Use of Merism in the Bible

Sep 3, 2019 | Exegesis

I remember the first time that I came across the word merism during a lighthearted study on the various literary devices used throughout the Bible. Oh, and for those who don’t know, there are quite a bit of literary devices used in the Bible, such as:

  • Simile
  • Metaphor
  • Metonomy
  • Synecdoche
  • Symbolism
  • Idiom
  • Personification
  • Anthropomorphism
  • Apostrophe
  • Allusion
  • Type
  • Word Play
  • Hyperbole
  • Paradox
  • Alliteration
  • Assonance
  • Numerology
  • Onomastics

You would be amazed at how much there is to learn about the Bible just by studying these various literary devices that occur in the Bible. Prophecies, parables, and discources will broaden in meaning and your understanding will deeply expand by learning to recognize each of these devices used while reading the Bible. That is why I have made it poignantly clear to everyone that I engage with in discipleship, “we must become readers!” Reading is very important to the Christian life and, in case you forgot, God gave us a Bible–to read–that serves as the fountainhead of everything eternal!

What is a Merism?

Among the vast array of literary devices used in scripture, merisms are pairs of contrasting words used to express totality or completeness. One of the most well-known example of merisms found in the Bible is found in Ecclesiastes 3:1-10, which states:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 (KJV)
1  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4  A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5  A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7  A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8  A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9  What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
10  I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.  

In these verses we are confronted with 14 pairs of contrasting words:

  1. Born|Die
  2. Plant|Pluck
  3. Kill|Heal
  4. Break|Build
  5. Weep|Laugh
  6. Mourn|Dance
  7. Cast|Gather
  8. Embrace|Distance
  9. Get|Lose
  10. Keep|Cast
  11. Rend|Sew
  12. Silence|Speak
  13. Love|Hate
  14. War|Peace

These merisms are being utilized to encompass the experience of virtually every human life. It does not mean everyone will have to live through all 14, but it gives us the totality of the human experience summed up in the lives of every human-being in just several verses. Think about it! By utilizing merisms, Solomon was able to express a concept that could touch the life of any human being. The sum-total of the human experience is captured in these verses and, with God’s guidance, we can bring individuals into these scriptures and help them find an answer to the rhetorical question posed by Solomon following these merisms:

Ecclesiastes 3:9 (CEV)
9  What do we gain by all of our hard work?

Other Merisms

  • Romans 11:21:22: Goodness|Sererity. 
  • Revelation 1:8: Alpha|Omega
  • Genesis 1:1: Aleph|Tav*(see note)
  • Genesis 1:1: Heavens and Earth
  • Psalm 139: Downsitting|Uprising

While not an exhaustive list, I hope this gives you a better idea of merisms in the Bible. Can you find merisms? Maybe you can highlight them a certain color in your Bible? I do! I challenge you to learn more about merisms by studying them and searching for them yourself. Let me know what you find!

*In the Old Testament a tiny two-letter word אֵ֥ת is used, spelled with the two Hebrew letters Aleph and Tav which are the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This typically is never translated into English because of its lack of clarity in meaning. BUT, IT HAS A GREAT, GREAT MEANING! In Genesis 1:1 it appears for the first time.

 בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑יםאֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ

Literally, “in the beginning created, Elohim “Aleph|Tav”…”