Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-11-30
~.a,lraster f,lteIligenrer.
The Hebrew Acrostic.

Philadelphia Record.
The acros,ic poem is far from being
modern conceit. Hebrew poetry abounds
in the acrostic or alphabetical arrange
ment to such an extent that so eminent .
biblical critic as Bishop Lowth considered
this form as one of the leading character
istics of the Hebrew muse. This, how
ever, is an exaggeration. The acrostic or
alphabetical poem as found in the Hebrew
Scriptures consists Of twenty-five lines,
systems of lines, periods or stauzas, cor.
responding with the number of letters in
the Hebrew alphabet, and every line or
system Of lines begins with each letter in
its order as it stands in the alphabet.
Thus the first line or stanza begins
with aleph, the second with beth, and
SO Oh. This, as Bishop Lowth OBJ
serves, was indubitably intended for the
assistance of the memory, and was chiefly
employed in such subjects of common use
as maxims of morality and forms Of devo,
tion, which, being expressed in detached
sentences or aphorisms, the form employed
by the most ancient sageS in delivering
their instructions, were not easy to be re-
membered unless by the aid of some such
device. BY this artificial contrivance
helpful catchword was supplied for every
line or couplet or triplet Of lines, and the
difficulty arising from the want OF
connection in the parts and Of a
regular train of thought carried through
the whole was thus admirably overcome.
There are still extant in the books of the
Old Testament twelve Ofthese poems-the
25th, 34tl, 37th, 111th, 112th. 10th and
145th Psalms Proverbs xxi, 1871, and the
first four chapters of Lamentations. Three
of fthese-thc 18th and 112th Psalms and the
third chapter of Lamcntations-are per.
fectly alphabetical. every line being mark
ed by it's initial letter. The other
nine arc less completely alphabet:
ical, every stanza or group OF
lines only being so distinguished. OF the
three former it is to he remarked that not
only is each single line marked by its ini.
tial letter, but that the whole poem is di'
vided into stanzas two Of these poems
each into ten stanzas, all Of which are com
plete except the two last in each, which
arc of three lines, and ia them both the
sense and the construction manifestly point
the division of the stanzas and mark Their
limit. The third and most remarkable of
these alphabetical poems. Lamentations
ill.,, consists of twenty-five stanzas of three
lines. but in this the initial letter of
each stanZa is also the initial letter Ol
cyery line Of that .;tanza. And in all the
three poems the pauses of the SEN
fences coincide with the pauses of the lines
and stanzas. 1t is further to be observed
that the lines so determined by the initial
in the same poem arc. notably equal ir
length, in the number Of words nearly,
and probably in the number Of syllables
and that the lines of each stanza have :
remarkable congruity one with another il
matter as we'll rs form. OF course these
beauties of method have not been trans
ferred into the English and other moderr
versions of the Old Testament, nor arr
they to bc perceived in tho Septaugint 0,
ancient Greek rendering, but must b'
sought in the original Hebrew text.