 |  |
"What seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree (shaked). Then said the
Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen; for I will watch over it (shoked)" (See R.V. and A.V.
margin).
Synonymia, or "Synonymous words": the repetition of words similar in sense, but
different in sound. The synonym and its selection is a subject in itself. The right choice
of synonyms is a matter which requires care, and much truth may be distorted or veiled
by carelessness. We hope to devote a special series to this subject later. Meanwhile we
give on example of the figure from the epistle to the Philippians:--
"Those things, which ye have both
LEARNED, and
RECEIVED, and
HEARD, and
SEEN
in me, do" (Phil. 4: 9).
Amoebaion, or "Refrain", is the repetition of the same phrase at the end of successive
paragraphs. It was the observation of this feature in Eph. 1: 3-14 that led us to discover
the structure of the passage, which is as follows:--
Eph. 1: 3-14.
A1 | 3-6-. The WILL of the FATHER.
B1 | -6. The Refrain: "Praise of the glory of His grace."
A2 | 7-12-. The WORK of the SON.
B2 | -12. The Refrain: "Praise of the glory."
A3 | 13,14-. The WITNESS of the SPIRIT.
B3 | -14. The Refrain: "Praise of the glory."
Parallelism is a figure that employs the repetition of subjects instead of individual
words. It is a form of the figure Synonymia, and has seven different varieties:--
1: SIMPLE:
(1) Gradational. (2) Opposite. (3) Constructive.
2: COMPLEX:
(1) Alternate. (2) Repeated Alternation.
(3) Extended Alternation. (4) Introverted.
The figure has been noted from the earliest times, but the names of Bishop Lowth and
Bishop Jebb will always be gratefully remembered as pioneers in its modern presentation.
We give one example of each of the seven kinds of Parallelism.
1: SIMPLE.
(1)
Synonymous or Gradational.
"My soul doth magnify the Lord; And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour"
(Luke 1: 46, 47).
Here the lines are parallel in thought, and the words used are synonymous: "soul" and
"spirit", "magnify" and "rejoice", "Lord" and "God my Saviour".