Ancient Israelite Poetry Preserved in the Torah

The Torah’s lengthier poetic texts include:

• The Blessing of Jacob (Gen 49:2-27),
• The Song of the Sea (Exodus 15:1-18),
• The Oracles of Balaam (Num 23:7-10, 18-24. 24:3-9, 15-19),
• The Song of Moses (Deut 32:1-43), and
• The Blessing of Moses (Deut 33:2-29).

The Torah also contains several short fragments of poetry that may have been parts of longer poems, whose full texts have been lost, such as Lamech’s Song (Gen 4:23-24) or the Song of the Well (Num 21:17-18). Numbers (21:14–15) refers to the Book of the Battles of YHWH, a poetic text that has been lost.^[1]

These poetic texts share some key features that distinguish them from other Torah texts. Unlike the narrative texts, they are in verse, typified by

• Phonetic parallelism, i.e. alliteration;
• Grammatical parallelism, i.e. repeating syntactic patterns;
• Lexical parallelism, which includes coupled sets of synonyms or antonyms, and other semantic and structural symmetries.

Attested as early as the Qumran scrolls (e.g. 4QDeut^q), the Song of the Sea and the Song of Moses have been written in a distinctive layout known as stichography: short and staggered line breaks, drawing visual attention to their poetic structure.

Linguistic Evidence of Archaic Hebrew

The poems within the Torah share another important feature: they include linguistic markers that lead scholars to believe that they are older than the prose texts in which they are embedded. In fact, many lexical and grammatical elements in these poems are either never or only rarely found in Classical or Late Biblical Hebrew texts—i.e., texts typically dated the 8^th–4^th centuries B.C.E.

These features do, however, appear in older Northwest Semitic texts, such as those from the Late Bronze Age city-state of Ugarit.^[2] The appearance of these features suggests that these poems might have taken their literary form (orally or in writing) earlier on, such that composers of these poems might have been familiar with, and influenced by, earlier linguistic and literary traditions than those known to the authors of other biblical texts.

An Ancient Relative Pronoun

One of these linguistic markers is the use of the relative pronoun זו “zu” instead of אשר “asher.” For example:

^{שׁמות טו:יג} נָחִיתָ בְחַסְדְּךָ עַם זוּ גָּאָלְתָּ נֵהַלְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ אֶל־נְוֵה קָדְשֶׁךָ.

^{Ex 15:13} In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.^[3]

Proto-Northwest Semitic, a linguistic ancestor of Hebrew, used a relative pronoun similar to זו.^[4] In the Canaanite languages, including Classical Hebrew, זו was replaced by אשר. Thus, where זו appears in the Bible, it is likely a relic of an earlier dialect of Hebrew—or an indication that the text took its form before the earlier pronoun completely fell out of use.

Words with Different Meanings

These poems also sometimes use words known from Classical Hebrew, but attribute different meanings to them. For example, in Classical Hebrew, the word פְּלִילִים (pelilim) is usually understood to mean something like “judged” or “estimated:”

^{שׁמות כא:כב} וְכִי יִנָּצוּ אֲנָשִׁים וְנָגְפוּ אִשָּׁה הָרָה וְיָצְאוּ יְלָדֶיהָ וְלֹא יִהְיֶה אָסוֹן עָנוֹשׁ יֵעָנֵשׁ כַּֽאֲשֶׁר יָשִׁית עָלָיו בַּעַל הָאִשָּׁה וְנָתַן בִּפְלִלִים.

^{Exod. 21:22} When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine.^[5]

Since antiquity, however, interpreters have struggled to explain the meaning of פְּלִילִים in the Song of Moses, trying to understand who is “judged,” and by whom.^[6]

^{דברים לב:לא} כִּי לֹא כְצוּרֵנוּ צוּרָם וְאֹיְבֵינוּ ^‎פְּלִילִֽים.

^{Deut 32:31} Indeed their Rock is not like our Rock, and our enemies are pelilim

However, in other Semitic languages such as Ugaritic, the root p.l.l. has the meaning of dry, parched, cracked, or split, ^[7] which could metaphorically apply to Israel’s enemies: “Indeed their Rock is not like our Rock, and our enemies are parched/defeated.”

