One example of hyperbole comes from the namesake of the novel's title, the biblical Psalm 18:34: "He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze." Speare chooses this hyperbolic reference because it resonates with one of her work's central messages: that the power of the biblical God is so mighty that it seems hyperbolic to a non-believer or someone who has never witnessed one of his works.

One example of figurative language that Speare uses is when she speaks about Jesus "[touching] their minds and their hearts," improving the condition of the people like a "healing ointment." It is an example of figurative language because it imbues a physical quality, the act of "touching," to the spoken word.