Nearing Completion of the New Testament

I have today completed a first draft of 18,700 (60%) of the 31,100 verses in the Bible using the pattern analysis methodology. It has taken 4.5 years. Click here to read more about pattern analysis.

0% — April 6, 2016
26% — May 6, 2017
30% — August 31, 2017
35% — January 21, 2018
40% — April 20, 2018
45% — October 24, 2018
50% — March 14, 2019
55% — March 29, 2020
60% — September 29, 2020

Possibly more important is that I am 98% complete with a first draft of the New Testament. There are eight chapters in 1 and 2 Corinthians that I have not yet analyzed. That 98% represents just the first draft.

In these 4.5 years, the methodology has become more complete and comprehensive. I have seen where some of my early analyses can and should be revised. The current model is a bit more mature. Maybe I am too much of a perfectionist, but I think that consistency to the model is important and should result in greater acceptance of this work. A second review should also reveal some corrections that were simply missed the first time.

I suggest that the implications associated with completing the New Testament are significant. If I can show one consistent yet complex model for Matthew to Revelation, I have then suggested there appears to be one underlying source behind the entire work, not eight individual New Testament authors. (I also have completed 47% of the Old Testament using this same model.) This is evidence, not proof, for one inspiration. It suggests that we should not be picking and chosing our way through the Bible, but instead we should come to grips with what that original source intended, the God who loves us so very deeply.

Fifty-five Percent (55%) Complete

Pattern analysis is the study of the thought process that the Holy Spirit used when He inspired the Bible. It attempts to answer the question, Can a model be created which provides consistent evidence that all Scripture was inspired by God using thematic organizations of the biblical text?

Through literary devices such as the chiasm, parallel symmetry, concluding summary, and substructures, I am seeing a very complex, unique and consistent method for presenting themes. There are forty literary devices in all. Each of the so-called ‘authors’ of the Bible, Moses, Malachi and Mark to name a few, demonstrate the use of these same literary devices. Strong evidence of one inspiring author.

Of the 31,100 verses in the Bible, I have today analyzed 17,100 which is 55%. It has taken nearly four years:

0% — April 6, 2016
26% — May 6, 2017
30% — August 31, 2017
35% — January 21, 2018
40% — April 20, 2018
45% — October 24, 2018
50% — March 14, 2019
55% — March 29, 2020

At least 25% of every book has been sampled and thirty-four have been completed. Overall that is 45% of the Old Testament and 82% of the New Testament. During the last year, I found it necessary to tweak the methodology in small ways which resulted in the modification of some of the previously completed analyses.

So far in my analysis of the NASB translation of the Bible, two verses appear to be randomly placed — these are not included in most Bible translations because they do not appear in the earliest copies of the Bible. Besides those two verses, all other verses participate in this well-organized thought process.

As mentioned in my last blog posting a year ago, my wife passed away in December 2018. Last year will likely go down as the most difficult year of my life. In the midst of my grief, I sold my house and relocated to a home near my daughter outside Harrisburg, PA. Loneliness was such a heavy burden upon me. That was 2019 and now we have a new year. I took off my wedding ring on January 1 as a statement that 2019 is gone. Praise the Lord! Back again to pattern analysis.

My short-term goal is to complete the gospels. I have completed a first draft of Matthew, Mark and John, as well as the first fourteen chapters of Luke. From there, I intend to update the two manuscripts, Pattern Analysis Handbook which presents the methodology and then the Pattern Analysis Findings which attempts to show how the methodology is applied in various situations.

Questions? Tom@ThomasBClarke.com

Pattern Analysis for Half of the Bible is Completed

Pattern analysis is the study of the thought process that the Holy Spirit used when He inspired the Bible. Through literary devices such as the chiasm, parallel symmetry, concluding summary, and substructures, I am seeing a very complex, unique and consistent method for presenting themes. There are forty literary devices in all. Each of the so-called ‘authors’ of the Bible, Moses, Malachi and Mark to name a few, reveal this same methodology. So far in my analysis of half of the Bible, every verse participates in this well-organized thought process. Using the NASB translation, there is no verse that is randomly placed.

Of the 31,100 verses in the Bible, I have today analyzed 15,600 which is 50%. It has taken nearly three years:

0% — April 6, 2016
26% — May 6, 2017
30% — August 31, 2017
35% — January 21, 2018
40% — April 20, 2018
45% — October 24, 2018
50% — March 14, 2019

At least 25% of every book has been sampled and thirty-one have been completed. Overall that is 43% of the Old Testament and 70% of the New Testament.

