GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HEBREW POETRY

Samson's reply to the Philistines, when they had found out through his wife the answer to his riddle, ends in the two Hebrew words eglathi and hidathî, and may be rendered:

If with my heifer you did not plow,

You had not solved my riddle, now!

The song, which is attributed to Samson's foes, also contains four rhyming words in three succeeding lines that may be rendered:

Our god has brought low,—

Under our sway, our foe,

He who wrought our country's woe,

Who slew many of us at a blow.

The closing words of Psalm 6 and of Job 109-18 also rhyme; but outside of these few examples this external characteristic is found very rarely in Hebrew poetry. It was apparently confined to the popular songs and was regarded as undesirable by Israel's great poets.

nance

More common in the prophets is assonance or paronomasia. Isaiah Assomakes an effective play on the similar sounds of the two Hebrew words mishpāt and mispāh and çedākā and çe ̋ākā, which may be rendered:

He looked for justice, but beheld injustice,

For redress, but beheld a cry of distress. (Is. 57.)

Amos also, in the vision recorded in 81, 2, plays upon the meaning of similarly sounding words (kayiç and keç), the one meaning summer fruit and the other end. More common in the later poetry, but more artificial, was the acrostic. Thus, for example, in Nahum 1, in the first four chapters of Lamentations, and in many psalms, as, for example, Psalm 119, each succeeding line or group of lines begins with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

and

paronomasia

charac

Hebrew

To the modern Western reader the charm of Hebrew poetry is found not Literary in its external form but in its innate literary characteristics. As a rule, it teristics is highly subjective in content but objective and concrete in its form of of expression. The inner feelings of the poet are vividly pictured by means of poetry illustrations drawn from the realm of nature or from common physical experiences. The picturesque Hebrew language, in which each word suggests a familiar picture or feeling or action, lent itself readily to the poet's use. The lack of abstract terms also compelled him to express himself concretely. Expressing his emotions in the terms of physical sensations, the Hebrew poet with true psychological skill was able to arouse the same emotions in the minds of his hearers. These sensations were also elemental and therefore limited to no race or age. The result is that to-day, in reading the psalms, we not only grasp the thought of the psalmist but also feel with him the fear or the passion or the joy that stirred his soul as he wrote.

Hebrew poetry is also characterized by its spontaneity and earnestness. The Semitic mind is naturally intense, and the painful experiences through which the Israelites passed emphasized this characteristic. The attention of the reader is quickly attracted and constantly held by the sheer power of the poet's earnestness. Frequent changes in speaker and point of view impart to Hebrew poetry a strong dramatic quality. At the same time it is vivid and graphic. The Hebrew poets are keenly alive to the importance of variety and contrast. They are always simple but rarely if ever descend to the trite and commonplace. The clearness of their thought is not impeded by cumbersome phrases or unfamiliar illustrations. As a rule, their style is sententious. Instead of piling clause upon clause, they prefer the simple couplet. In this respect their style resembles that of the Semitic story-tellers, who constantly depend upon the simple connective and rather than upon the more elaborate conjunctions. Above all, the Hebrew poets confine themselves largely to themes of common human interest. They dramatically portray, in language simple, vivid, and concrete, the vital experiences shared by all mankind. Above all, they are inspired by a noble yet practical moral purpose that enables them to satisfy elemental needs. It is not strange that Hebrew poetry has attracted and held the attention of all classes as no other literature known to man.

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEBREW POETRY

It is significant that more than half of the literature that has come down from the early Hebrews is poetry. There are many reasons why their greatest writers were poets. To the Greeks the world of nature was not attractive, and there are comparatively few allusions to it in the literature of that race. The Hebrews, however, were in closest touch with nature, and the picturesque, varied land of Palestine spoke inspiringly to its early inhabitants. Above all, the Hebrews saw in nature the external manifestations of Jehovah's character. The fructifying rains, the destructive storms, the droughts, the locust plagues, in fact, all the striking phenomena of their widely diversified land, were believed by the Hebrews to come directly from Jehovah. Nearly every hilltop was crowned by a sanctuary where the early inhabitants worshipped the God of the mountains and the hills. The trees were the symbol of his life-giving power and of his everlasting care. Each gushing spring testified to his gracious provision for the needs of his creatures. All nature spoke to them of God and hence inspired them with emotions of reverence and trust and gratitude.

The ancestors of the Hebrews came from the stern life of the desert, which developed a constant sense of dependence and intense loyalty to the God of the tribe and nation. Hence they and their descendants were by nature and training deeply religious. And religion (in its larger meaning) is the most powerful force that can stir the heart of the poet. The perilous, warlike life of the Hebrews in Palestine also constantly fostered and further developed their sense of constant dependence upon Jehovah and the habit of attributing every event in their history to his direct intervention. The tragic, harrowing experiences that came to them during the later centuries aroused within them the deepest emotions of which man is capable, and thus inspired and practically compelled them to express their thoughts and feelings in poetry. The liturgical demands of the later ritual also led the faithful Jews who gathered about the second temple to voice their experiences in the psalms which are found in the Psalter. Thus, throughout all of Israel's history, most of the forces which produce poetry were actively at work. Three fairly well-defined periods may be distinguished in the development of classic Hebrew poetry. The first is the age of popular songs. It begins with the entrance of the Hebrews into Canaan, about 1150, and extends to the period of Amos, about 750 B.C. The second is the prophetic period, which begins with Amos in 750 and ends with the work of the second Isaiah, about 450 B.C. The third is the age of devotional and wisdom

Early folk

songs

Ancient bards and

songbooks

poetry. It begins about 450, to which date may be assigned the main poetical sections of the books of Job, and extends to about 50 B.C., when the apocryphal book known as the Wisdom of Solomon was probably written. The poetical books of the Old Testament, therefore, represent a period of at least eleven centuries. They are clearly the work of scores of different writers. Certain of the songs found in Genesis and Numbers, as, for example, the so-called Song of Lamech in Genesis 4 and the Song of the Well in Numbers 2117-18, come in all probability from the early nomadic period preceding the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan.

