What literary device is used in Hebrew poetry?

Answer 1

A:

Hebrew poetry found in The Bible differs somewhat from modern poetry. It does not make use of rhyme, but it seems to have a definite rhythmic form - although scholars cannot agree on how it works. Lines in Hebrew poetry are composed of two, or sometimes three, short units, which are often broken in two with a pause in the middle. Hebrew poetry usually repeats or balances ideas. With figurative language, the poet makes a statement in the first line and then says it again - another way - in the second line, and perhaps in later lines as well. Bible scholars call this feature 'parallelism'.

Another literary device found in Hebrew poetry is an acrostic. The first verse starts with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second verse starts with the next letter, and so on - through the 22-letter alphabet. Psalm 25 is an acrostic style plea for help, suggesting the writer knows suffering from A to Z. Many of the Psalms use this acrostic: 25, 37, 110, 111, 119, 145.

Answer:

Rhyming is occasionally used, as is word-play, allusions, alliteration and meter. An important point is that the Hebrew verses contain musical cantillation-notes as part of the text, which are absent in translation. These notes convey a further level of meaning, plus serve as punctuation.