vi FORMS OF HEBREW POETRY
their bearing on the criticism and interpretation
of the Old Testament.
I have no new theory of Hebrew metre to set
forth ; and I cannot accept in all its details any
theory that others have elaborated. In my
judgment some understanding of the laws of
Hebrew rhythm has been gained: but much
still remains uncertain. And both of these facts
need to be constantly borne in mind in determin-
ing the text or interpreting the contents of
Hebrew poetry. Perhaps, therefore, the chief
service which I could expect of the discussion of
Hebrew metre in this volume is that it may on
the one hand open up to some the existence and
general nature of certain metrical principles in
Hebrew poetry, and that it may on the other
hand warn others that, in view of our imperfect
knowledge of the detailed working of these prin-
ciples, considerable uncertainty really underlies
the regular symmetrical forms in which certain
scholars have presented the poetical parts of the
Old Testament.
The first six chapters of the volume are an
expansion of a course of University lectures
delivered in the spring of 1913. They were
published in the Expositor of May, June, July,
August, September, October and December of
the same year, and are now republished with
some modifications and very considerable addi-
tions. The two last chapters, though written