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.
