Tuesday 1 October 2024

Poetry in Genesis - 2

 Continuing from the previous post, here is Noah with curse and blessing

Genesis 9:25-27

It is certainly possible to take the 16 syllables of bars 19 to 23 and split them into two phrases of  8 and 8. Then they fit the typical poetic line length.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan,
a servant of servants he will be to his brothers.
כה וי֖אמר אר֣ור כנ֑ען
ע֥בד עבד֖ים יֽהי֥ה לאחֽיו
8
10
ch viamr arur cnyn
ybd ybdim ihih lakiv
26 And he said, Blessed is Yahweh the God of Shem,
and Canaan will be their servant.
כו וי֕אמר בר֥וך יהו֖ה אל֣הי ש֑ם
ויה֥י כנ֖ען ע֥בד לֽמו
12
9
cv viamr bruç ihvh alohi wm
vihi cnyn ybd lmo
27 ♪C God will seduce Japhet and he will dwell in the tents of Shem,
and Canaan will be their servant.
כז י֤פת אלהים֙ לי֔פת וישכ֖ן באֽהלי־ש֑ם
ויה֥י כנ֖ען ע֥בד לֽמו
16
9
cz ipt alohim lipt viwcon baohli-wm
vihi cnyn ybd lmo

Besides the short passages that Loder notes, 14:19-20, 25:23, 27:27-29, there are a number of isolated verses that my Jerusalem Bible considers poetic: 8:22, 9:6, 12:3, 15:18, 16:11-12, 21:7, 24:60.

Genesis 8:22, The music does not support a poetic scansion
22 ♪g For all the days of the earth,
seed and harvest, and cold and warmth, and summer and autumn, and day and night will not cease.
כב ע֖ד כל־ימ֣י הא֑רץ
ז֡רע ו֠קציר וק֨ר וח֜ם וק֧יץ וח֛רף וי֥ום ול֖ילה ל֥א ישבֽתו
7
23
cb yod cl-imi harx
zry vqxir vqor vkom vqix vkorf viom vlilh la iwbotu
Genesis 9:6, the zaqef-qaton is in the right place to consider this as 4 short poetic lines
6 One shedding the blood of the human, by the human its blood will be shed,
for in the image of God, he made the human.
ו שפך֙ ד֣ם הֽאד֔ם בֽאד֖ם דמ֣ו ישפ֑ך
כ֚י בצ֣לם אלה֔ים עש֖ה את־האדֽם
14
13
v wopç dm hadm badm dmo iiwpç
ci bxlm alohim ywh at-hadm
Genesis 12:3: again the z-q's are placed where one could pause (but not in the middle of a word).
A formatting change does not convince me that this qualifies as poetry. Nor am I convinced that Genesis 15:18 is poetry.
Genesis 15:18
 -- when I see the sequence coming up from c or d to the Atnah, or a similar sequence returning to the tonic this strikes me as story telling and reporting, not poetics.

Part way through Genesis - more in a later post.




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