The few folk-songs and early poems that have been preserved in the historical books of the Old Testament suffice to suggest the character of this once extensive poetic literature. Evidently all the important events in the early life of the Hebrews were celebrated with songs and music. Although the Song of Songs itself is late, it has preserved a group of popular poems that were apparently sung in connection with the wedding festivals. They are in many ways the best representatives of the popular poetry of ancient Israel. Similarly, songs were sung in connection with national calamities and beside the bier of the dead. Many of these dirges have been preserved. Amos 63 also contains a reference to the songs that were sung in connection with the banquets given by the voluptuous nobles of northern Israel. The Song of the Well in Numbers 21 is evidently a type of the popular songs that were composed by the local poets on the occasion of any important event in the life of a tribe or the nation. Isaiah 144 and 2316 contain examples of the taunt songs that were sung over a fallen enemy or to cast disgrace upon a private or public foe. Great deliverances like that of the exodus, or victories like that of the Hebrews beside the Kishon, inspired the poets to sing of the achievements of their heroes. These songs appear to have been chanted by the women, as in the days of David, when the victorious warriors returned from battle laden with spoils. Scattered through the historical books there are also many priestly oracles, such as that attributed to Jacob in Genesis 49, and public prayers, like that of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, now found in the Greek versions of I Kings 812, 13. Their original poetic form is still retained and they all testify to the prominent place that poetry held in the early life of the Israelites.

Numbers 2127 and II Samuel 1935 contain references to a class of bards or singers who doubtless composed many of these songs and preserved in oral form those which had been handed down from preceding generations. They correspond to the similar class of singers who are still found among the Arabs of the desert and who recite beside the camp-fires the songs that tell of the adventures of the tribe and the achievements of its popular heroes. In I Samuel 2528 there is a reference to the Book of the Wars of Jehovah which is evidently a collection of songs recording the victories won by the Israelites in the name of Jehovah. A similar collection of ancient songs, which has unfortunately been lost, was the Book of Jasher; that is, The Book of the Upright. Jasher is evidently a popular designation of the nation, Israel. The quotations (e. g., Josh. 1013b, II Sam. 118, I Kgs. 853, Gk.) indicate that these poems dealt with important events in Israel's history, such as David's

THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEBREW POETRY

lament over the death of Saul and Jonathan or Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple. These references and quotations also suggest the wide variety and extent of the popular Hebrew poetry, most of which has, unfortunately, been forever lost.

of He

The character and content of the prophetic poetry which comes from the The second period of Israel's literary history have already been discussed in prophetic Volume III. The poetic addresses of the prophets were the natural out- period growth of the early oracles which appear to have been invariably cast in brew poetic form. In presenting their messages the prophets used almost every poetry type of poetry known to the Hebrew. With the exception of portions of Ezekiel, Haggai, and Zechariah, their original oral prophecies were always put in the form of poetry. By them the lyrical note, which was struck by the earlier prophets, was still further developed and the foundations laid for that still wider development of lyrical poetry which characterized the third period of Israel's literary history. Doubtless, during the same prophetic period many of the proverbs and some of the psalms, which have ultimately found a place in the book of Proverbs and the Psalter, were current on the lips of the people. It was this second prophetic period of Israel's history that gave to the race the ideas and the impulses which found expression in the retrospective and didactic literature of the third period.

of the

During the third period Israel's poetry assumed two distinct forms. The The lyrical group is represented by the Psalter, the occasional psalms in the first poetry book of Maccabees, in the concluding chapters of Ben Sira, and in the Psalter third period of Solomon. This group reflects the experiences, the emotions, and the aspirations of the Jewish race and of the different classes within Judaism. The other group includes the gnomic or wisdom literature found in Proverbs, portions of Ecclesiastes, Ben Sira, the Wisdom of Solomon, and in the crowning work of the Hebrew sages-the book of Job. It is the result of the earnest desire of Israel's latest teachers to make practical and effective in the life of their own and succeeding generations that which was best in the moral and religious experiences of the past and most vital in the teachings of earlier priests and prophets.

drama

and the

The drama was not a product of the Semitic mind. Thus far no drama has The been found in the literatures of ancient Babylonia and Egypt. The Hebrew prophets, in their poetic addresses, frequently employed dialogue. Ezekiel epic reveals great dramatic qualities, and one of the chief charms of Hebrew literature is its dramatic character; but the Israelites produced no pure drama. The book of Job is the nearest approximation to it, yet its action and progress are subjective rather than objective. Furthermore, the Old Testament contains no clear example of an epic. The song of Deborah has many epic qualities, but it is more than mere poetic presentation, for through it all runs a large lyric element. Its brevity also forbids its classification as a pure epic, for less than twenty verses are devoted to heroic narration. The epic, however, was not foreign to the Semitic mind. One of the earliest and noblest examples of early Babylonian literature is the so-called epic of Gilgamesh, which in a series of twelve cantos tells of the various deeds of the traditional hero Gilgamesh, who was the prototype of