Archaic Verb Use

Biblical poetry also uses verbs in a manner more typical of older Northwest Semitic languages. For example, the Song of Deborah uses a prefix imperfective form of verbs to describe a present, ongoing action relative to the speaker:^[8]

^{שׁפטים ה:ל} הֲלֹא יִמְצְאוּ יְחַלְּקוּ שָׁלָל...

^{Judg 5:30} “Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?...”

In contrast, Classical Hebrew texts typically use an active participle to describe an ongoing action. The expected Classical Hebrew forms in Judges 5:30 are מֹצְאִים (see Num 15:33) and מְחַלְּקִים. Compare:^[9]

^{בראשׁית לז:יג} וַיֹּאמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יוֹסֵ֗ף הֲלוֹא אַחֶיךָ רֹעִים בִּשְׁכֶם...

^{Gen 37:13} And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem?”...

Another archaic verb phenomenon in these poetic texts is the appearance of prefix form verbs as preterites—i.e, verbs that look like imperfectives used to describe a past event, without the presence of a conversive vav. For example, “יַצֵּב גְּבֻלֹת עַמִּים” “He set the bounds of the peoples” (Deut 32:8).^[10] The more expected form is the wayyiqtol or suffix form preterite verb: הִצִּיב דְּלָתֶיהָ “He set up its gates” (1 Kgs 16:34).

The Different Composition Histories

In spite of the generally archaic character of the language and style of these biblical poems, they are not homogenous: they demonstrate both dialectal diversity and represent different genres of poetic discourse. They also bear traces of varying transmission histories: some seem to be relatively intact poems, while others appear to be fragments, composites, or show traces of revision.^[11]

Song of the Sea (Exodus 15)

The Song of the Sea is a hymn with elements of epic narrative. It is a poetic masterpiece, and seems to have been left relatively untouched over the course of its oral and/or written transmission, although the prosaic narrative traditions associated with it in the preceding Exodus 14 likely changed much more^[12]. The language of the Song is consistently pre-Classical in its style and language.

In addition to the syntactic phenomena discussed above, like the use of the relative particle ‎זוּ zu (2x) and the qatal – yiqtol variations in story-telling context, the word ‎יְכַסְיֻמוּ, “they covered them (v. 5)” contains two additional archaic features: The pronominal 3^rd masculine plural object suffix mû and the retention of the yod as the third root letter before the suffix are both features found older Northwest Semitic languages, and not typical of Classical Hebrew.

Song of Moses

Deuteronomy 31 is an etiological legend about Moses putting a song in writing and performing it; the following chapter 32 contains this song, called by scholars The Song of Moses. The syntax and vocabulary of the Song are consistently preclassical, and it also uses terms and names to describe the God of Israel that are not typical of Deuteronomistic theology: terms like צוּר “Rock”, עֶלְיוֹן “High,” and אֵל נֵכָר “Foreign God.”

It shows a few signs of later scribal intervention: for example, scribes seemingly turned בְּנֵי אֵל “sons of God” into בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל “sons of Israel.”^[13] Several textual difficulties in verses 42-43 also suggest some problems in the transmission of the text, whether introduced accidentally, or representing attempts to “correct” archaic words or phrases unknown to the scribes.

Oracles of Balaam

While the Oracles of Balaam (Num 23:7-10, 18-24. 24:3-9, 15-19) could have had a long history of oral transmission stretching back into the pre-classical/pre-monarchic period,^[14] it fits linguistically (and theologically—see below) within the early monarchic period. The language includes several Classical features.

For example, as discussed above, active participles are not used as predicates in earlier Northwest Semitic languages, or in consistently archaic poems (as with הֲלֹא יִמְצְאוּ יְחַלְּקוּ שָׁלָל in the Song of Deborah—see above). However, in Balaam’s final speech, he states וְיִשְׂרָאֵל עֹשֶׂה חָיִל – “and Israel does valiantly” (Num 24:18) using a participle – a hallmark of classical, rather than archaic Hebrew.

