Hebrew Poetry. 

        Poetry achieves its ends by sublimeness of thought, by the felicitous use of words, by the striking nature of the word images it uses, by its use of metre and other rhythmic devices, and by certain technical devices like alliteration and rhyme.

        The sublimeness of Hebrew poetic thought needs no stressing, but translation seldom does justice to the choice of words in the original. In addition, as reference to the R.V. mg. will sometimes, but not always, show, the translators have often been afraid of rendering the poetic images literally as being too strong or too striking for the Western ear. Metre Hebrew undoubtedly had, but doubt as to its exact nature, and still more the dissimilar structure of the two languages makes a metrical translation into English either an inade­quate reflexion of the original or unsuited for use in public worship and private devotion. The Metrical Version of the Psalms is seldom good poetry and still seldomer a real picture of the Hebrew.

        Hebrew uses a little alliteration and assonance, but nevef rhyme — the few apparent examples are mere accidents. Its main technical device is parallelism or thought rhythm, which echoes the thought in one metrical line in a second or even third line of the same metrical length (for ‘the qinah metre see next section). The echo may be:

        a) A complete repetition of the thought in other words: But his delight is in the law of the LORD; And in His law doth he meditate day and night. (Ps. 1:2.).

        b) A continuation of the thought:

And he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That bringeth forth its fruit in its season. (Ps. 1:3.).

        c) A combination of the literal and metaphorical: Whose leaf also doth not wither, And in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper. (Ps. 1:3.).

        d) The opposite of the original thought (particularly common in Proverbs:

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: But the way of the wicked shall perish. (Ps. 1:6.).

        e) Merely formal; the thought just runs on: But now shall my head be lifted up Above mine enemies round about me. (Ps. 27:6.).

        Even in the strictly poetical books we find occasional freedom in the metrical structure, lines being longer or shorter than we might have expected. This is a freedom that goes back to the Canaanite poetry of the fifteenth century B.C. discovered at Ras Shamra, and it persists throughout Biblical literature. In the prophetic books it is used sometimes with such freedom that there may even be doubt whether we are dealing with verse or rhythmic prose (For further details see HDB or ISBE, article Poetry, Hebrew).