Sweeter Than Honey, Richer Than Gold: A Guided Study of Biblical Poetry

Reading the Bible as Literature #2

by Leland Ryken

This is the second of a projected six-volume series called Reading the Bible as Literature (the first volume being How Bible Stories Work). An expert at exploring the intersection of the Bible and literature, Ryken shows pastors and students and teachers of the Bible how to appreciate the craftsmanship and beauty of biblical poetry and how to interpret it correctly. Dr. Ryken goes one step further than merely explaining the genre of poetry―he includes exercises to help students master this rich literary treasure.

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2015

About the author

Dr. Ryken has served on the faculty of Wheaton College since 1968. He has published over thirty books and more than one hundred articles and essays, devoting much of his scholarship to Bible translations and the study of the Bible as literature. He served as Literary Chairman for the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible and in 2003 received the distinguished Gutenberg Award for his contributions to education, writing, and the understanding of the Bible.

He is the father of Philip Graham Ryken

Reviews

[Michael Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent (and very concise) introduction to biblical poetry. Ryken wasn’t out to produce original scholarship; he wants to teach us how poetry works and how knowing that can help us read it better and get more out of our study of the Scripture. As with his other books in this series, he succeeds.

Ryken removes much of the mystery surrounding biblical poetry. It isn’t inherently obscure. Biblical poetry follows conventions most readers haven’t been taught to recognize and understand. He explains imagery, metaphor, symbolism, parallelism, poetic structure, and many of the devices biblical poets use, then shows how each can help us in interpretation. He shows how careful observation (close reading) helps us understand the message better.

Of course, that requires slowing down: meditation not hurried reading. He provides a practical method for close reading that I believe will improve my own study. I also believe it will help me better teach my students how to read poetry, especially the Psalms.

Don’t expect groundbreaking insights or interaction with other scholars or competing views. It’s an introductory guidebook, not an exhaustive scholarly treatment of biblical poetry. It’s more of a handbook. Which is, I think, exactly what he wanted the book to be.

If you have never been taught how biblical poetry works, and you want to read one-third of the Bible better, this is a great book to begin with.

[Hunter Guiton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long ago, a teacher of mine remarked to me that reading a Psalm was "not a true devotion." This is not the case, and Ryken makes a good argument for why through this book. You will gain a brief but thorough walkthrough of the main components of poetry alongside a discussion on Hebrew parallelisms and the main genres of the Psalms.In addition to this, you will finish each chapter with a "learning by doing" section. I found this especially helpful for the matters of memorization and comprehension. In the end, everything is pieced together to deliver a template for solid explication of Biblical poetry. Anyone who teaches, preaches, or reads from the poetic books of the Old Testament should read this book.

[Nathan Ellzey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryken's short guided study of Biblical poetry is absolutely fantastic! At only 128 pages, it's accessible to anyone. This book would also make a fantastic text for a church Sunday school or small group study of Biblical poetry.

The "Learning by Doing" sections really are a must. The first thing I found they did was to make me slow down and ponder when reading a Biblical poem. I'm also not one for rereading, but not any more. Ryken has carefully chosen poems that are good examples of what he's discussing in each section. Careful consideration of this, as well as actually doing the "Learning by Doing" sections, will take you much farther... MUCH farther.

[Peter C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Book

Rather than tell the reader how to interpret individual poems in the Bible, Mr. Ryken gives the him the tools needed to interpret them correctly for himself. He doesn't give the reader fish, but teaches him how to fish. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in the Bible and in poetry in general.

[Maddie Huffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

God wrote 1/3 of the Bible as poetry. Why? This book has helped me understand the beauty of poetry and why God as the Divine Author would choose this unique, beautiful form of expression to speak to us.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good study guide for Bible poetry. Ryken gives tools to help interpret poems and poetry in the Bible.

[Caleb Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful little book on how to read and understand the Psalms.

[Evan King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good guide to Biblical poetry, but the organization of the book was kind of odd.

[David West · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent treatment of how to interpret Biblical poetry. A resource I will return to often.

[Murph Hutson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent guide to biblical poetry. Surprisingly, it includes several grammatical errors missed in editing. Thus, I couldn't give it 5 stars. Content is excellent, though.