they spell MOTHER, etc.” Coincidentally, one of the acrostic portions of the Bible is Proverbs 31:10-31, and it is also a song in praise of womankind.

In my structural analysis of Proverbs, I proposed that the book took the broad ABA form shown below:

    A. Concerning Wisdom and Wise Men (chapters 1-9)

                B. The Proverbs (chapters 10-29)

    A. Concerning Wisdom and Wise Women (chapters 30-31)

It is next logical to ask about the relationship between the two “A” sections. Beside the obvious thematic similarities one could point out, Proverbs 1:8-19 utilizes the number 22 as its structural basis so that this “non-alphabetic acrostic” form finds its completion in the alphabetic acrostic that ends the book.

The above comments immediately call out for some explanation. In the first place, it should be noted that all of the acrostics found in the Bible are based on the Hebrew alphabet with its 22 letters. Thus, none of them actually spells out a hidden word by using the first letter in each line (as in MOTHER). Instead, the first letters in the first lines usually give the 22 letters of the alphabet in order. The possible import of this phenomenon will be discussed a little later. Note that I said “usually” since, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are some instances where a poetic passage has exactly 22 parts to it, even though the first letters in each line do not give the Hebrew alphabet. These are called “non-alphabetic acrostics” even though they also are roughly based on the alphabet.

Another “almost acrostic” is found in the Book of Nahum, which deals mainly with foreboding prophecies. Within this book, confirmation that 1:2-8, is a discrete entity is provided by its classification years ago as a partial alphabetic acrostic which has somehow been disrupted in the course of transmission. Even its identification as a disrupted acrostic is, unfortunately, not as clear cut as one would like and certainly breaks down if one attempts to extend the poem past v. 9. However, Robertson defends the integrity and unity of the present text of these verses on grounds of poetic parallelism alone.

The longest psalm, Psalm 119, is to some readers the most boring because of the constant repetition and difficulty in following any logical progression of thought. In fact, it is a very carefully constructed work in praise of God's law. The overall pattern to this psalm is one of an acrostic based on the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet. Thus, it actually consists of 22 separate eight-verse psalms in which each successive set of eight begins with the consecutive letters of the alphabet. Acrostic psalms such as these (and Psalms 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, and 145) are the most formal and purely literary in structure. Thus, they represent the other end of the spectrum from the more emotional psalms organized strictly around content. Also, within each of the eight-verse psalms in Psalm 119, there are eight synonyms, in Hebrew, for the Torah or law. Freedman notes that four of these words are masculine and four are feminine; four are predominantly singular and four are mainly plural.

The next most extensive example of acrostic in the Bible is the Book of Lamentations. Reflection on the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC is the sole theme of this book. There is also little doubt as to the overall method of organization in this book, “one of the most obtrusively formal books in the Bible.” (Landy) The present chapter and verse divisions in this one book of the Scriptures have the distinction of certainly matching up with those intended by the author. We can be sure of this since the form of the book is a series of five poems, four of which are acrostics built around the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, much as in Psalm 119.

This rigid, some would say artificial, structure is, however, balanced throughout with “great internal freedom and variety” of expression possessing the power to move the reader emotionally. (Freedman) Thus, for example, three of the poems (chs. 1, 2, and 4) begin with the question “how?” and have been categorized as national funeral dirge; Lamentations 1, 3 and 4 close with a curse on Judah's enemies; and there are differences between each of the five poems in specific emphasis, tone and organization. Despite this variety, there is one common theological thread running throughout the book: the idea that suffering is the result of sin and caused by God's wrath.

So why are some passages written in this strange form? Their purpose/significance has been variously described as having magical power (highly problematic in a biblical context), pedagogic value in teaching the alphabet (doubtful in the case of Lamentations), an aid in memorizing poetry (perhaps true, but trite), or “as a piece of artistry...an act of devotion by the poet (Hubbard).” Beyond these general possibilities lies perhaps some deeper significance in which form follows function. Two such promising chains of thought have been pursued by others in relation to the acrostic form of Lamentations.

Several authors have proposed that the reason for utilizing such a restrictive format as acrostics for composing this particular book was to purposely place boundaries on it.

“...it places artistic constraints on the lament, thus keeping it from deteriorating to an uncontrolled wail, howl, or whine.” (Hubbard)

“...this rigid structure is being used as a control in what is clearly a highly emotive and potentially erratic situation.” (Osborne)

“...the impression is rather of a boundless grief, an overflowing emotion, whose expression benefits from the limits imposed by a confining acrostic form.” (Hillers)

The second common explanation for employing alphabetic acrostics in this book is that they symbolize completeness: everything from A to Z. Thus, “The acrostic form would give the worshiping community a symbolic means of expressing full confession of sin and despair, plus a full expectation of the Lord's forgiveness and restoration.” (Kent) This may be the main reason for utilizing this form for Proverbs 31:10-31.

