Week 2 | Zechariah's Prophetic Hope
Tracing the Logic through Bracketing
What is Bracketing?
“The verses of the Bible are not strung pearls but links in a chain. The writers developed unified patterns of thought. They reasoned. ‘Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord’ (Isaiah 1:18). This meant that, in each paragraph of Scripture, one should ask how each part related to the other parts in order to say one coherent thing. Then the paragraphs should be related to each other in the same way. And then the chapters, then the books, and so on until the unity of the Bible is found on its own terms.” -From When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
Bracketing is a powerful tool that creates a graphical display of the logic of a passage. A text is divided into individual units, each containing a single subject-verb proposition. Those units are then connected with bracket lines and the logical relationship between them is identified and labeled.
Thus the three steps of Bracketing are:
1) Divide the text into propositions. A proposition is a verbal idea—a simple thought like "I ran to the store" or "She ate breakfast." Generally, each proposition contains one verb.
2) Connect adjacent units with bracket lines.
3) Discern and label the logical relationship that links those propositions.
Here is an example from last week's passage:
Step 1. Each unit has one subject (blue)+verb (red) proposition.
Steps 2 & 3. Connect and label the logical connections.
What do the labels mean?
Consider the example above:
Id-Exp identifies an Idea (Mary says something) and its Explanation (the content of her speech).
S identifies two propositions joined in a Series (her soul magnifies and her spirit rejoices).
G identifies a Ground, that is, one proposition supports another by stating the reason for it. In this case, v.48 supports two propositions: v.46b and v.47. The reason Mary's soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices is because God has graciously looked on her.
The Reference Module has several help tools to guide you through the various relationship labels. Note the key conjunctions with each relationship. Try inserting theses connector words between the propositions in order to test that relationship (as I did above by using the word because in place of the word for in verse 48).
Here is a brief demonstration, bracketing Proverbs 3:5–8
If you are new to bracketing, this may certainly feel overwhelming. Don't fret, there will be an assignment option just for you. If you would like to learn more, we invite you to consider enrolling in the Bracketing Course, where we will walk through the steps of Bracketing in close detail as you study through Philippians 1:1–30.
Bracketing Poetry
Many students familiar with Arcing and/or Bracketing have found these tools very helpful in the New Testament letters, but wonder if they have the same value in poetic literature. This is an important question. After all, one-third of the Old Testament is poetry as are significant sections of the New Testament—including this week's text!
Poetry communicates truth (teaches doctrine) just as much as the thickest parts of Paul’s letters. What is more, poetry communicates truth in a powerful way—by helping the reader/listener feel the weight of what is being said. The psalms do not simply tell you that you ought to praise God, they stir your heart and mind so that you join the psalmist’s chorus. The prophets do not merely state the facts of past offenses, they use language that makes you feel the weight of sin… and overflowing joy in God’s work of redemption.
So, as you work through Zechariah’s prophecy this week, let the rhythm and cadence of his ideas sink in. Feel the intensity of his joy—he had, after all, been waiting nine months to contemplate his words before they burst out in exuberant praise.
As with OT poetry, watch for a variety of types of parallel lines:
- Synonymous lines: another way to say the same thing or the second line explains the first (S, Id-Exp).
- Antithetical lines: various forms of contrast (A, -/+, Csv)
- Synthetic lines: the second advances or develops the thought from the first (P, Cf, Ac-Mn, G, Inference, Ac-Res).
- Climactic: two or more lines move toward a climax or summary (P ).
For those students experienced in reading or creating a bracket but who may not have used this tool in biblical poetry, I invite you to think through the bracket below. I shared my paraphrase of Psalm 8 with you last week. Now here is the full bracket.
