Editing Psalms (section)

===Poetic characteristics===
The [[biblical poetry]] of Psalms uses [[Parallelism (rhetoric)|parallelism]] as its primary poetic device. Parallelism is a kind of [[symmetry]] in which restatement, synonym, amplification, grammatical repetition, or opposition develops an idea.<ref>Coogan, M. A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in its Context. (Oxford University Press: Oxford 2009). p. 369;</ref><ref>Kugel, James L. The Idea of Biblical Poetry. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press 1981)</ref> Synonymous parallelism involves two lines expressing essentially the same idea. An example of synonymous parallelism:
* "The {{LORD}} is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The {{LORD}} is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).
Two lines expressing opposites is known as [[antithetic parallelism]]. An example of antithetic parallelism:
* "And he led them in a cloud by day/ and all the night by a fiery light" (Psalm 78:14).
Two clauses expressing the idea of amplifying the first claim is known as expansive parallelism. An example of expansive parallelism:
* "My mouth is filled with your praise/ all the day with your lauding" (Psalm 71:8).