The concept of metre in Old Testament studies
The paper begins with a brief overview of the variety of views among Old Testament scholars on Hebrew verse and its versification system, and of some causes of the conflict in opinion. It is claimed that all Old Testament scholars have a concept of metre, but rarely define it. The following factors...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1989
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| In: |
Journal for semitics
Year: 1989, Volume: 1, Issue: 1, Pages: 39-53 |
| Further subjects: | B
Hebrew Bible
B Foreignness of Hebrew verse B Old Testament B Hebrew versification system |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The paper begins with a brief overview of the variety of views among Old Testament scholars on Hebrew verse and its versification system, and of some causes of the conflict in opinion. It is claimed that all Old Testament scholars have a concept of metre, but rarely define it. The following factors are given as reasons why the concept of metre should be explicitly defined: (1) The large quantity of verse in the Hebrew Bible. (2) The foreignness of Hebrew verse. (3) The nature of the Hebrew versification system and of the evidence concerning it. After a survey of definitions of the general concept of metre from outside the field of Old Testament studies, the following working definition is formulated: Metre is a type of versification system, consisting of an abstract scheme which numerically regulates certain properties of the linguistic form of verse. This is then compared to a number of definitions given by Old Testament scholars, and the deficiencies of those definitions are pointed out. Six common misconceptions about metre among Old Testament scholars are listed and a few implications of the proposed definition for the Hebrew versification system are noted. The possibility is briefly discussed that the Hebrew versification system might have syntactical as well as phonological constraints and might still qualify as a metre, at least as far as its colometrical component is concerned. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for semitics
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| Persistent identifiers: | HDL: 10.10520/AJA10318471_211 |