Three major things have happened during the five months since my last update in October. By far the most significant was last December when my wife Nancy passed away. During the time since, I have been confronted with how much she was my best friend. I knew that but what I'm saying is I miss her. She was an excellent woman who truly loved and depended upon the Lord despite her health issues.

In my April 2018 blog article, I announced I had started another manuscript entitled Pattern Analysis Findings. I hit a stumbling block shortly after that, so in November I picked that up again. That has been my focus for the last few months as I work through issues related to my wife.

My ability to identify literary structures has substantially improved since 2016. I find myself going back to those earlier efforts to review and potentially modify each as necessary. The third major thing has been the review of Genesis through Romans — that process is nearing completion.

To say I am 50% complete does not do justice to the effort that is still to come. Just as I have been reviewing my effort to date, others must come alongside to do the same. These would include both editors and scholars. Input from others is an essential component to an effort of this magnitude. It is exciting to see how the Lord is putting all this together.
Peace, Tom

Pattern Analysis Methodology Remains Essentially Unchanged

The Lord has given me a large project: to analyze the entire Bible using a methodology that I've named pattern analysis. I have now analyzed 14,000 of the 31,000 verses in the Bible which represents 45%. Here is my progress to date:
0% — April 6, 2016
26% — May 6, 2017
30% — August 31, 2017
35% — January 21, 2018
40% — April 20, 2018
45% — October 24, 2018

There are times, such as this moment composing this brief update, where I am in awe at what I am seeing. It is the same Bible that everyone reads but the increased clarity and strong locations of emphasis have made the text much more alive to me. I want to show it to others, yet because I am not complete, I feel released to only present some samples.

At least 20% of every book has been sampled and thirty have been completed. To date, 40% of the Old Testament and 60% of the New Testament has identified literary structures. Over 1,200 literary structures have been documented. Since April 2018, most of my analyses have been in the Old Testament. Still to date, every verse that has been analyzed fits within the model of pattern analysis. That is, pattern analysis continues to point to the belief that there is but one inspiring author of the Bible: the Holy Spirit.

The methodology that was outlined in September 2017 has basically remained—there have been only minor changes since that time. Most of my time since April 2018 has concentrated on the book of Proverbs. Pattern analysis does not replace the more classical exegesis methods, it supplements it. The book Pattern Analysis Handbook will define the methodology.

More Progress with Pattern Analysis

I have now analyzed 40% of the Bible using the Pattern Analysis methodology. Here is my progress over the last two years:
0% — April 6, 2016
26% — May 6, 2017
30% — August 31, 2017
35% — January 21, 2018
40% — April 20, 2018

In addition to the Pattern Analysis Handbook that was last updated in September 2017, I recently started a scholarly paper, Pattern Analysis Findings. While the Handbook targets those in the church body who are interested in gleaning more from the Bible, the Findings manuscript targets those of academic persuasion. It assumes that the reader is very familiar with literary analysis of the Bible, not just chiasms but a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

My hope is that if I can get some good scholarly feedback on this methodology, then I can more confidently update and complete the Handbook. The Preface of the Findings book currently reads:

Pattern Analysis is a methodology to help us know the Holy Spirit’s emphasis within any literary unit (pericope) in the Bible. It uses established literary structure techniques, yet it also extends those techniques as well. It is intended for use by both scholars and non-scholars. A core element of this method is the belief that “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Study of the Bible’s literary structure has received increased attention in recent years from both scholars and the worldwide church. For example, many have read and/or analyzed structures using macro-level chiasms and similar approaches. This proposed method takes us from identification of structures to hearing the Holy Spirit’s emphatic voice within structures.

In April 2016, I began to prepare a database of literary structures by sampling each book of the Bible. I had read Jerome Walsh’s Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative several years earlier—I wondered if Walsh’s methodology could be used or modified to apply to the entire Bible. In particular, I was most curious to see if Walsh’s rules for emphasis could be applied throughout the Bible, or possibly modified. ¹

My approach was to select at least three contiguous chapters from each book. Using the NASB as a source, the verses were not to be paraphrased, modified, or rearranged in any way. Every verse was to be included; that is, no words were to be skipped between literary units.

In April 2018 I completed that assignment by analyzing 12,400 (forty percent) of the 31,100 verses in the Bible: twenty-four books in entirety and fifteen to eighty percent of the remaining books. This paper is a presentation of the findings of that investigation.

