PREFACE

IT is impossible to go far at the present day in
any serious attempt to interpret the prophetical
books, or the books commonly called poetical,
or certain other parts of the Old Testament,
without being faced by questions relating to the
forms of Hebrew poetry. I was myself compelled
to consider these questions more fully than before
when I came to prepare my commentary on
Isaiah for the "International Critical Comment-
ary," and in the introduction to that commentary
I briefly indicated the manner in which, as it
seemed to me, the more important of these ques-
tions should be answered. But it was impossible
then, and there to give as full an exposition of the
subject as it requires. In the present volume I
have ampler scope. Yet I must guard against a
misunderstanding. Even here it is not my pur-
pose to add to the already existing exhaustive,
or at least voluminous, discussions of Hebrew
metre. My aim is different: it is rather to
survey the forms of Hebrew poetry, to consider
them in relation to one another, and to illustrate

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