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.
Thanks for finding and commenting on an old blogpost of mine. I’ll have your blog as a reference now, too. Here are some better, more recent mentions of chiasmus on my blog; you may want to add to your growing work: http://blcasey.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/galatians-mini-structures/
Thank you for the heads up! I’ve looked at your Galatians chiasmi and like them. I’ll certainly be including them on this blog at some point – if you don’t mind. I’ll also have a look at your Philemon chiasmus … It’ll be interesting to see if it’s different than mine. Thanks again. 🙂
thought of you today as I came across a chiasmus in my current reading: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. On page 67: “There’s nothing wrong with being a genius who can fascinate the young. Rather, there’s something wrong with the young who can’t be fascinated by a genius.” Cheers! Gail
Thanks Gail! You made my day! 🙂
Here’s an example of curious parallelism with chiasmatic elements too: Deuteronomy chapter 13 and Revelation chapter 13
The parallel ideas are color coded here,
http://newsbot.dtdns.net/de13rev.htm followed by some notes. Bullinger’s Companion Bible lists thousands of examples of this (he called them, that is, such A,B,C,C’,B’,A’ -types of structures, “introversion” – which seems very similar to chiasm).
Hello Mr. Hooge,
My name is Aaron Hermann. I was thrilled to find your site while researching Chiasms in the Bible. I am very impressed with your collection of work. You obviously have a passion and a talent for both the study and presentation of chiasms in the Bible, and that is why I am writing to you today.
Bob Schlenker, my friend and dear brother in the Lord, has developed a web-based software to support his own explorations of the linguistic structures of the biblical text. We haven’t seen anything else like it! He has been using it privately and refining it for over a decade, and he was recently inspired to make his online web application available publicly.
It’s a professional grade app that is fit for academic and non-academic use. It’s not free but there is a free trial and a promotional website where you can learn more about it and see some examples.
http://chiasmatron2000.com/
With a login to the app, which he calls, with some levity, the Chiasmatron 2000, you can explore it for yourself. It’s got a nice interface and is pretty intuitive, and you’ll find a quick start video on the Help Tips page.
I hope you’re not offended by my approaching you with this request. Please, ask me for a Username and Password. I respect your work and really think that you’ll appreciate what you find.
Thanks for your consideration!
Sincerely,
Aaron Hermann
My Discovery Today
Isaiah chapter 40-66
40:1-40:31 ◆Promise of Return and Creation/God of Atonement
41:1-41:29 ◆ Judgment of nations
42:10-43:7 ◆ Victory of God and release of captivity
43:8-44:8 ◆ The Atonement of Israel
44:9-44:23 ◆ Helpless idols and the Atonement of Israel
44:24-45:13 ◆Liberation by Cyrus
45:14-45:25 ◆ Shame received by the nations
46:1-46:13 ◆ Babylon’s idol
47:1-47:15 ◆ Fall of Babylon
48:1-48:22 ◆ fulfillment of prophecy
49:1-50:3 ◆ Mission of the Lord
50:4-50:11 ◆My patience of the Lord
51:1-51:23 Return to Zion and cup of resentment
52:1-52:12 ◆ Lord becomes king
52:13-53:12 ◆ Hardship and death of the Lord
54:1-54:17 ◆ New blessing
55:1-55:13 ◆ Power of the Word
56:1-56:8 ◆ Salvation of Gentiles
56:9-57:13 ◆ Those who do not fear God
57:14-57:21 ◆ The blessing of the humble ones
58:1-58:14 ◆ Road to follow God
59:1-59:21 ◆ What hinders salvation
60:1-60:22 ◆The arrival of glory and salvation
61:1-61:11 ◆ Gospel for the poor
62:1-62:12 ◆ Salvation of Zion
63:1-63:6 ◆Retaliation of the Lord
63:7-64:11 ◆ Intercession and lamentation
65:1-65:25 ◆The promise of salvation
66:1-66:24 ◆ The manifestation of glory
My Discovery Today
Zechariah
1 The word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah (1:1-6)
2 First Vision (1:7-17)
3 Second and Third Visions (1:18-2:13)
4 Fourth and Fifth Visions (3:1-4:14)
5 Sixth and Seventh Visions (5:1-11)
6 Eighth Vision (6:1-8)
7 Declaration of Crowning and Branch (6:9-15)
8 Prophet’s Question (7:1-7)
9 Lord’s Wrath (7:8-14)
10 Zion’s Promise (8:1-8)
11 Seed of Peace (8:9-13)
12 One-shot big reversal (8:14-23)
13 Judgment of Israel’s Enemy (9:1-8)
14 The arrival of the ruler riding a donkey (9:9-17)
15 Rain of Grace (10:1-11:3)
16 Two Shepherd Kings (11:4-17)
17 Victory of Jerusalem (12:1-6)
18 Lamentation of Jerusalem on the stabbed (12:7-13:1)
19 Idol destruction, flock of sheep scatter (13:2-9)
20 Lord’s Day Battle of the Lord (14:1-3)
21 The Second Coming on Mount Olive (14:4-7)
22 Battle in Jerusalem (14:8-19)
23 Last Victory (14:20-21)
Zechariah
1 The word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah (1:1-6)
2 First Vision (1:7-17)
3 Second and Third Visions (1:18-2:13)
4 Fourth and Fifth Visions (3:1-4:14)
5 Sixth and Seventh Visions (5:1-11)
6 Eighth Vision (6:1-8)
7 Declaration of Crowning and Branch (6:9-15)
8 Prophet’s Question (7:1-7)
9 Lord’s Wrath (7:8-14)
10 Zion’s Promise (8:1-8)
11 Seed of Peace (8:9-13)
12 One-shot big reversal (8:14-23)
13 Judgment of Israel’s Enemy (9:1-8)
14 The arrival of the ruler riding a donkey (9:9-17)
15 Rain of Grace (10:1-11:3)
16 Two Shepherd Kings (11:4-17)
17 Victory of Jerusalem (12:1-6)
18 Lamentation of Jerusalem on the stabbed (12:7-13:1)
19 Idol destruction, flock of sheep scatter (13:2-9)
20 Lord’s Day Battle of the Lord (14:1-3)
21 The Second Coming on Mount Olive (14:4-7)
22 Battle in Jerusalem (14:8-19)
23 Last Victory (14:20-21)
Zechariah
A The word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah (1:1-6)
B First Vision (1:7-17)
C Second and Third Visions (1:18-2:13)
D Fourth and Fifth Visions (3:1-4:14)
E Sixth and Seventh Visions (5:1-11)
F Eighth Vision (6:1-8)
G Declaration of Crowning and Branch (6:9-15)
H Prophet’s Question (7:1-7)
I Lord’s Wrath (7:8-14)
J Zion’s Promise (8:1-8)
K Seed of Peace (8:9-13)
L One-shot big reversal (8:14-23)
K’ Judgment of Israel’s Enemy (9:1-8)
J’ The arrival of the ruler riding a donkey (9:9-17)
I’ Rain of Grace (10:1-11:3)
H’ Two Shepherd Kings (11:4-17)
G’ Victory of Jerusalem (12:1-6)
F’ Lamentation of Jerusalem on the stabbed (12:7-13:1)
E’ Idol destruction, flock of sheep scatter (13:2-9)
D’ Lord’s Day Battle of the Lord (14:1-3)
C’ The Second Coming on Mount Olive (14:4-7)
B’ Battle in Jerusalem (14:8-19)
A’ Last Victory (14:20-21)