The Bible as Literature: Chiasm

I hope last week's post inspired you all to learn the Biblical Languages! Having even a basic grasp of the languages that the scriptures were written in makes such a huge difference in interpretation. Often we miss out on what the author was trying to say because things just don't translate well. The Biblical writers frequently used literary devices that are very difficult to translate (ie. Ps 119 is an alliteration... doesn't really work when translated).

But what we often miss out on is that there are literary techniques used by the Biblical writers outside of the Poetic Books (ie. Ps, Pr, Ecc, Job, etc...). Sometimes a basic knowledge of Greek or Hebrew is required to catch them (like in the case of alliteration) but here is one that we can all catch if we are looking for it: chiasm.

The chiasm (or chiasmus) is named after the letter "chi" in the Greek alphabet (Gk: X; Eng: ch).

It is a literary form used often in the ancient world and there are many examples of it in Hebrew (the OT), Greek (Homer, the NT), and Latin (Seneca, Virgil). It is named after "chi" because the structure follows the > angle of that letter. A chiasm has inverted parallel statements with the most important concept sandwiched between them. Thus it will often have this type of structure: ABBA or ABCBA or ABCDCBA, etc.

Here is an example from 1 John 3:9 (ESV): No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.
A - No one born of God
--B - makes a practice of sinning
----C - for God's seed abides in him
--B - and he cannot keep on sinning
A - because he has been born of God.

So you can see, the "A" and "B" statements parallel each other while the key concept is literally central. Verses like this one are relatively easy to spot but some authors (like Paul) create really big, long, intricate chiasms. For example: 1 Cor 13:8-13 (this is just the structure)
A - love
--B - 3 things: prophecies, tongues, knowledge
----C - things we only know in part
------D - ... I put aside childish ways...
----C - things we only know in part
--B - 3 things: faith, hope, love
A - Love
As you can see, the "parallel" statements simply need to echo each other, they don't have to be exact replications of each other.

Here is another famous example from Isaiah 6:10:
A - Make the heart of this people dull
--B - and their ears heavy
----C - and blind their eyes
----C - lest they see with their eyes
--B - and hear with their ears
A - and understand with their hearts...

The reason that I brought this up is because during our whole "soulless" discussion I was wondering about Matthew 22:37 (and thus also Deuteronomy 6:5).

As I was thinking about these passages I realized that they might be chiastic!
Matt 22:37, 38:
A - "You shall love the Lord your God
--B - with all your heart
----C - and with all your soul
--B - and with all your mind
A - This is the first and greatest commandment."

This same chiastic structure can be seen in the original text that Jesus is referring to,
Deut 6:4-6:
A - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one
--B - You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart
----C - and with all your soul (NEPHESH)
--B - and with all your might.
A - And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

If we can agree that when the Bible is talking about our souls it is really talking about our entire being (physical and spiritual) then it makes sense that the central point in the chiasm would be NEPHESH sandwiched by the other aspects.

Do these verses fit together with our soul discussion?
What other chiasms can you spot in the Bible?
What other literary forms do the Bible writers use?
How do you feel about God using poetic forms to teach us about Him?