（按上圖或按此免費下載）

撮要

本文回顧聖經平行體自盧夫主教(Robert Lowth)以來的研究，並透過以賽亞 書六十章說明該文學現象。二百多年來，盧夫對平行體的三重分類，即所謂「同義平行」「反義平行」「綜合平行」，一直是舊約希伯來詩歌解釋的鑰匙，用以分辨詩章與散文，並透過此分類找出詩詞的意義。盧夫認為一行詩中兩句平行的要旨在於等同。庫格爾(James Kugel)全盤否定此分類法，指出在聖經中並不存在此等同義、反義及綜合的平行，並視平行體的精義在於兩句的不同及彼此間的互動。柏琳(Adele Berlin)及奧爾特(Robert Alter)分別修訂上述兩位學者的觀點。柏琳使用語言學的新發現，重新肯定盧夫對平行體的看法，以實例證明聖經作者如何藉著不同的偶字建構每一行詩句以至整首詩。奧爾特循庫格爾的路線，進一步推敲二句的不同，以及一行詩的第二句如何以各種方式發展第一句的意思。作者認為上述學者雖分別點出了平行體的旨趣，卻流於片面而失諸交臂，未能充分把握平行體辯證的性格。作為複雜的文學現象，聖經平行體實在包含同與不同。二句有時候看似是重複，實際上卻是不一樣，有時候又好像不同而卻表達相類的意思。藉此平行的體裁，聖經作者把玩不同的神學觀念，並透過其豐富的文學素養，使希伯來詩歌一直在世界文學的殿堂上佔一重要席位。

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews biblical parallelism and illustrates the phenomenon intensively with Isaiah 60. The theory of Robert Lowth has dominated scholarship for more than two centuries. Yet every theory will become dated eventually. Lowth’s legacy, including the identification of parallelism, and thereof the tripartite classification, has been undermined by James Kugel. To Kugel the essence of parallelism rests on the difference between the two parts and their interaction. These two emphases of parallelism, one on equivalence, another on difference, have been refined respectively by Adele Berlin and Robert Alter. Berlin comprehensively explains the various uses of word pairings by means of linguistics. Parallelism certainly conveys the equivalence of a line. Alter, however, emphasizes the aspect of difference. He considers the development from the first part of a line to the second one in terms of different categories, such as focusing, heightening, intensification, specification, and consequentiality. These delineations of the relationship between the two parts help us to clarify how they are connected together. According to Alter, parallelism is not limited to a prosodic line, but active in the entire poem. Our application of these principles of equivalence and difference in the case of Isaiah 60 helps us to see what the dynamics of biblical parallelism is about.

原載於《建道學刊》16期（2001年7月），頁21-55。