Another linguistic marker that dates these passages to the monarchic period is the presence of loan words from Akkadian: for example, the unit אֶת-רֹבַע (Num 23:10) makes little sense as it is, and is best emended and interpreted in light of the Akkadian turbuˀu “dust-cloud.”^[15]

Jacob’s Blessing

The Blessing of Jacob (Gen 49:2-27) is an anthology of proverbial sayings and oracles concerning the nations. It also includes evidence of the influence of Akkadian: מַעֲדַנֵּי מֶלֶךְ (v. 20) is a loan-translation of the expression naptan šarrūtiya “king’s meal.”^[16] The first three oracles (verses 3-12) appear to be an integral literary composition consistent with the monarchic ideology.^[17]

The text, however, is not totally consistent with the monarchic/Classical period. It contains several syntactical features of Late Biblical Hebrew verbs: the jussive form יְהִי and the past narrative form וַיִּפֹּ֥ל (v. 17) are both used not in their regular Classical function but in present habitual sense, more typical of exilic or post-exilic Hebrew.

This range of stylistic and linguistic markers in different parts of the Blessing of Jacob suggests that the text is likely a product of the classical or post-classical rewriting. If so, it would be one of several examples of a text compiling and reshaping ancient tribal traditions: such a process is probably reflected in the formation of the books of Joshua and Judges, as well.

Moses’s Blessing

The Blessing of Moses (Deut 32:1–43) is even more varied in its language and style, and many parts of it are difficult to understand. A number of words and phrases, especially in its introductory hymnal part (verses 2–5) have given rise to a wide range of interpretations and are still debated today. Apparently, scribes in the classical period had to cope with numerous philological challenges, and tried to reproduce (or perhaps modify) unfamiliar terms or expressions with confused results, which can be a marker of an older text.

However, the poem includes forms typical of Classical Hebrew as well. In Judah’s saying (Deut 33:7), the imperative שְׁמַ֤ע "hear!" is interspersed with imperfect form תְּבִיאֶ֑נּוּ "bring him," as typical for Classical syntax.

In Asher’s saying (Deut 33:24-25), the active participle טֹבֵ֥ל is used in a periphrastic construction with the auxiliary verbיְהִי : this use of the participle is characteristic of Classical or Late Hebrew, rather than an earlier dialect.

An 8^th Century B.C.E. Israelite Poem from Kuntillet Ajrud

In addition to the archaic linguistic features, the Torah poems also share many literary features with Old Canaanite and Ugaritic literature.^[18] One poetic fragment from an archaeological site in the Sinai peninsula known as Kuntillet Ajrud—the only such non-biblical Israelite poem known from this period, around 800 BCE^[19]— can be compared with the biblical poems.

The text, though very fragmentary, includes a number of themes familiar from biblical poetry: First, it begins by describing a theophany including both radiant light and melting mountains. (Brackets represent missing or reconstructed text.)

1 ] שנת [

…] years […

2 ] ברעש. ובזרח. אל. בר[ם . י]הו[ה

] in earthquake. And when El shines forth, when Y[HW]H raises high…

3 ]ר. וימסן. הרם. וידכן. [ג]בנם [

r the mountains will melt, the hills will crush […

The Blessing of Moses similarly begins by describing a deity whose appearance is marked by shining light:

^{דברים לג:ב} וַיֹּאמַר יְ־הוָה מִסִּינַי בָּא וְזָרַח מִשֵּׂעִיר לָמוֹ הוֹפִיעַ מֵהַר פָּארָן...

^{Deut 33:2} He said: YHWH came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; he shone forth from Mount Paran…

The Song of Deborah depicts YHWH’s theophanies as marked by earthquakes:

^{‏שׁפטים ה:ד} יְ־הוָה בְּצֵאתְךָ מִשֵּׂעִיר בְּצַעְדְּךָ מִשְּׂדֵה אֱדוֹם אֶרֶץ רָעָשָׁה גַּם שָׁמַיִם נָטָפוּ גַּם עָבִים נָטְפוּ מָיִם. ^ה:ה הָרִים נָזְלוּ מִפְּנֵי יְ־הוָה זֶה סִינַי מִפְּנֵי יְ־הוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

^{Judg. 5:4} “YHWH, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens poured, the clouds indeed poured water. ^5:5 The mountains quaked before YHWH, the One of Sinai, before YHWH, the God of Israel.

