Chiasmus
Ancient Poetic Patterns
Throughout Isaiah's writings, and consistent with the
writings of the ancient Hebrew prophets, are found parallel poetic patterns
called chiasmus. These poetic patterns are used to create a depth of meaning
comparing and contrasting themes, ideas, concepts, and symbols. They can be
simple or complex, but I find them very intriguing, enlightening, and beautiful.
Understanding chiasms will greatly enhance your ability to understand Isaiah,
as well as other Hebrew prophets.
What is Chiasmus
In our modern culture and literature, we often think of
things linearly or sequentially. We use bullet points or outlines in consecutive
order, first this and then that, as if we were telling a story. It
is often difficult for us to understand the reverse parallel pattern because it
does not follow a sequential formula. “A fundamental principle in chiasmus is
not to think linear, but concentric. Western culture has been trained to think
differently than the literary patterns laid down both in the ancient Near
Eastern and the Greco-Roman civilizations. Chiasmus also shows up in ancient
Sanskrit, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian texts. It appears in ancient Chinese
writings, including the Analects of Confucius.”[2]
When you begin to understand chiasmus patterns and begin to
find them in scripture, a wonderful new vista of understanding and meaning unfolds.
It feels like reading the scriptures for the first time, where ideas and concepts
come to the surface that were unseen before.
“One of the wonderful, complex and favoured word patterns
used in literature is called the chiasm, or chiastic structure…. In Hebrew it
is called an atbash (אתבש) structure because the aleph is
mirrored by the tav (first and last letters of the aleph-bet) and
the bet is mirrored by the shin (second and second last
letters of the aleph-bet)…. The Bible is littered with chiasms, but one which
has always interested me is the fact that Torah is, in itself, a chiasm.”[3]
There are many sources on the internet or your local library
that can explain chiasmus much better. One of my favorite websites for
understanding and viewing chiastic patterns throughout the old and new
testaments is the Chiasmus Exchange found at https://www.chiasmusxchange.com/.
Chiasmus In This Blog
Chismtic patterns found herein follow a very basic pattern
for ease of reference using colors, underlines, and an A/B/A' pattern, where A
and A' are the parallel comparisons and B is the climax or center. The
following is an example from the second chapter in Isaiah:
A
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem:
B And it shall come to pass in the last days —
when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall
be established in the top of the mountains
C and shall be exalted
above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it —
B’ many people shall go and say, Come and let
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house
of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways and we will
walk in his paths;
A’ for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem.
Final Note:
There are many rules defining real or true chiastic patterns. I do not
claim that the chiasms I find and share follow all (or any) of those rules or
that they would “qualify” as a true chiasm based on official guidelines. And
honestly, I don’t really care. All the chasms I outline are meaningful to me in
helping me understand and expound upon Isaiah's words. I follow the belief that
chiasms are more artistic then scientific, and my wife would tell you that I
find it difficult to follow rules anyway. I also do not claim that the chiasms
used herein were discovered by me. They are a compilation of mine or others
research.
[1]
Ramey, William. “[Chiasmus] Introduction.” InTheBeginning.org,
26 April 2014. https://www.inthebeginning.org/
chiasmus/. Accessed 8 June 2019.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
MacRae Howie, Jennifer H. “Chiasm in Torah.” Ancient Hebrew Research Center, 1999-2019. http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/guests_leviticus.html.
Accessed 8 June 2019.