#Hebrew chiasmus in scripture

[mindfulldsliving]

Apostolic Authority and the Role of Prophets: A Scriptural Perspective on the Restored Gospel

The Restored Gospel is centered on God’s unwavering love and His desire to guide His children. From ancient times to today, prophets have been essential in delivering that divine guidance. Apostolic authority, deeply rooted in scripture, serves as a bridge connecting humanity to God’s will. This blog explores how prophetic teachings and sacred texts illuminate the restored truths we hold dear…

[jerryallen]

The beauty of the Bible

Post 246

There are many reasons why the Bible is the most popular book ever written. One is the beautiful way the timeless truths of God’s Word are written down. Hebrew literature has many interesting features, designed not only to inform and inspire, but also to aid the memory (people heard it long before they could read it for themselves. Many statements and even stories are written in ways that impact the hearer or reader. This blog post illustrates one of the more intriguing of these features.

A Hebrew literary device called chiasmus highlights details of special importance (www.gotquestions.org). Ideas are arranged in a certain order, then repeated in reverse or inverted order, producing a kind of mirror effect. For example, the expression “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” has a chiastic structure. The first idea parallels the fourth, and the second idea parallels the third. You could symbolize this as ABBA or as ABB’A’.

Mark 2:27 in the New Testament is in the form of a simple chiasmus:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Matthew 7:6 (NIV version) is a slightly longer example. (Bear in mind that there is spiritual truth underlying this fairly literal rendering of the biblical text. I have aligned and labelled the four parts to illustrate my point):

[A] “Do not give dogs what is sacred.

[B] Do not throw your pearls to pigs…

[B’] They may trample them under their feet…

[A’] then turn and tear you to pieces.”

A relates to A’ and B relates to B’. The pigs trample and the dogs tear, not the other way around. Understanding chiasmus sometimes helps you understand Scripture.

One of Benjamin Franklin’s axioms has chiastic structure: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

And you occasionally see or hear this pattern in contemporary English. A news commentator recently made this statement:

“The democrats asked congress:

[A] to pass the Affordable Care Act [Obama Care]

[B] so people could see what is in it.

Now the republicans are asking congress:

[B’] to decide what will be in the new healthcare bill

[A’] so congress can pass it.”

  Joel 3:17–21 illustrates a larger chiasmus. Its seven parts can be diagrammed in summary form as ABCXCBA (the X represents the middle part, which, having no parallel, stands out as particularly important). Check it out for yourself.

A - God dwells in Zion (verse 17a) B - Jerusalem is holy (verse 17b) C - Foreign invaders are banished (verse 17c) X - The Kingdom is blessed (verse 18) C - Foreign enemies are destroyed (verse 19) B - Jerusalem and Judah are preserved (verses 20–21a) A - God dwells in Zion (verse 21b)

Hebrew authors (OT and NT) used chiasmus purposely, not by accident.

My next blog post (Tuesday Nov. 7) will describe a chiasmus in the Bible that will blow your mind.

p�1�Rz�"�x