Phil: Paragraph 6 & 7- Study
Posted on 21. May, 2009 by Jeremy in Study
While in school I took a class called Hebrew Wisdom Literature where I learned some really cool biblical writing techniques. Most are hard to think naturally for us Western thinkers, but one that I found intersting was the chiasm. The chiasm works like this:
A “But many that are first
B shall be last;
B1 and the last
A1 shall be first. Matthew 19:30
Notice that it is the same thought inverted. Here is another example:
A “Make the heart of this people fat,
B and make their ears heavy,
C and shut their eyes;
C1 lest they see with their eyes,
B1 and hear with their ears,
A1 and understand with their heart, and convert [return], and be healed.” Isaiah 6:10
The bible is filled with this technique and the reason that I bring it up is because paragraphs 6 & 7 are in the form of a double chiasm (crisscross shape). Look at the format:
You’ll need a literal translation like the KJV or ESV to see it, but check it out and then you might want to google chiasmus and check out some more.
