1. The Poetical Books in the Narrow Sense:
According to the Massoretes or editors of our present Hebrew Bible, there are but three poetical books in the Old Testament, Job, Proverbs, and Psalms, known in Jewish circles by the mnemonic abbreviation 'emeth, the three consonants forming the initial letters of the Hebrew names of the above books. These three books have been supplied by the Massoretes with a special system of accents known as the poetical accents, and involving a method of intoning in the synagogue different from that followed when the prose books are read. But these accentual marks cannot be traced farther back than the 7th or 8th century of our era.
2. Customary Division of the Poetical Books:
It is customary to divide the poetical books of the Old Testament into two classes, each containing three books: (1) those containing lyrical poetry (shir , or shirah), i.e. Psalms, Canticles, Lamentations; (2) those containing for the most part didactic poetry (mashal), i.e. Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes.
3. Poetry in Non-poetical Books:
There is a large amount of poetry in the Old Testament outside the books usually classed as poetical: (a) poetry in the prophetical books (see above,III , 2); (b) poetry in the historical books including the Pentateuch (see Michael Heilprin, The Historical Poetry of the Hebrews, 2 volumes, 1879-80). We have examples in Ge 4:23 f; Ge 49:1-33; Ex 15:1-27; Nu 21:14 f,Nu 27:1-23-Nu 30:1-16 (JE); Nu 23:1-30 f (Balaam's songs); De 32:1-52 f (song and blessing of Moses); Jos 10:12-14 (JE); Jg 5:1-31 (Deborah's Song); Jg 9:8-15; 1Sa 2:1-10; 2Sa 1:1-27; 3:33 f; 2Sa 23:1-39 (= Ps 18:1-50), etc.
LITERATURE.
The most important books and articles on the subject have been mentioned during the course of the foregoing article. There is a full list of works dealing with Hebrew meter in W.H. Cobb, Criticism o.f Systems of Hebrew Metre, 19 ff. The first edition of Ewald's still valuable "Essay on Hebrew Poetry" prefixed to his commentary on the Psalms was published in English in the Journal of Sacred Literature (1848), 74 ff, 295 ff. In 1909 J.W. Rothstein issued a suggestive treatise on Hebrew rhythm (Grundzuge des heb. Rhythmus .... nebst lyrischen Texten mit kritischem Kommentar, 8vo plus vi plus 398), reviewed by the present writer in Review of Theology and Philosophy (Edinburgh), October, 1911. Early Religious Poetry of the Hebrews by E.G. King (Cambridge University Press) contains a good, brief, popular statement of the subject, though it makes no pretense to originality. In The Poets of the Old Testament, 1912, Professor A.R. Gordon gives an excellent popular account of the poetry and poetical literature of the Old Testament.
T. Witton Davies