Pattern Analysis is the name that I selected for this methodology. There are forty tools which comprise this toolbox of techniques. Many of those tools have been established by Walsh and many others over the last three centuries. I modified some of these tools based on where the emphasis was found. Some tools are new, or at least new to me. The combination and presentation of these tools is unique. When these tools were put together, the emphasis was dependably found in the expected locations.

This paper presents the results of this study with details on how these techniques appear. The purpose of this paper then is to describe this pattern analysis toolbox, how these tools appear, and the frequency of their appearance.

1.  Jerome T. Walsh, Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative, (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001).

That is the Preface—the remainder is still to be written and may some day be published as a book. As with other scholarly papers such as a thesis or dissertation, this will take some time. If you are interested in being notified when the Handbook or the Findings is available to the general public, please contact me: Tom@ThomasBClarke.com.

Oh to enjoy the refreshing Word of God, Tom

How to Find Where Literary Units Begin and End Within the Bible

If you are one to either identify or read about chiasms in the Bible, I have a question: are there clearly identified boundary markers that indicate where the structure begins and ends? I have just completed that task for myself, approximately 1,000 literary units which include 10,800 of the 31,100 verses in the Bible. In the process, I had to make some modifications and I'm glad I did—the resulting changes were often much more profound. In essence, I believe this exercise corrected some mistakes that I made.

Now that is a mouthful so I need to explain. In the Bible, literary units are similar to a paragraph. In the English language, well-designed paragraphs identify a logical block of text with each paragraph presenting a common topic. In the Bible, each literary unit contains one or more literary devices such as a chiasm, a list, an alternation, etc. Therefore, I am recommending that every chiasm, list, alternation, etc., should be identified with its boundary markers.

In the ancient languages of the Bible, paragraph marks did not exist. Instead, boundaries were placed in the text to mark off where the common topic began and ended. In that way, the discussion started, the topic was discussed, and then the discussion ended. There are three types of boundaries: frames, beginning markers, and ending markers.

Frames
I suspect that the frame is the most easily understood of the three types of boundaries. You may have sometimes heard of them as bookends for they act like a structure that holds a series of books in place. Frames are sometimes the exact words in both the first and last appearance. More often they are the same theme which are expressed using similar words. Sometimes the two themes are opposites.

Two examples may help clarify the frame. In Leviticus 18:1-5, the words, ‘I am the Lord your God.’ appear as a frame in verses 2 and 4; the literary structure between those is an alternation. Note also that the words in verse 5 are a concluding summary, an integral part of the literary unit but not part of the frame.

As another example, please look with me at the literary unit for Luke 10:27-37. After the introductory summary in verses 27 and 28, the man asked Jesus “And who is my neighbor?” in verse 29. Then in verse 36, Jesus asked “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor?” Both parts of the frame are essentially the same question. In this way, the boundary of the literary structure is identified.

Beginning Markers
The most common way that boundaries appear is by the use of beginning markers. Imagine writing a 20-page paper without paragraphs. Instead of paragraphs, suppose you wrote the words “Next topic:” whenever a new topic was discussed. In the same way, beginning markers clearly identify a literary unit.

I first read about beginning markers in Dr. David Dorsey’s book, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament, 1999. In the illustration at the right, the boundaries of the first literary unit are identified by the two beginning markers.

For example, if the literary structure is a chiasm about Jesus speaking at the Sea of Galilee, a beginning marker might first identify that Jesus crossed over to the other side of the lake, and a second beginning marker might be a change of speaker because the Pharisees challenged Him. I am calling His crossing the lake a change of location and the challenge by the Pharisees a change of speaker. There are twenty types of beginning markers in my database—change of location and change of speaker are two of the more common ones.

Ending Markers
The least common type of boundary marker that I've seen is the ending marker. These also are identified in Dr. David Dorsey’s book, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament. My analysis to date is 35% of the entire Bible whereas Dr. Dorsey's analysis is limited to the Old Testament. There are some small differences between our two approaches.

In the illustration on the right entitled Three Literary Units, the middle literary unit does not have either a beginning or an ending marker. Instead, the ending marker of the previous structure along with the beginning marker of the subsequent marker are used to identify the boundaries of that middle structure.

An example of an ending marker occurs in Mark 1:38 where Jesus stated, “Let us go somewhere else …” to the disciples. In the Old Testament, it is stated that, Thus Moses finished the work in Exodus 40:33. I have identified both of these ending markers as a concluding marker.

