Hebrew poetry in Biblical History

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What is Hebrew Poetry?
HEBREW POETRY
The Jews were an imaginative people. With them poetry and music, closely connected, accompanied domestic and social life in all its more prominent scenes, such as the wedding, the harvest, and other feasts. Am 6:5; Ps 4:7. Victory in battle was celebrated by song; see, for instance, the song of Moses, Ex 15, and the song of Deborah. Judg 5. The death of a beloved person was deplored in songs; see, for instance, the maidens' song over Jephthah's daughter, Jud 11:40, and David's song at the death of Saul and Jonathan, Jud 2 Sam, 1:18, and afterward at the death of Abner. 2 Sam 3:33. It is therefore quite natural that so large a part of the O.T. - more than one-third - - consists of poetry, but these Poetical Books - Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, to which may be further added, besides numerous poetic fragments in the historical books, such as Gen 4:23; Ex 32:18; Num 21:17, the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the Prophets (with the exception of Daniel), as most of these writings, though not strictly poetry, oscillate between poetry and prose - were in the Jewish canon included among the Hagiographa, or Holy Writings. In Hebrew poetry two forms, the lyrical and the didactic, predominate. To the didactic the poetic portions of the prophetic writings belong. There is no epic and no dramatic poetry, strictly so called, in the Bible. The book of Job and the Canticles are sometimes called Hebrew dramas, and have undoubtedly a dramatic drapery, but the former is chiefly didactic, the latter lyrical. The Psalms are, without any qualification, the highest specimens of sacred poetry which mankind possesses; and in spite of the very strong marks of nationality they bear, both in style and in imagery, they have become, nearly to the whole world, the most striking and most complete expression of that which moves deepest in the human soul. They owe this pre-eminence to their spiritual character. The Hebrew poetry is now passionate and pathetic, as in the Psalms and the Prophets; now contemplative and didactic, as in the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. But in both cases the pervading spiritual character is religious. The relation between man and God, his Creator and his Judge - that is, his Father - is, directly or indirectly, the sole theme of all Hebrew lyrics, and in the treatment of this theme, its awfulness and its consolation, man has not failed to feel the inspiration from above. The power of Hebrew poetry to strike the imagination and move the heart - its poetical essence - has always been recognized; but its poetical form was for a long time overlooked, and is hardly yet fully understood. Hebrew lyrics have a division into verses and strophes, and employ occasionally alliterations and rhymes, but they have no regular metrical system, the verses containing an unequal number of syllables and the strophes an unequal number of verses. They were destined to be sung, and consequently adapted simply to some melody. The principal element of their poetical form is therefore their rhythm, and, again, this rhythm depends much more on the ideas than on the words. Its principal feature is the so-called parallelism - a correspondence between two or more sentences of similar or opposite meaning by which the idea receives its full and harmonious expression. The correspondence may be one of harmony or of contrast or of progressive thought, and accordingly it is called synonymous or antithetic or synthetic parallelism. Synonymous parallelism expresses the same idea in different but equivalent words, as in the following examples: "What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou visitest him?"- Ps 8:4. "The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament showeth his handiwork."- Ps 19:1-2 Antithetic parallelism expresses the idea through a contrast, as in the following examples: "Evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." - Ps 37:9. " A soft answer turneth away wrath; But grievous words stir up anger." Prov 15:1. Synthetic parallelism expresses the idea through a progress or gradation of thoughts, as in the following example: "The law of Jehovah is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever. The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold." - Ps 19:7.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'hebrew poetry' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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