A History of Modern Research on the Question of Meter in Ancient Hebrew Poetry

    An excellent definition of meter was given by John Lotz: “the numerical regulation of certain properties of the linguistic form.” Language in general possesses meter in this sense. Verse generally adheres to a more strictly defined set of regularities than do other forms of speech and literature in a given language. Specific stylizations of the more general metrical properties observable in speech and literature within a given language and time frame characterize verse.

    The history of research on the question of meter in ancient Hebrew poetry is uncharted territory for all but a handful of those who currently occupy themselves with ancient Hebrew literature.

    I herewith post a brief introduction to the history of research.