Why Do Psalms, Proverbs, and Job Use Different Accents?

The article investigates why Psalms, Proverbs, and Job in the Masoretic tradition use a distinct system of accents compared to the other books of the Hebrew Bible. It traces the historical development of these poetic accents, showing their evolution from an earlier scribal practice that relied on spacing to mark sense units. The study highlights how these accents shifted from aids for reading to aids for chanting, leading to a divergence in their function and prominence. By examining examples from the text, the study explores how transformations in accentuation obscure linguistic and thematic prominence, suggesting that the poetic accents prioritise regularity and musicality for liturgical purposes. This shift represents a trade-off between preserving exegetical nuance and facilitating a chanting tradition.