- Behold, how good and pleasant it is
- when brothers dwell in unity!
- It is like the precious oil on the head,
- running down on the beard,
- on the beard of Aaron,
- running down on the collar of his robes!
- It is like the dew of Hermon,
- which falls on the mountains of Zion!
- For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
- life forevermore.
A poem or essay that praises a character type or abstract quality. Common motifs are an introduction to the subject of praise, the distinguished and ancient ancestry of that subject, a catalog or description of praiseworthy acts and qualities, the superior or indispensable nature of the subject, the rewards that accompany the things being praised, and a conclusion urging the reader to emulate the subject.
Biblical encomia can be written in prose, but they are usually lyric in effect and so stylized they can easily be printed in the form of Hebrew parallelism.
(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. The Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken, Page 141-142)
Examples
Abstract quality:
- Proverbs 3:13-20 (Wisdom)
- Proverbs 8:1-36 (Wisdom)
- Psalm 119 ( The Law)
- 1 Corinthians 13 (Love)
- Hebrews 11 (Faith)
Character type:
- Psalm 1 (Man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked)
- Psalm 15 (He who walks blamelessly)
- Psalm 112 (Man who fears the Lord)
- Psalm 128 (Everyone who fears the Lord)
- Psalm 133 (Brothers in unity)
- Proverbs 31:10-31 (Woman who fears the Lord)
- Isaiah 53 (The Lord's servant who bore the sin of many)
(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. The Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken, Page 141-142)