These last two explanations bring us closer to a real understanding of the significance of the acrostic form in Lamentations. But the author may have had a deeper purpose in mind. When an acrostic form is used for the composition of Psalm 119, the “orderliness reinforces the meaning of the poem, which is the law of God. The poem thus illustrates on an artistic level the beauty of order that it declares to exist on the moral level.” (Ryken) On the other hand, Nahum 1 begins with an acrostic that stops in the middle of the alphabet. “This disrupted acrostic occurs in a poem that extols God as the divine warrior who disrupts the normal created order. Thus, once again, form supports meaning.” (Longman) This type of reasoning can also be applied to Lamentations to arrive at two previously ignored explanations for its use of acrostics and for the anomalies in these structures that occur in the book.

First to note is that there is more than one acrostic structure employed in Lamentations, and it is in the subtle differences between these as one proceeds from chapter to chapter that the true significance of the form may emerge. Thus, one of the changes that occurs in progressing through the book is the diminution in the size of the stanzas. Lam. 1, 2 and 3 possess three lines to each stanza, Lam. 4 has two lines, and there is only one line to each stanza in the final chapter. In a way, the book seems to be running out of steam. This stylistic trick reinforces on a larger scale one of the purposes of an individual acrostic: “The idea was that once the entire range of the alphabet had been exhausted to vent the deep grief of Jerusalem and Judah, about all that could be said had been said.” (Bullock) A similar phenomenon occurs as one considers the tone of the individual chapters. An emotional first chapter is followed by two that are more logical in progression but still betray first-hand involvement in the events portrayed. The last two poems are more “matter-of-fact” in tone, and Lam. 5 does not even use the typical type of rhythm used in laments.

Two other features of this book have found no satisfactory explanation: the reversal of the sixteenth ('ayin) and seventeenth (pe) letters of the Hebrew alphabet in chs. 2-4 and the fact that Lamentations 5 does not follow an alphabetic scheme at all even though it contains 22 verses. The same variation in letter order also occurs in proposed earlier forms of Psalm 9-10 and 34 and in the Greek version of Proverbs. 31:10-31. Abecedaries (written alphabets) from the 9th-12th century BC have been found in Israel with this very same variation.

It seems clearly possible that this variation in letter order was still prevalent in Israel during the monarchy although probably not as late as the Exilic Period. Its presence in Lamentations 2-4 may have been introduced as a deliberate anachronism, contra Boda who treats the phenomenon as evidence of multiple authorship over a period of time. The progression intended in the five poems may then be as follows: Lamentations 1 uses the order of the Hebrew alphabet current at the time of writing; this is followed by three chapters using an earlier version of the alphabet reflecting a time when the order was still in flux; and finally, in the last chapter only the number of verses remains the same but all semblance of alphabetic order has disappeared. In this manner, time is effectively reversed as the Book of Lamentations proceeds, and the reader is taken back through the history of the nation of Israel to a time before the conquest of the land.

The reading developed above wholly disagrees with Landy's contention that the acrostic structure is present to “counteract the loss of political and religious structure described in the poem” and is “an ironic wish-fulfilling gesture, an ineffectual assertion of control over language, and hence over thought, in the face of devastating reality.” In fact, the overall literary structure of Lamentations supports and emphasizes the reality of the devastation rather than running counter to it.

But Belcher may be closer to the mark when he states, “The use of acrostic poems in Lamentations points to a belief in the order and stability of life even in the chaos of suffering.” Thus, even while facing the reality of Israel's loss, the book has hope as the emphasis of both its central section and its penultimate verse “Restore us to thyself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old!”

In contrast to the translated name of the book (“comforter” or “comforted”), the Book of Nahum deals mainly with foreboding prophecies, as indicated by the introductory description “an oracle” in 1:1. Within this book, confirmation that 1:2-8, is a discrete entity is provided by its classification years ago as a partial alphabetic acrostic which has somehow been disrupted in the course of time. Even its identification as a disrupted acrostic is, unfortunately, not as clear cut as one would like and certainly breaks down if one attempts to extend the poem past v. 9. However, Robertson defends the integrity and unity of the present text of these verses on grounds of poetic parallelism alone. Various reasons have been postulated for the incomplete nature of this acrostic. The most plausible explanation seems to be that offered by Longman III: “This disrupted acrostic occurs in a poem that extols God as the divine Warrior, who disrupts the normal created order.” Such a harmony between form and function has been encountered elsewhere, especially as described for Lamentations above.