The poem from Kuntillet Ajrud goes on to associate divine worship with military strength:

4 ארץ. ק{ש}דש. עלי. אלם [

] earth. The Holy One over the gods […

5 ] הכן [ל]ברך. בעל. בים. מלחמה

] prepare (yourself) [to] bless Baˁal on a day of war […

6 ] לשם אל. בים. מלח[מה

] to the name of El on a day of wa[r…

This is reminiscent of the beginning of the Song of the Sea, which associates divine praise with military power:

^{‏שׁמות טו:ב} עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָ-הּ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ אֱלֹהֵי אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ. ^טו:ג יְ־הוָה אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה יְ־הוָה שְׁמוֹ. ^טו:ד מַרְכְּבֹת פַּרְעֹה וְחֵילוֹ יָרָה בַיָּם וּמִבְחַר שָׁלִשָׁיו טֻבְּעוּ בְיַם־סוּף.

^{Exod 15:2} YHWH is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. ^15:3 YHWH is a warrior; YHWH is his name.

In another biblical poem, YHWH is called upon for aid in battle and responds with a volcanic theophany:

‏ ^{שׁמואל ב כב:ז} בַּצַּר לִי אֶקְרָא יְ־הוָה וְאֶל אֱלֹהַי אֶקְרָא וַיִּשְׁמַע מֵהֵיכָלוֹ קוֹלִי וְשַׁוְעָתִי בְּאָזְנָיו. ^כב:ח וַתִּגְעַשׁ [וַ][יִּתְגָּעַ֤שׁ] וַתִּרְעַשׁ הָאָרֶץ מוֹסְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם יִרְגָּזוּ וַיִּֽתְגָּעֲשׁוּ כִּֽי חָרָה לֽוֹ. ^כב:ט עָלָה עָשָׁן בְּאַפּוֹ וְאֵשׁ מִפִּיו תֹּאכֵל גֶּחָלִים בָּעֲרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ.

^{2 Sam 22:7} In my distress I called upon YHWH; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears. ^22:8 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry. ^22:9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.^[20]

Other Shared Mythic Motifs

The Torah’s poems also share mythic resonances with other ancient Near Eastern poetry. The Song of the Sea includes the mythological sequence of the victory of the storm-god over the sea (Exod 15:8-9), followed by the establishment of kingship (verses) and the building of a sanctuary (Exod 15:17).^[21]

The story and oracles of Balaam are part of a larger literary/mythological tradition related to the divine seer, Bilˁam son of Beˁor.^[22] A 9^th century B.C.E. plaster inscription from Deir-ˁAlla in Jordan similarly quotes “Balaam, a seer of the Gods.”^[23] The presence of these shared narratives and themes strongly imply continuity between the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age scribal practices of alphabetic writing in ancient Syria and Canaan.^[24]

The Debris of Israelite Poetry

The literary corpus of the pre-classical period survives today in very limited form, but was most likely much larger, existing in both written and oral forms.^[25] While the Classical Biblical prose corpus was likely finalized during the period between the destructions of the two kingdoms (Samaria in 721 B.C.E. and Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E.) during the late Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian ,^[26] the core of the pre-classical poetic corpus was likely part of the traditions that predated the reform of the Kings Hezekiah (727–698 B.C.E.) and his grandson Josiah (639–608 B.C.E.) by a couple of centuries.

Some of this earlier literature may have lost its relevance or even became disputed due to the “Deuteronomistic” religious reform in the 8^th and 7^th centuries B.C.E.^[27] Some of those earlier texts nevertheless found their way into what eventually became the biblical prose compositions, perhaps due to their authoritative status or large popularity. Altogether, the poetic compositions of the Torah are the debris of a pre-classical literary tradition which is largely lost for us forever.