Chiasm: God's Literary Highlighter

One of the most amazing literary devices in the Bible is the chiasmus or chiasm. Simply put, a chiasm is a way of structuring a verse, paragraph, or entire book in an a, b, b, a format. These devices are employed extensively throughout the Scriptures and seven part chiasms seem to be the most common (a, b, c, d, c, b, a). One of the more incredible chiasms in the Bible is the flood narrative. Old Testament scholar Gordon Wenham analyzed it and came up with the following:

A: Noah and his sons (Gen 6:10)

  B: All life on earth (6:13:a)

   C: Curse on earth (6:13:b)

    D: Flood announced (6:7)

     E: Ark (6:14-16)

      F: All living creatures (6:17–20 )

       G: Food (6:21)

       H: Animals in man’s hands (7:2–3)

        I: Entering the Ark (7:13–16)

         J: Waters increase (7:17–20)

          X: God remembers Noah (8:1)

        J: Waters decrease (8:13–14)

       I': Exiting the Ark (8:15–19)

      H': Animals (9:2,3)

     G': Food (9:3,4)

    F': All living creatures (9:10a)

   E': Ark (9:10b)

   D’:No flood in future (9:11)

  C': Blessing on earth (9:12–17)

 B': All life on earth (9:16)

A: Noah and his sons (9:18,19a)

Why are chiasms awesome? Here are a couple reasons:

1. Helps you find the main theme. Usually the most important part of a chiasm is the center. In the above verses the phrase "God remembered Noah" is the position of importance. Often when the Bible is taught or preached the context is neglected. Searching for chiasms will help teachers grasp and teach the Bible more effectively. 

2. Demonstrates the integrity of Scripture. Many people assume that the Bible has been corrupted or changed throughout centuries. If there is a detailed literary structure in the text then when cannot assume that it has been changed or corrupted over time.

3. Good riddance JEDP. The documentary hypothesis that prevailed during the 1800s can and ought to be placed within a coffin. These so-called "biblical scholars" assumed that the repetition with in certain Biblical narratives was due to multiple authorship. Nope, the repetition is due to a literary structure. 

4. Facilitates Memorization. Perhaps not sot so much for modern Western man but you can see how this structure helped the ancients memorize large sections of Scripture. If you can track these seven part outlines it would be easier to file scripture away into your mind. 

Here's another chiastic structure from the book of Daniel. Notice the theme that is highlighted in the center of the structure:

A. Daniel is exiled (Chapter 1)

     B. Vision of a statue representing four kingdoms (Chapter 2)

          C. Fiery Furnace (Chapter 3)

                  D. Nebuchadnezzar is removed (Chapter 4)

                  D. Belshazzar is removed (Chapter 5)

          C. Lion's Den (Chapter 6)

      B.  Vision of beasts representing four kingdoms (Chapter 7-9)

A. Vision of Exile (Chapter 10-12)