Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Bryan Rocine" <brocine AT earthlink.net>]

Hi David,

Poetry is identified by patterned language, certain
stylistic features of syntax such as embedding and
reversals, and an abundance of figurative language.  A prose
passage may wax poetic as the concentration of poetic
features increases, but asserting whether a particular
passage poetry is rather than "poetic prose" is quite
subjective and to me, making a harmless but unhelpful claim.
A poem, on the other hand, is easier to identify objectively
because in a poem an entire text displays poetic qualities
throughout.

I do not really think we need to set Num 18:29 off as poetry
in formatting because it is part of a larger prose text.
Still, the patterned nature of the language in the verse
will identify it as "poetic prose" even in translation.

Just my two shqalim.

Shalom,
Bryan

you wrote:
> Is Num 18:29 poetry? I notice that both halves of the
verse begin with a
> prepositional phrase with *min*, and end with marked
direct objects. The
> verb in the second half is omitted.
>
> Is it perhaps poetry as a mnemonic device for this
regulation? If so, it
> seems to me, it should be set off as poetry in translation
to alert the
> reader, or else the reader who is not alert to Hebrew
poetry would miss the
> device.
>
> Dave Stabnow



B. M. Rocine
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