Conclusion
I strongly encourage those of us that perform literary analysis of biblical structures to identify the boundary markers. If you would be interested in my list of beginning and ending markers, please email me at Tom@ThomasBClarke.com. I will then send you an excerpt from my forthcoming book entitled Pattern Analysis Handbook as well as a notification when the book is available for purchase.

Christian Authors Must Be More Accountable than the National Media

Many Christians in the USA today are having problems with the national media. There are many reports that they are presenting the truth incorrectly. The plea seems to be, ‘Where do I go to find reliable truth?’

How do we feed our sheep? If a preacher stood up on Sunday to deliver a message on Job and Jabez, suggesting that they are one and the same person, we would all hopefully scream loudly. The congregation would certainly wonder if that was the right church for them.

In the same way, Christian authors have an immense responsibility to present God’s Word correctly. We can’t help but see Christianity through our own lens and that of our church’s denomination—that’s not what I’m writing about. I’m stating that we authors have a heavy responsibility to adequately research and present correctly the Word of God. The national media is being increasingly held to a higher standard—shouldn’t we, too?

The biggest offense I see is Christian authors taking a verse out of context. Big problem! One-liners that, without the consideration of the surrounding text, take on a completely new meaning.

I was asked this week to read the latest book by a leading Christian author. On the first page he quoted one of the psalms. The sense that he used was completely contrary to the whole theme of the psalm. He possibly used a word search to find the verse but did not ask himself what that ten-verse psalm was really saying. In this case, his Bible translation had used a word that has two meanings and he used the wrong meaning. We must read the text in context to assure we are not inadvertently presenting God’s Word incorrectly.

Progress Update on Pattern Analysis

Today I met a short-term goal: I have now analyzed 30% of the Bible using the Pattern Analysis methodology. My goal when I started this effort a year ago was to take a sampling of every book of the Bible with a minimum of 10% of each book or three chapters, whichever is more comprehensive. I am very close to completing that goal with today being another milestone. Hallelujah!

Over this past year I had to substantially enhance the Pattern Analysis model to accomodate the new patterns that I was seeing. With this improved model, I can say that every verse that I’ve looked at has fit into one or more literary patterns. That is, I am not seeing any evidence at this time where an editor (the technical name is a redactor) has modified the biblical text. All the variations that people use to support the theory of a redactor are, at least in my analysis so far, the Holy Spirit’s use of emphasis.

The current model that I am using may be seen in part at Pattern Analysis Handbook. That handbook is currently undergoing scholarly review and will hopefully be published in 2017. You may email me at Tom@ThomasBClarke.com for more information and/or notification of availability.

*** Update on 1/21/2018 ***:
While I have now completed 35% of the Bible, I have decided to postpone publication for some period of time because I want to be absolutely positive that the approach that I have been seeing is correct. I expect my various writings about Pattern Analysis will be controversial because people who do not believe the Bible was inspired by God will attempt to punch holes into this methodology. Thank you for your patience—if you wish, I will be very glad to add you to my mailing list as the various teachings and workbooks become available.
Tom

An Example of Pattern Analysis: Acts 3:1-11

Pattern Analysis, an analytical tool to help discern the emphatic voice of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, is one step closer to being released to the public. I am so excited because the first book, Pattern Analysis Handbook: A Compact Guide, has been sent to a few Bible scholars for their technical review. I can now, for the moment, concentrate on the web-based presentation of these structured themes.

Pattern analysis allows us to use our native language (mine is English) to understand what was most important to the Holy Spirit when He inspired the Bible. We don't need to know the ancient Hebrew or Greek although that is always a good thing. Instead we analyze the repetitive patterns to help us find what is most important. These patterns, what I call structured themes, persist in whatever language you are using as long as your translation is fairly literal.

I typically use the New American Standard Bible (NASB) because it attempts to adhere to the original languages without rephrasing for the sake of readability. When sentences are reorganized or new paragraphs started which are not logically based literary units, these structured themes can be much more difficult to discern. Reorganized text can lead to the association of two themes that were not intended to be associated together.

Back to pattern analysis. A chiasm is one of the ways that themes were organized. Here is an example from Acts 3:1-11. On the left side of that page, there is a brief explanation of four emphatic portions to that chiasm. Then as you scroll over each of the elements on the right, the colors should change to reflect their association.

