It's a strophe!

Born from the collocation of lines and versets. I think I understand. All those other things we see are named in ways that do not reveal this pattern underlying the poem. The prior posts represent the learning - and how hard it is (for me at least) to see just by reading or from someone telling me - even when it is well written and well told with great accuracy. Here is the picture with a few things removed.


Stichoi can go - they are a Homeric measurement. Cola can go - they are not so clearly defined. The Strict layer hypothesis is fine but it is I think at a lower level of the structures than the eye (or ear) needs. And it provides too many words. What is left is John's hypothesis. We may still have 'verses' and parts but there is something else that is regular and somehow, strengthening. And stress-units are divided into syllables.

In the Isaiah 40:3 passage we have 5 versets

קוֹל קוֹרֵא
בַּמִּדְבָּ פַּנּוּ
דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה
יַשְּׁרוּ בָּעֲרָבָה
מְסִלָּה לֵאלֹהֵינוּ

in two lines

קוֹל קוֹרֵא בַּמִּדְבָּ פַּנּוּ דֶּרֶךְ יְהוָה
יַשְּׁרוּ בָּעֲרָבָה מְסִלָּה לֵאלֹהֵינוּ

making one strophe.

The stress units are what we think of as 'words' - things delineated by a space.

How important the inner structure becomes to see the meaning - for the containing structure does not show it. I expect the performance - phonologically - must allow the unambiguous hearing of the inner structure.