The earliest literature of the Hebrews was written in their hearts, and was expressed in primitive poetry and song long before it was written down. This is not surprising, since verse is often more readily memorized than prose, and in those far-off days when memory was the only book, this was a consideration of some importance. For centuries such songs would be handed down by word of mouth until eventually they were recorded; and, indeed, poetry is found to antedate prose in the literary history of many nations. Greek literature began with the poems of Homer; the traditional sagas of Scandinavia are metrical in form; while India produced the Vedic hymns—reputedly the earliest religious literature extant. So in the Old Testament one can still find traces of primitive Hebrew poetry, not only in admittedly poetic portions such as the book of Psalms, but also in the historical books which are chiefly composed in prose.
As one might expect, these ancient fragments of Hebrew poetry are often primitive and unrestrained in the emotions which they express, but they are none the less interesting and vivid, and throw light upon the Hebrew folk in the childhood of their development. Thus Lamech, a direct descendent of Cain, sings a brief song of vengeance against his foes in Genesis 4:23f.; while it is in poetry that the Israelites denounce their enemies (Num. 21:27-30). When the people had safely crossed the Red Sea, their gratitude found spontaneous expression in verse: "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. . . . The Lord is my strength and song" (Ex. 15: 1f.). Then when David learned that Saul and Jonathan had been slain in battle, he composed the beautiful ode recorded in the first chapter of II Samuel, and containing the words, "Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions."
In our Common Version it is often difficult readily to distinguish such poetic fragments, but reference to more recent translations, in which Hebrew verse is printed as such, will give the reader some idea of the extent of the primitive poetry of the children of Israel.