You may contact me directly at Tom@ThomasBClarke.com for further inquiries about pattern analysis.
Many blessings, Tom

Pattern Analysis in the Bible

I believe I am onto something significant regarding the Bible. I'm calling it Pattern Analysis—a way of reading the Bible for greater understanding and meaning. Pattern Analysis includes literary devices such as the chiasm and lists and summarizations; forty devices in all. I'm really excited to start showing this tool later this year but my work is not yet ready.

A year ago I announced that Discovering Emphasis in the Bible is ready for review. I received some comments that basically said I need to dig deeper. At the same time, the Holy Spirit nudged me to develop a catalog of structured themes. I never imagined the extent and beauty that would be revealed to me from this process. They were right, I was not ready.

Today I have completed cataloging 25% of the Bible: 18% of the Old Covenant and 45% of the New. While that is more than 800 structured themes, I'm not done yet. But what I can say is that so far there is not a verse that does not fit into this methodology!

Why is that important to you? Because Pattern Analysis,

1. organizes Bible passages into complete units,
2. clarifies the text and often adds new meaning, and
3. reveals one or typically several emphatic messages in each structure

Pattern Analysis also gives considerable credibility to the thinking that the Holy Spirit inspired the entire Bible. Just as you can look at the signature on a credit card receipt to see if it is from your spouse, so it seems we can use Pattern Analysis to ask, Is this passage from that same source?. Pattern Analysis supports the thinking that there is a Verbal Plenary Inspiration of the Bible.

Through this medium called the Bible Discernments blog, I hope to keep you informed about my progress. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Tom

Thematic Structures in the Bible Expose Fresh Meanings

I've been studying chiastic structures in the Bible for over 15 years. When I mention that to most Bible-believing people, a glaze typically comes over their face. If they're interested, I offer to show them Matthew 6:24, a very simple chiasm with boat loads of profound truth.

A	No one can serve two masters.
	B	Either you will hate the one
		C	and love the other,
		C′	or you will be devoted to the one
	B′	and despise the other.
A′	You cannot serve God and wealth.
	(Matt 6:24 NASB)

I explain that to many people, this verse conveys the thought that we must choose which master we will serve: God or wealth. While I believe that is correct, I boldly state that there is a far more profound understanding when looking at it from the standpoint of a chiasm.

I suggest that a chiasm is like a sandwich, bread at the top and bottom, mustard or mayonnaise on the bread, some lettuce next to the mayo, and then some meat. The meat is the important part.

In A and A′, the bread is revealed as two masters, God and wealth. The mustard or mayonnaise is the hate and despise in B and B′, and the meat is love and 'be devoted to' in C and C′.

Here is the clincher: I suggest that in a chiasm, the center is generally considered the emphatic portion of a passage, just as the meat is the major reason to purchase the sandwich. So I ask, “What is in the middle?” The answer is love and 'be devoted to.' “To who?” I then ask. The obvious answer is God. To that I then conclude this verse is emphasizing love, not service, to that master. When we love Him, then service is a natural outflow.

Types of Thematic Structures
There are five basic types of thematic structures in the Bible: chiasm, parallel symmetry, alternation, immediate repetition and lists. The most common is the chiasm. In a brief look at 200 structures in both the Old and New Testament over the last 3 weeks, I found that 32% were chiastic, 24% contained parallel symmetry, 23% alternations, 15% immediate repetition, and 6% lists. A substantial number of these contain variations that make their study most intriguing.

My hope is to help people learn how to read their Bible from the standpoint of thematic structures. The many gems that clarify the meaning of a passage are hidden within these structures. These gems then point to a Holy Spirit-type of interaction that emphatically reveals the meaning and application of the passage. My next book, Pattern Analysis Handbook, attempts to take people through that identification and discovery process.

If you are interested in being notified when the book is available, my email address is Tom@ThomasBClarke.com.

Word Duplication in the Hebrew Portions of the Bible

The Hebrew portion of the Bible contains an intriguing technique to strongly emphasize an action: word duplication. If you said, “I will obey obey God” in English, it would make little sense. In Hebrew, that duplication gives very strong emphasis to the commitment to obey. You might say instead, "I will totally obey." My hope in this article is to teach how you can recognize this duplication technique – that is, how the Holy Spirit inspired the scriptures with this technique.

This literary device is also known as iteratio and subjunctio.

