The following material is based on the books:
1. How To Study the Bible (published by BEE International)
2. Carl B. Gibbs Principles of Biblical Interpretation
3. Gordon D. Fee, Douglas Stuart How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
4. Fred J. Greve Old Testament Survey. A Study Guide
5. Gordon D. Fee, Douglas Stuart How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
6. Henry A. Virkler Hermeneutics: Principles and Process of Biblical Interpretation
7. Leland Ryken How To Read The Bible as Literature

Bible verses are quoted from New King James Version.

Interpretation of Biblical Poetry

The Old Testament poetic books are Job through Sing of Songs. Old Testament prophetic books contain a lot of poetry. Other books of the Old Testament and the New Testament books also contain poetry.

Biblical poetry is different from the modern poetry. The main traits of the modern poetry are rhymes and rhythms. In the biblical poetry, there are no rhymes and rhythms. The main trait of the biblical poetry is parallelism. Biblical poetry also contains many figures of speech.

Parallelism is a correspondence between two lines or verses. There are 6 main types of parallelism:

1. Synonymic parallelism - the second line in its meaning is equivalent or very similar to the first line.
Examples:
1) Psalm 2:4
"He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The LORD shall hold them in derision."
2) Psalm 1:5
"Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor the sinners in the congregation of the righteous."
3) Psalm 22:18
"They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots."

2. Antithetic parallelism - the second line is a contrast to the first line.
Examples:
1) Psalm 1:6
"For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish."
2) Psalm 37:9
"For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth."

3. Synthetic parallelism - the second line develops the thought of the first line.
Examples:
1) Psalm 95:3
"For the LORD is the great God,
And the great King above all gods."
2) Psalm 37:11
"But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."

4. Culminating parallelism - the second line culminates the first line, repeating one element of the first line and adding a new element.
Examples:
1) Psalm 29:1
"Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength."
2) Psalm 96:1
"Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
Sing to the LORD, all the earth."

5. Symbolic parallelism - one line expresses the main thought, the other line contains a symbol for this thought.
Examples:
1) Psalm 42:1
"As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God."
2) Psalm 23:1
"The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want."

6. Formal parallelism - there is no obvious parallel between the lines; the two lines are just joined together.
Example:
Psalm 2:6
"Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion."

Interpreting parallelism, it is important to notice that the two lines express one thought and should not be interpreted separately. One line often explains the other line and helps to understand its meaning.

Interpretation of Psalms

Since Psalms are poetic, they contain parallelism and figures of speech.

CLASSIFICATIONS OF PSALMS

Classification of psalms according to their subjects:
1. Psalms of groaning - complains to God in difficult times. There are psalms of individual groaning and psalms of corporate groaning.
2. Psalms of thanksgiving - joy and thanks to God for something positive. There are psalms of individual thanksgiving and psalms of corporate thanksgiving.
3. Psalms of praise - praise to God for who He is. There are psalms of individual praise and psalms of corporate praise.
4. Psalms on salvation history - psalms on the history of God's work of salvation in Israel.
5. Psalms of celebration:
1) Psalms of renewing of the covenant with God
2) Messianic psalms
3) Royal psalms
4) Psalms of enthronement
5) Psalms of Zion
6. Psalms of wisdom - psalms that praise wisdom and teach wisdom.
7. Psalms of trust - psalms that express trust and faith in God.
8. Psalms of repentance - psalms that express repentance in sins.
9. Psalms of curse - psalms where psalmist asks God to curse his enemies.

Classification of psalms according to the feelings they express:
1. Psalms that express feeling of pain caused by sin
2. Psalms that express sufferings because of sinners' attacks
3. Psalms that express considerations about life of righteous and unrighteous people
4. Psalms that express considerations about God's nature
5. Psalms that express recollection of God's works

There are also other classifications of psalms.

Interpreting psalms, try to find information about historic background of the psalm from the psalm itself, other books of the Old Testament, and from the literature - Bible commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and Bible encyclopedias.

Also, try to find out the subject and feelings of the psalm.

Interpretation of Proverbs

Proverbs are brief and concise expressions that contain wisdom and principles of godliness. There are many proverbs in the book of Proverbs. The main thought of the book of Proverbs is morality, ethical prescriptions for daily life expressed in short sayings.

Interpreting proverbs, it is important to notice that they usually contain only one thought or truth. So, the details should not be too emphasized. Proverbs usually have one thought or similarity that should be found in interpretation.

Proverbs are general observations of life. Only in rare cases, we can interpret them as God's promises. Usually, parables are general principles that have exceptions. Proverbs reveal general principles through concrete examples.

Parables can be prescriptive (instructions) or descriptive (narratives). They should be compared with the context of moral instructions in the whole Bible in order to find out if they are prescriptive or descriptive, in other words, should they be followed as instructions or they are just examples.

Proverbs in the book of Proverbs should be compared with other proverbs in the same book and with the whole Bible in order that their principles to be correctly understood.

Many proverbs are poetic. This means that parallelism and figures of speech are often used in proverbs.

Proverbs have some special terms. For example, wisdom in the book of Proverbs is the ability to apply the truth in daily life. Wisdom is not something abstract, but it is practical. The fear of the Lord is the right position toward God, the condition of the heart that correctly realizes our relationship with the God as Creator. This is a reverence, and not a panic fear. A foolish man in the book of Proverbs denotes a Gentile, an unbeliever who lives according to his selfish interests and does not care for God. In Proverbs, foolishness is not a lack of mental abilities. These three terms are important for understanding the book of Proverbs. Their meaning can be drawn from the context of the book and the way these words are used there. The main purpose of the book of Proverbs is to teach wisdom, that is, practical godliness.

The book of Proverbs can be studied thematically or chapter by chapter. Thematic study helps to see what proverbs say about some subject. The study chapter by chapter helps to see many subjects of the book of Proverbs and many sides of life experience mentioned in that book.

The book of Proverbs, the book of Job, and the book of Ecclesiastes are called the books of wisdom. It was a special genre of biblical literature. All three books are mainly poetic. These books as well as Psalms and the Song of Songs are often called the books of poetry.