Acrostic Psalms

Psalms that follow an acrostic pattern begin each line with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Since the Hebrew alphabet contains 22 letters, psalms written with this structure demonstrate great skill on the part of the psalmist: acrostic psalms must both say something meaningful as well as conform to the sequence of the alphabet.

Some psalms carefully follow an acrostic pattern (Pss 37, 111, 112, 114). Psalm 111 is a complete acrostic psalm, in which each line of the psalm begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The pattern begins after the opening phrase, “Praise Yahweh.” Dividing the remainder of the psalm according to the Hebrew alphabet yields 22 lines. Psalm 119 is perhaps the most recognizable acrostic psalm. It consists of 22 stanzas of eight verses, each set of which begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Other psalms mostly follow an acrostic pattern but skip certain letters or add others. Psalms 25 and 34 leave out the Hebrew letter waw and add an extra verse at the end beginning with the letter peh. Psalms 9 and 10—when combined, as they probably were in antiquity—reveal a partial, but incomplete, acrostic pattern.

Acrostics are not limited to the psalms. Proverbs 31:10–31 follows an acrostic pattern, as does Nahum 1:2–10. The book of Lamentations includes several examples of acrostic poems.

It is not clear if acrostic patterns were used for any reason other than their aesthetic value. It is possible they were used to aid memorization. This may be true especially in shorter acrostics like Psalms 111 and 112. It is also possible that acrostics were meant to portray comprehensiveness (i.e., everything from A to Z, or aleph to taw in Hebrew). For example, the acrostic in Psalm 119 seems to represent a comprehensive statement about responding to Yahweh and His Law.

E. Tod Twist

Further Reading

Acrostic ISBE

Acrostic AYBD

Acrostic Psalms WBC Vol. 19

Literary Devices in the Psalms EBC Ps—So