Biblical Poetry

Biblical poetry is poetry found within the Hebrew Bible. The ancient Hebrews themselves identified certain passages as poetic, marking them with terms such as psalm or chant, since a song or chant, or shir, is by its primary meaning already a form of poetry. Whether the poetic passages of the Old Testament follow a regular rhythm or meter has never been settled, and much of what made the original Hebrew count as poetry is lost once the text is translated into English.