TIP of the day - from the blogs: Chiasmus
From Biblical Chiasmus: Discovering and Exploring Reverse Parallelism in the Bible
Chiasmus
Chiasmus is a literary device. It occurs when the ‘word order’ or ‘topic order’ of the first half of a writing is reversed in the second half of the writing.
***Classical dictionary definiton.
Sometimes it’s best to explain chiasmus by simply giving an example:
***Example.
***Additional small examples (see small but sweet)
***Used by the Biblical writers – and by others as well (see Biblical chiasmus in context).
***Why chiasmus was used (structure/format – no paragraphs, periods, etc., beauty, memory, increased opportunity for theology – via matches. Note possible role of scrolls and/or poetry in chiami’s development.
***Any length: short (aba, abba) to long (entire book: e.g., Titus (see Titus), Song of Songs (see S of S), Gospel of Mark (see GoM page), etc).
***Interpretation: Center the most important (less so with double centers); Sometimes the two ends match the centers / sometimes just the end matches the center; Can have a shift in the center; Helical read (outside-in, inside out?; see Ps. 150); Role for inclusions? (Ps. 150).
*** Many types of matches: words/themes; sounds; via gender; … compare/contrast/continue, etc. Up to the creativity of the writer.
***Finding chiasmus: the outsides or the center (center is best for me). … If you don’t know Greek or Hebrew, try using NASB.
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Tiny Chiasmi – ‘Here a Chiasmus, There a Chiasmus …’ (sorry that indentation is lost)
In this entry I’ll be placing lots of small chiasmi. Small chiasmi are not my primary focus so it may take some time to ‘fill this up’.
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Old Testament:
Genesis:
1:27a
A God created man
B in His own image,
B’ in the image of God
A’ He created him
2:4
A This is the account of the heavens
B and the earth
C when they were created,
C’ in the day that the LORD God made
B’ earth
A’ and heaven.
6:8-9
A 8 But Noah / found favor
B in the eyes of the Lord.
C 9 These are the records of the generations of Noah.
D Noah was a righteous man,
D’ blameless
C’ in his time [Me: ‘among his peers’];
B’ with God
A’ Noah / walked
9:6a
A “Whoever sheds
B the blood
C of man
C’ by man
B’ his blood
A’ shall be shed …”
12:16
Therefore he [Me: Pharoah] treated Abram well for her [Me: Sarai’s] sake; and gave him
A sheep and oxen
B and [Me: male] donkeys
C and male [Me: servants]
C’ and female servants
B’ and female donkeys
A’ and camels.
Job
32:6-10
6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said,
A “I am young in years and you are old; Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.
B 7 “I thought age should speak, And increased years should teach wisdom.
C 8 “But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
B’ 9 “The abundant in years may not be wise, Nor may elders understand justice.
A’ 10 “So I say, ‘Listen to me, I too will tell what I think.’
Psalms
19:1
A The heavens
B declare
C the glory of God –
C’ the work of his hands
B’ proclaim
A’ the sky.
72:1-2
A 1 Give the king Your justice, O God,
B and Your righteousness to the king’s son.
B’ 2 May he judge Your people with righteousness
A’ and Your afflicted with justice.
103:1
A Bless, O my soul,
B the Lord
C And all that is within me,
B’ the name of His holiness,
A’ bless, O my soul.
Proverbs
10:15
A The wealth
B of a rich man
C is his fortress;
C’ the ruin
B’ of the poor
A’ is their poverty
11:19-20
A 19 He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life,
B And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death.
B’ 20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD,
A’ But the blameless in their walk are His delight.
Isaiah
5:20
A Woe to those who call evil
B good,
B’ and good
A evil;
A Who substitute darkness
B for light
B’ and light
A’ for darkness;
A Who substitute bitter
B for sweet,
B’ and sweet
A’ for bitter!
6:10
A “Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
B Their ears dull,
C And their eyes dim,
C’ Lest they see with their eyes,
B’ Hear with their ears,
A’ Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
Jeremiah
17:1-3
A 1 The sin of Judah
B is written down
C with an iron stylus;
C’ with a diamond point
B’ it is engraved upon the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars,
A’ 2 As they remember their children, So they remember their altars and their Asherim By green trees on the high hills … 3 … your high places for sin …
Joel
2:28-29
A 28 It will come about after this
B That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
C And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
D Your old men / will dream dreams,
D’ Your young men / will see visions.
C’ 29 Even on the male and female servants
B’ I will pour out My Spirit
A’ in those days.
Hosea
13:14
A Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
B Shall I redeem them from death?
B’ O Death, where are your thorns?
A’ O Sheol, where is your sting?
Amos
2:11-12
A 11 “Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets
B And some of your young men to be Nazirites.
C Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares the LORD.
B’ 12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
A’ And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’
5:24
A Let roll down
B like waters
C justice
C’ and righteousness
B’ like a stream
A’ ever flowing
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New Testament:
Matthew
19:30
A “But many who are first
B will be last;
B’ and the last,
A’ first.”
23:12
A “And whoever exalts himself
B shall be humbled;
B’ and whoever humbles himself
A’ shall be exalted.
Mark
8:35-38
34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
A 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
B [Me: question:] 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul / ?
B’ [Me: question:] 37 For what will a man give in exchange for his soul / ?
A’ 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
10:29b, 30, 31
28 Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left
A house
B or brothers or sisters
C or mother
C’ or father
B’ or children
A’ or farms,
for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age,
A houses
B and brothers and sisters
C and mothers
B’ and children
A’ and farms,
along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. 31 But many
A who are first
B will be last,
B’ and the last,
A’ first.”
11:9b-10
8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
A “Hosanna!
B Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
B’ 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
A’ Hosanna in the highest!”
Luke
16:13
A “No servant can serve two masters;
B for either he will hate the one,
C and love the other,
C’ or else he will hold to one,
B’ and despise the other.
A’ You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Romans
8:38-39a
38 For I am convinced that
A neither death,
B nor life,
C nor angels, nor rulers,
D nor things present,
D’ nor things to come,
C’ nor powers,
B’ 39 nor height,
A’ nor depth,
nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians
8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
A that though He was rich,
B yet for your sake He became poor,
B’ that you through His poverty
A’ might become rich.
Ephesians
2:8-9
A 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith;
B and that not of yourselves,
C it is the gift of God;
B’ 9 not as a result of works,
A’ that no one should boast.
Philippians
1:15-17
A 15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife,
B but some also from good will;
B’ 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
A’ 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.
1 Thessalonians
5:23
A Now the God of peace Himself,
B sanctify you completely
C and entirely your spirit and soul and body
B’ without blame
A’ at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 John
3:9
A No one who is born of God
B practices sin,
C because His seed abides in him;
B’ and he cannot sin,
A’ because he is born of God.
Revelation
3:7
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David,
A who opens
B and no one will shut,
B’ and who shuts
A’ and no one opens,
says this …
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
Comments
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I've always loved chiasm as a literary device. What has always amazed me is that it was a device used across centuries of ancient writers representing vastly different literary traditions, and as far as I know, it was not documented by the rhetoricians.
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