Hebrew poetry and parallelism
Biblical verse leans on matching lines, not on end-rhyme. Psalms, prophets, and wisdom books all use it.
Pairs of lines
A second line may restate the first (synonymous), contrast it (antithetic), or finish it (synthetic). That outline is a teaching aid from Lowth onward, not a native genre label. Read two cola together before you gloss either in isolation.
the LORD is my shepherd
Ps 23:1I shall not lack
Ps 23:1Sound and terseness
Poetry drops particles, shortens forms, and loves construct pairs. Chiasm and keyword reprise bind longer poems. Cantillation in the three poetic books is its own system.
Where to start
Psalm 23, Psalm 1, and a few lines of Isaiah 40 are kinder than Job. Translate line by line, then read the pair out loud in Hebrew.
Read next
Psalm 23 word by word
A short poem with shepherd imagery, first-person suffixes, and the parallelism typical of biblical verse.
Cantillation marks
Te'amim mark stress, pause, and melody. They also show how a verse is parsed.
How to start reading
A small grammar, the high-frequency list, and three short texts will carry you farther than a year of isolated drills.