This rhetoric occurs when a word is repeated. Using the book of Zechariah (NASB), here are some instances of word duplication:

“Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the Lord.” Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely obey the Lord your God. (v6:15)

The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I will also go.” (v8:21)

“Woe to the worthless shepherd
Who leaves the flock!
A sword will be on his arm
And on his right eye!
His arm will be totally withered
And his right eye will be blind ¹.” (v11:21)
Footnote: ¹ Lit completely dimmed

It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. (v12:3)

Many times, an adverb [recognized by the -ly at the end of the word] indicates a duplicated Hebrew word.

In a sense, our English diminishes the word repetition. If you said, “I will jump jump over the candlestick”, that does not infer a jump that is twice as high. Rather, it points to the wholehearted commitment to jump over the candlestick. No burnt pants from that jump!

In our effort to hear the voice of God through the Holy Spirit, even the little things in language can provide a strong look into the heart of God. See if you can find examples of word duplication in these verses from Deuteronomy (NASB):

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. (v4:26)

You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. (v6:17)

And when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. (v7:2)

The Bible: Why a Verbal Plenary Inspiration is Important to You

Never heard about a verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible? I had not either but it makes total sense to me. It is the understanding that the Bible was verbally inspired by God and it is the absolute authority (plenary) of His Word. From this view we can make the faith statement that, “The Bible is totally reliable.”

Imagine yourself a ten or twelve year old girl, having been told that your father loved you but never fully believing it or hearing it or even reading it. Daddy has been away for a very long time and never communicates directly. Mommy only tells you that your father loved you and still loves you. She tells you stories and may even write you notes, but they are not his words. You desperately want to hear it from the man who fathered you, a man you do not know.

This is what has happened to the Church. For well over one hundred years, theologians have audaciously presented to Bible students the thought that the Holy Scriptures have been modified by men. For example, they suggest that some man named Matthew took his portion of the ‘canon’ from either another man named Mark or some other manuscript called a Q or Quell.

These theologians are now our pastors, having been trained and are now teaching the people in our churches that the book of Matthew was passed on from someone else. To them, it is not authoritative. They present theories such as historical criticism and source criticism that report about God’s love. These words are not trustworthy because they do not directly come from the original source.

These theories are not just about Matthew, they involve every book of the Bible. These theories promote statements such as “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy 3:16 NASB) but they take away the Bible’s profound impact. They also promote the thought that some man (or men) called a redactor modified the text, placing it into the form we now have before us.

Dear ten-year-old girl, please know that when the Bible refers to God’s immense love for you, it is spoken through the Holy Spirit. He is the embodiment of God. He loves you, not some other man or some other deity saying this about God, but God himself.

For example, Daniel 9:4 records a portion of a prayer by Daniel:

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments … ”

There are two ways we can look at that single verse:

• a man acting as a narrator who recorded that prayer, or
• the Holy Spirit that took the words of prayer for all mankind.

I suggest to you that the Bible is much more than the words of some narrators which have been modified by men over the years. Instead, it is the Word given to you personally through the Holy Spirit so that you can know His character. This Daddy has not been away for a very long time. This Daddy communicates continuously, for the one who has an ear. He truly loves you.

Abbreviated Lists in Biblical Literary Structure

An abbreviated list is the frequent appearance of listed items in the Bible but not all items are repeated. To put it another way, an abbreviated list is a literary device where the shortened form is representative of the whole.

I replaced the landscaping in front of our house in 2015. I selected a weeping blue spruce for the centerpiece which is surrounded by a variety of other plants: a white pine, a Japanese maple, three blue cloak firs, some cotoneasters, barberries, junipers, yews, weigela, and assorted flowers. When I call this the "blue spruce and Japanese maple plantings", that is an abbreviated list.

In Deuteronomy 13:3,4 (NASB) there is a list of seven statutes:

For the LORD your God is testing you to find out if

• you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
• You shall follow the LORD your God
• and fear Him;
• and you shall keep His commandments,
• [and] listen to His voice,
• [and] serve Him,
• and cling to Him. ¹

This list is abbreviated many times in Deuteronomy. Think of all seven when you see reduced lists such as verses 11:22 and 13:18.

“For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him,” (v11:22)

“… if you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.” (v13:18)

When you discover an abbreviated list, it is emphatic simply because it is frequently repeated. Even the single reference in verse 29:9 is an abbreviated way of stating the entire list.

“So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.” (v29:9)

The clue to finding these abbreviated lists is in their extensive repetition.

1. The words [and] appear in the Hebrew text but do not appear in the NASB. If the first letter of a Hebrew word is the character Vav, that is usually the word AND.