Masoretical punctuation, (though discordant in many instances from the imperfect remains of a pronunciation of much earlier date, and of better authority, that of the Seventy, of Origen, and other writers,) yet it must be allowed, that no one, according to that system, hath been able to reduce the Hebrew poems to any sort of harmony.* And indeed it is not to be wondered, that rules of pronunciation, formed, as it is now generally admitted, above a thousand years after the language ceased to be spoken, should fail of giving us the true sound of Hebrew verse. But if it was impossible for the Masoretes, assisted in some measure by a traditionary pronunciation delivered down from their ancestors, to attain to a true expression of the sounds of the language, how is it possible for us at this time, so much further removed from the only source of knowledge in this case, the audible voice, to improve or to amend their system, or to supply a more genuine system in its place, which may answer our purpose better, and lay open to us the laws of Hebrew versification? The pursuit is vain; the object of it lies beyond our reach; it is not within the compass of human reason or invention. The question concerning Hebrew metre is now pretty much upon the same footing with that concerning the Greek accents. That there were certain laws of ancient Hebrew metre is very probable; and that the living Greek language was modulated by certain rules of accent is beyond dispute: but a man born deaf may as reasonably pretend to acquire an idea of sound, as the critic of these days to attain to the true modulation of Greek by accent, and of Hebrew by metre.†

Thus much then, I think, we may be allowed to infer from the alphabetical poems; namely, that the Hebrew poems are written in verse, properly so called; that the harmony of the verses does not arise from rhyme, that is, from similar corresponding sounds terminating the verses, but from some sort of rhythm, probably from some sort of metre, the laws of which are now altogether unknown, and wholly undiscoverable;—yet that there are evident marks of a certain correspondence of the verses with one another, and of a certain relation between the composition of the verses and the composition of the sentences, -the formation of the former depending in some degree upon the distribution of the latter, so that generally periods coincide with stanzas, members with verses, and pauses of the one with pauses of the other; which peculiar form of composition is so observable, as plainly to discriminate in general the parts of the Hebrew Scriptures which are written in verse, from those

* See Hare, Prolegomena in Psalmos, p. xl. &c.

+ See A Larger Confutation of Bishop Hare's Hebrew Metre; London, 1766 ; where I have fully treated of this subject.

which are written in prose. This will require a larger and more minute explication, not only as a matter necessary to our present purpose, that is, to ascertain the character of the prophetical style in general, and of that of the Prophet Isaiah in particular, but as a principle of considerable use, and of no small importance, in the interpretation of the poetical parts of the Old Testament.

The correspondence of one verse or line with another, I call parallelism. When a proposition is delivered, and a second is subjoined to it, or drawn under it, equivalent, or contrasted with it in sense, or similar to it in the form of grammatical construction, these I call parallel lines; and the words or phrases, answering one to another in the corresponding lines, parallel terms.

Parallel lines may be reduced to three sorts,-parallels synonymous, parallels antithetic, and parallels synthetic. Of each of these I shall give a variety of examples, in order to show the various forms under which they appear; first, from the books universally acknowledged to be poetical; then, correspondent examples from the Prophet Isaiah, and sometimes also from the other Prophets, to show that the form and character of the composition is in all the same.

As some of the examples which follow are of many lines, the reader may perhaps note a single line or two intermixed, which do not properly belong to that class under which they are ranged. These are retained, to preserve the connexion and harmony of the whole passage; and it is to be observed, that the several sorts of parallels are perpetually mixed with one another, and this mixture gives a variety and beauty to the composition.

First, of parallel lines synonymous; that is, which correspond one to another, by expressing the same sense in different but equivalent terms; when a proposition is delivered, and is immediately repeated, in the whole or in part, the expression being varied, but the sense entirely or nearly the same: As in the following examples:—

"O-Jehovah, in-thy-strength the-king shall-rejoice;
And-in-thy-salvation how greatly shall-he-exult !
The-desire of-his-heart thou-hast-granted unto-him:
And-the-request of-his-lips thou-hast-not denied."

"Because I-called, and-ye-refused;

I-stretched-out my-hand, and-no-one regarded;
But-ye-have-defeated all my-counsel;

And-would-not incline to-my-reproof:

Psal. xxi. 1, 2.

I also will-laugh at-your-calamity;

I-will-mock, when-what-you-feared cometh;
When-what-you-feared cometh like-a-devastation;
And-your-calamity advanceth like-a-tempest;
When-distress and-anguish come upon-you:
Then shall-they-call-upon-me, but-I-will-not-answer;
They-shall-seek-me-early, but-they-shall-not find-me:
Because they-hated knowledge;
And-did-not-choose the-fear of-Jehovah ;
Did-not incline to-my-counsel;

Contemptuously-rejected all my-reproof:
Therefore-shall-they-eat of-the-fruit of-their-ways;
And-shall-be-satiated with-their-own-devices.
For the-defection of-the-simple shall-slay-them;
And-the-security of-fools shall-destroy them."

