The Paradox of the Two Ways: A Study of the Poetic Techniques and Message of Psalm 1
The nature and place of Psalm 1 in the Psalter is one that demands a critical study in order to understand the message of this Psalm. Often times, it is combined with Psalm 2. Also, the choice of words and vocabulary used in the composition point to the fact that the Psalm must have been a product of the late stage of composition in the history of the Old Testament theology. This Psalm has a special character for it is both didactic and poetic in nature, and some scholars have also concluded that it is more of a prose than a poem. The focus of this paper therefore, is to critically analyze the poetic techniques the author or editor of this Psalm used in the composition in order to pass his message, and this is done by establishing the issues relating to the psalm, the structure of the psalm and the poetic devices used in the composition.
Keywords: message, paradox, poetic, psalm, study, techniques, ways