Figures of speech

Figures of speech are found in prose as well as poetry, but are generally more frequent and intense in Hebrew poetry. 1. Similes A simile is a direct comparison between two things. Example – Amos 5:24 Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream. 2. Metaphors A metaphor is a stronger comparison, using […]

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Hebrew Poetry

Some fundamental aspects of how Hebrew poetry works in the Old Testament

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Genres within the prophets

A ‘genre’ is a type or style of writing – a group of texts which share similar characteristics. Contemporary examples would include novels, scientific text books, fairy tales, insurance documents, poems, tweets, and so on. There are several main genres with the Bible, including historical narrative, poetry, letters, law/instruction, and prophecy. For helpful guidance on […]

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Key questions about texts in the prophets

If we want to understand and interpret a passage from the biblical prophetic literature, there are a few key questions we need to ask. Most of these are not specific to the  prophets of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, but are basic matters of handling any Bible passage responsibly. Most people find they need to work harder […]

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Despite present appearances, God is in control

I spent last week on the edge of Berlin teaching on the Bible and Culture course, as I’ve done for the last eight years. It’s a four-week programme for IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) staff and graduates from Europe and Eurasia. This year, we had 35 participants from the UK across to Kazakhstan. I […]

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Introducing the Old Testament prophets

At Above Bar Church, Southampton, we've just started our five-week-long 2012 Bible School on Sunday evenings. I'm leading the track on the Old Testament prophets. In the first session, I introduced some important aspects of a framework for thinking about the prophetic literature, and we began to look at the first two chapters of Amos. Over […]

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The Day of Judgement (Malachi 1:1 – 4:6)

I first wrote this post for the E100 Bible Reading Challenge. It was first published on the E100 blog in 2011. ‘See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty. - […]

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Jeremiah’s Call and Message (Jeremiah 1:1 – 3:5)

I first wrote this post for the E100 Bible Reading Challenge. It was first published on the E100 blog in 2011. My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. - Jeremiah 2:13 God called Jeremiah to be […]

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The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 51:1 – 53:12)

I first wrote this post for the E100 Bible Reading Challenge. It was first published on the E100 blog in 2011. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:6 By the eighth century BC, Judah […]

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© Tony Watkins, 2020
The Tony and Jane Watkins Trust oversees and supports the ministries of Tony and Jane Watkins in Christian training, education, and communication. It is a charity registered in England and Wales, no. 1062254.
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