I just read the following statement in A. Niccacci, "Analyzing
Biblical Hebrew Poetry" (JSOT 74:78). He says that one of the
"main characteristics of poetry versus prose" is a "non-detectable
versus detectable verbal system." Looking at the other
characteristics he lists, it's clear that he is saying poetry has a non-
detectable verbal system. It seems to me that if he is correct, then
poetry is definitely not the place to look in our quest to understand
the verbal system. I'm wondering what everyone else thinks of this
statement, and why.