68 FORMS OF HEBREW POETRY
Examples of
a. b. c
c'. b'. a'
are
Mym vlfwb ddm-ym
Nkt trzb Mymwv
Who hath-measured with-the-hollow-of-his-hand the waters,
Or-the-heavens with-a-span hath-regulated?—Isa. xl. 12.
fbw Jymsx vxlmyv
vcrpy Jybqy wvrytv
That thy-barns may-be-filled-with plenty
And-that With-new-wine thy-vats may-overflow.
—Prov. iii. 10.
See also e.g. Isaiah xl. 26 c, d, 27 c, d; Amos v. 7;
Psalm iii. 8 c, d.
The possible variations on
a. b. c. d
a'. b'. c'. d'
are of course much more numerous ; the actual
examples are far fewer, partly because complete
parallelism over these longer periods is much
rarer, partly because these parallelisms in four
terms occur particularly in Proverbs, and proverbs,
being complete in themselves, do not call for the
variety which is naturally enough desired in a
long continuous passage. It may suffice to refer
to one variation : when the first line begins with
a verb and its object, immediately following, is
expressed by an independent term, and the desire
for variety throws the corresponding clause to