psalm consists of three strophes in which

It is sometimes stated that ancient Hebrew texts demonstrate assonance more often than rhyme.

Similar rhyming verses within the Hebrew Bible ought to put to rest the. Finally, the first word of the second line (maTAI taQUM mishshenaTEksgha) is identical to the first word of the first line, linking those two lines even without obvious rhyme. In the third line, the second and fourth words create an internal rhyme with each other (me'AT sheNOT, me'AT tenuMOT). Thus, the last word of the first line ('AD maTAI aTZEL tishKAV) rhymes with the last word of the last line (me'AT khibBUQ yaDAYM lishKAV). As Hebraist Seth Ben-Mordecai (author, The Exodus Haggadah) points out, these two verses, split into four lines of poetry, demonstrate both internal rhyme (common to Biblical Hebrew texts) and end-of-line rhyme (less common in Hebrew but the norm in English rhyming poetry), as well as noticeable meter. One fine example of rhyme and meter in ancient Hebrew texts is found in the Book of Proverbs, 6:9, 10. The phonological phenomena asha as updated that obscure the rhymes of Chaucer only 600 years after his death, are also to be found in Biblical Hebrew texts which spanned a millennium. Even within contemporary English, some speakers rhyme 'again' with 'rain' while others (northern English accents especially) rhyme 'again' with 'pen.' Using English as an example, we would be hard-pressed to find rhyme or even meter in the opening verses of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in Middle English, if we were to pronounce the words of that poem as we pronounce their direct descendants in Modern English. Further, different tribal groups or other groups of Hebrew speakers undoubtedly pronounced words differently in one and the same era. Words that were rhyming pairs at the beginning of that period may no longer rhyme at the end of that period.

Over that length of time, the pronunciation of every language changes. This assertion is understandable because the ancient texts preserved in the Hebrew Bible were written over a period of at least a millennium. It is often stated that ancient Hebrew poetry contains almost no rhyme. Characteristics of Ancient Hebrew poetry Rhyme

The question as to whether the poetical passages of the Old Testament show signs of regular rhythm or meter is yet unsolved. The ancient Hebrews perceived that there were poetical portions in their sacred texts, as shown by their entitling as songs or chants passages such as Exodus 15:1-19 and Numbers 21:17-20 a song or chant ( shir) is, according to the primary meaning of the term, poetry.

Psalm consists of three strophes in which