It remains now only to notice the rules of Hebrew poetry as laid down by the Jewish grammarians, to which reference was made in remarking upon the sys- tem of R. Azariah. They have the merit of being ex- tremely simple, and are to be found at length, illustrated by many examples, in Mason and Bernard's I/eb. Gram. (vol. ii, No. 57), and accompanied by an interesting ac- count of modern Hebrew versification. The rules are briefly these : 1. That a sentence may be divided into members, some of which contain two, three, or even four words, and are accordingly termed binary, ternary, and quaternary members respectively. 2. The sentences are composed either of binary, ternary, or quaternary
POETRY
326
POETRY
- entirely, ox of these different members inter-
utive m< mb< ra il is an
to express the Bamc idea in different words.
„ .[ i,, either of these parallel
I in the alien at
l hat a word without an accent, being joined
t.. anothi r word by Makkeph, is generally (though not
always) reckoned with that Becond word as one. Ii
ial these rules are essentially the Bame
with tho i' Lowth, I>'' Wette, and other writers on
,,. and from their simplicity are I - m than any others that have been given.
lusion, after reviewing the various theories which have been framed with regard to the Btructure n poetry, it must be confessed that beyond the . ol very broad gi neral laws, little has been done towards elaborating a satisfactory systen ably this want ol to the fact that there is
and that H< brew poetry, while I - and va-
riety of rhythm and melody, is not fettered by laws of versification as we understand the term. Some advance towards an elucidation of the metrical structure of the I and > specially in their strophic arrange-
ment, has I" en made by Delitzsch in his Commentaries; but tin- whole subject admits of a more careful and mi- nute adjustment and phrases than Las \ . t bet n achil \ ed.
Modern Hebrew poetry, although tolerabh i- altogether cast in the mould of the poems <>f the sev- eral European nations among whom the. lews are scat- tered, and i- therefore Btirhy artificial, generally with rhyme, etc. It is of little value theologically. A very lair collection of specimens may be seen in Martinet's . rg, i--;: . ind has the credit of opening a new path in t lii- branch Ly the above-noticed publica- tion of I ii>ln>] > Lowth's elegant and learned /
< > con. 1753, w hich may be found also in Ugolini Thesuur. vol. xxxi; the editions ' it Epimetra are to be pre- ferred; that of Oxon. 1810, i- good: the work was translated into English by Gregory). On the didactic poetrj of the Hebrews the reader may consult Umbreit, \leitung; Rhode, /'■ Vet. Poelar. Sapi- . II braor. .11 i\ n. 1800 I ;
i & Parabolar. Jesu natura, etc. (Leipz. 1828).
f. ix, 226 sq., has giv< n what i- worth attention; Bee also Hist, abri I // br. in the •• History of the Academy of
Inscriptions," xxiii, 92 sq. But the work which has. next to that of Lowth, exerted the greatest influence, thumous and unfinished piece of the celebrated lhrder, who has treat* d the subject with extraordinary eloquence and learning, Vom Geist der Ebraischen Po- ■ !, t.. be found in his collected writings; also I and < larlsruhe, 1826 ; see also < illgler,
lei Hebraer (Landshut, 1814) ; and Gut- rat, d. alien Israelii. (Mannh. i be Bubjecl ol mem- has been Bkilfully handled iibet d. Wetrik der Hebraer Much useful information may be found . ibid. 1840; trans- lish by Theodore Parker, Boston, 1843). 1 the poetical por-
' ind, in which regard is paid to rhj thm
■ uable guide in Hebn w ind Bubstance, may be found in
Prophets (ibid. . try work
"" l1"' des Mt,n
ii,c. i; >• bramm, U> i
I
tains the most complete account of all the various the- ories ; Ni, olas, I ' ■ '■ "/'" I Paris,
Sarchi, Heb. Poetry, Ancient and Moden I 1824 : w ' i ''■' h. /■■• Poesia Heb. et Arab, indole (Leipz. [843 : Meier, Gesch. der poet. National -Literatur der Hebraer (Leipz. - omentaries of De Wette,
Delitzsch, and Hupfeld on the Psalms; and the works enumerated in Danz, Universal -TheoL Wdrterbuch, p. Dai , Cya pcedia Bibliographia i Holy Scriptures), col. 28 Bq.; and in SchafTs essay on the Poetical Boohs of the 0. T.. prefixed to the Am. ed. of n Job, p. vii.
POE1 Rl . Hebrew (Post-Biblical). In speaking of post-Biblical poetry, we mean those poetical productions which have come down to us from the so-called Sopherite Age, i.e. from about B.C. 500 to A.D. 7". Productions written alter this period art' properly designated by the name Neo-Hebraic Poetry.
The di\ ine service of the second Temple, under Ezra and bis successors, was mainly a restoration, rather than a new institute; but the inspired material for liturgy was now more copious. The Psalms, several of which. like the melodious swan-song of a departing inspiration, were written in the Ezra-Nehemiah time, formed of them- selves a primary element. So. at the Feast of Taberna- cles, the Asaphites chanted the Confiiemini of the 1 18th Psalm (Ezra Hi. 10, 11: comp. Neh. \ii. 24; 1 Chron. xxvi, 1). Tin' titles given to some Psalms by the men of the Great Synagogue indicate a staled use of them at certain periods of week-day and Sabbath worship (comp. Mishna, Taamid, ad tin.; Sopherim, set. 18; and the inscripl ions lor the Psalms in the Septuagint, evidently i. ndered from Hebrew ones). Thus Psa. xxiv is called ^aX/iof . . . rije fiiaQ oafifHarov : xlviii, Sevrepq aa/3- o'lirer; xciv, rercadi oafSfiaTov; xxix,££oo>('ou<xieni'i}c; xxxviii, jTtpt craj3/3drov; cxi-cxix. 'AWnXovia. The "fifteen Songs of Degrees" >rmzv"~ '"-. Chald. xrnn ■psi&a by -:xrx-! x— 0, i. e. "the hymn which was said upon the steps of the abyss") were evidently liturgical, and probably derive their name from the fifteen semicircular step- at the Nicanor gate of the uieat courl of the Temple, on which the Levites