Chapter IX
THE LITERARY FORM OF THE ASSYRIAN AND THE HEBREW HYMNS
The comparison of the Assyrian and the Hebrew hymns ought naturally to begin with the consideration of their literary form. This brings us to the first and most obvious distinctive mark of poetry in both literatures, the relatively uniform length of the lines in each poem. Wherever a line lengthens out unduly it is clear that there is a lapse into prose. A second phenomenon that meets the eye frequently in the Assyrian poems and even more often in the Hebrew psalms, is the falling of the line into two divisions:
He who accepts no bribe, who takes the side of the weak, Is well pleasing to Shamash, prolongs his life. —Hymn to Shamash No. 6.
Shining Fire God, who surveys the tops of the mountains Mighty Fire God, illuminator of the darkness. —Hymn to Nusku No. 1.
Who leadest the rivers in the midst of the mountains, Who openest the springs in the midst of the hills. —Hymn to Marduk No. 2.
What is man, that thou should’st remember him? Even the son of man, that thou should’st care for him? —Psalm 8:5.
The law of Yahwe is perfect, converting the soul: The testimony of Yahwe is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of Yahwe are right, rejoicing the heart. —Psalm 19:8.
Mouths to them, but they speak not; Eyes to them, but they see not. —Psalm 115:5.
Occasionally the lines in both Assyrian and Hebrew psalms fall into three divisions:
When thou ascendest, when thou ascendest, when thou ascendest —Hymn to Sin No. 3.
In heaven thou art lofty, on earth thou art king, clever adviser of the gods. —Hymn to Marduk No. 1.
Father Ramman, Lord that rideth the storm, is thy name exalted God. —Hymn to Ramman No. 3.
Yahwe our Lord, how glorious thy name, in all the earth! —Psalm 8:2.
God will bless us, and shall fear him all the ends of the earth. —Psalm 67:8.
Who is this king of glory? Yahwe strong and mighty, Yahwe mighty in battle. —Psalm 24:8.
However the most conspicuous feature of both Assyrian and Hebrew poetry is the occurrence of two parallel lines in the distich or couplet. Parallelism may also occur between the parts of the line, and hence it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the two half lines and the couplet, and between the line of three divisions and the tristich. In the Assyrian hymns, as in the Hebrew hymns, the most common form of parallelism is the synonymous, the second line practically repeating the thought of the first line:
Thou treadest in the high heavens, lofty is thy place: Thou art great in the lower world, there is none like thee. —Hymn to Nergal No. 1.
The living creatures, all of them thou shepherdest; Thou art the protector of those, which are above and below. —Hymn to Shamash No. 7.
More to be desired than gold, than much fine gold, And sweeter than honey, yea than honey from the comb. —Psalm 19:11.
Yahwe has made known his salvation, before the nations he has revealed his righteousness He has remembered his mercy to Jacob, and his loyalty to the house of Israel. —Psalm 98:2.
Very common in the Assyrian hymns, but not so frequent in the Hebrew hymns is tautological parallelism, where the second line repeats the thought of the first line in almost the same words. The frequency of this form in the Assyrian hymns is most certainly in part due to the magical potency attached to the repetition of significant lines.
O Lord, who is like thee, who can be compared to thee? Mighty one, who is like thee, who can be compared to thee? —Hymn to Sin No. 3.
When thou callest inside, the people within thou killest; When thou callest outside, the people outside thou killest. —Hymn to Nergal No. 7.
Sing praises to God, sing praises: Sing praises unto our king, sing praises. —Psalm 47:7.
Let peoples thank thee O God; Let peoples all of them thank thee. —Psalm 67:4.
The synthetical parallelism, in which the second line continues the thought of the first line is relatively common in both Assyrian and Hebrew hymns:
Bel, thy father, has granted thee, That the law of all the gods thy hand should hold. —Hymn to Ninib No. 1.
From all countries, so many as speak with the tongue, Thou knowest their plans, their walk thou observest. —Hymn to Shamash No. 6.