"Seek-ye Jehovah, while-he-may-be-found; Call-ye-upon-him, while-he-is near:

Let-the-wicked forsake his-way;

Prov. i. 24-32.

And-let-him-return to Jehovah, and-he-will-compassionate-him;
And-unto-our-God, for he-aboundeth in-forgiveness."

Isa. Iv. 6,

7.

"Fear not, for thou-shalt-not be-ashamed;

And-the-unrighteous man his-thoughts;

And-blush not, for thou-shalt-not be-brought-to-reprcach:

For thou-shalt-forget the-shame of-thy-youth;

And-the-reproach-of-thy-widowhood thou-shalt-remember no more.'

"Hearken unto-me, ye-that-know righteousness;
The-people in-whose-heart is-my-law:
Fear not the-reproach of-wretched-man;

Neither be-ye-borne-down by-their-revilings;

For the-moth shall-consume-them like-a-garment;

And-the-worm shall-eat-them like wool:

But-my-righteousness shall-endure for-ever;
And-my-salvation to-the-age of-ages."

"Like-mighty-men shall-they-rush-on;
Like-warriors shall-they-mount the-wall:
And-every-one in-his-way-shall-they-march;"
And-they-shall-not turn-aside from-their paths."

Isa. liv. 4.

Isa. li. 7, 8.

Joel ii. 7.

Psal. exii. 1.

"Blessed-is the-man, that-feareth Jehovah ;
That-greatly delighteth in-his-commandments."

"Hearken unto-me, O-house of-Jacob;

And-all the-remnant of-the-house of-Israel."

Isa. xlvi. 2.

*

In the foregoing examples may be observed the different degrees of synonymous parallelism. The parallel lines sometimes consist of three or more synonymous terms; sometimes of two, which is generally the case when the verb, or the nominative case of the first sentence, is to be carried on to the second, or understood there; sometimes of one only, as in the four last examples. There are also among the foregoing a few instances, in which the lines consist each of double members, or two propositions, I shall add one or two more of these, very

perfect in their kind :

"Bow thy heavens, O Jehovah, and descend;
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke:
Dart forth lightning, and scatter them;
Shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them."

"And they shall build houses, and shall inhabit them;

Psal. cxliv. 5, 6.

And they shall plant vineyards, and shall eat the fruit thereof:
They shall not build, and another inhabit;

They shall not plant, and another eat:

For as the days of a tree, shall be the days of my people;

And they shall wear out the works of their own hands."

Isa. Ixv. 21, 22.

Parallels are also sometimes formed by a repetition of part of the first sentence:

'My voice is unto God, and I cry aloud;

My voice unto God, and he will hearken unto me."

"I will remember the works of Jehovah;

Yea, I will remember thy wonders of old."

"The waters saw thee, O God!

The waters saw thee; they were seized with anguish."

The terms in English, consisting of several words, are hitherto distinguished with marks

of connexion-to show, that they answer to single words in Hebrew.

Sometimes in the latter line a part is to be supplied from the former to complete the sentence :—

"And those that persecute me thou wilt make to turn their backs to me; Those that hate me,* and I will cut them off.”

"The mighty dead tremble from beneath; The waters, and they that dwell therein."

"And I looked, and there was no man ;

2 Sam. xxii. 41.

Job xxvi. 5.

Even among the idols,† and there was no one that gave advice;" "And I inquired of them, and [there was no one] that returned an answer."

Isa. xli. 28.

Further, there are parallel triplets-when three lines correspond together, and form a kind of stanza, of which, however, only two commonly are synonymous :—

"And he shall snatch on the right, and yet be hungry; And he shall devour on the left, and not be satisfied; Every man shall devour the flesh of his neighbour.Ӡ

"Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe ;
Come away, get you down, for the wine-press is full;

The vats overflow; for great is their wickedness."

Psal. cxii. 10.

Job iii. 4, 6, 9.

Isa. ix. 20.

Joel iii. 13.

There are likewise parallels consisting of four lines; two distichs being so connected together, by the sense and the construction, as to make one stanza. Such is the form of the 37th Psalm, which is evidently laid out by the initial letters in stanzas of four lines; though in regard to that disposition some irregularities are found in the present copies. From this Psalm, which gives a sufficient warrant for considering the union

In the parallel place, Psal. xviii. the poetical form of the sentence is much hurt, by the removing of the conjunction from the second to the first word in this line; but a MS. in that place reads as here.

See the Note on the place..