The mountains rose, the valleys fell Unto the place, thou hadst appointed for them. —Psalm 104:8.
Sing to Yahwe a new song, for wonders he hath done; Hath helped him his right hand and his holy arm. —Psalm 98:1.
It is one indication of the superior literary quality of the Hebrew hymns that antithetical parallelism, in which the thought of the second line is opposed to that of the first line, occurs quite frequently in the Hebrew hymns, and almost not at all in the Assyrian hymns:
I said, ye are gods, and sons of the Most High all of you; But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the demons. —Psalm 82:6f.
The dead do not praise Yahwe, nor any who go down into silence, But we will bless Yahwe from henceforth and forever. —Psalm 115:171f.
Shamash honors the head of the just man; Shamash rends the evil man like a thong. —Hymn to Shamash No. 1.
Beyond the couplet, strophes of three, four, five, six, and more lines are common in the Assyrian hymns, even as in the Hebrew Psalter. Perhaps the fact that interests the Old Testament student most in the strophic arrangement is that the number of lines in the strophes in the same hymn is by no means always uniform. Accordingly if one may draw a conclusion from Assyrian usage for the Old Testament, the effort often so zealously made to restore by elimination of lines a uniform strophic arrangement, is a grievous error. Variety rather than uniformity was often the end sought.
Another characteristic feature of both Assyrian and Hebrew hymns is the occasional appearance of the refrain. This refrain does not however appear artistically at the end of the strophe, as in Psalm 99 where the refrain, “Holy is He,” is to be found at the end of verses 2, 5, 9, and probably ought to be inserted at the end of verse 7. Rather the refrain usually forms the second half of the individual lines for a succession of three, five, seven, ten, or more lines. The same hymn may employ a variety of refrains. The hymn to Ramman No. 3 has for the last two thirds of the first six lines:
—Mighty Bull and glorious is thy name exalted God—
Then for three lines it repeats only the last third of the refrain:
—is thy name exalted God—
returning to the full refrain however for the tenth line. Then lines 16 to 20 have for the last third of the line the refrain:
—thou storm with elevated vision—
while lines 21 to 25 have for the last third of the line the refrain:
—who can stand with thee?—
In general this use of the refrain in the Assyrian hymns would seem to correspond to what we have in Psalm 115:9-11:
O Israel, trust in Yahwe; their help and their shield is He. O house of Aaron, trust in Yahwe; their help and their shield is He. Ye fearers of Yahwe, trust in Yahwe; their help and their shield is He.
In a number of instances the refrain of the Assyrian hymn occurs in the first third or half of the line, and the occurrence of the double refrain is also frequent:
She who in the days of long ago in the earth was magnified am I; Ishtar who in the earth is magnified am I. —Hymn to Ishtar No. 5.
No such skill in the use of the double refrain is shown, however, as in Psalm 107.
Yet another feature common to Assyrian and Hebrew hymn is the prominence of the rhetorical question:
O Lord who is like thee, who can be compared to thee? Mighty One who is like thee, who can be compared to thee? —Hymn to Sin No. 3.
Who is equal to me, me? Who is comparable to me, me? —Hymn to Ishtar No. 4.
Who is like Yahwe our God, in heaven or on earth Who has placed his throne on high, who stoops to regard the earth? —Psalm 113:5f.
How many are thy works, O Yahwe? all of them in wisdom thou hast made. —Psalm 104:24.
It has already been pointed out in a previous chapter, that the use of the refrain in the Assyrian hymns, as in the case of the Hebrew hymns, indicates antiphonal responses between priest and choir, and choir and choir. Likewise the hymns of both literatures have been seen to take on more decided liturgical character with the introduction of the divine pronouncement through the priest as in the Litany to Asshur and the second Psalm. Both literatures have the sanctuary hymn, and the processional and the recessional hymn. The most significant difference between the Assyrian hymn and the Hebrew hymn would seem to be that the former is usually addressed in the second person to deity, and is accordingly of the nature of prayer, while the Hebrew hymn is the response to the summons to praise deity, is expressed in the third person, and is more genuinely hymnal in character.
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