Discovering Chiasms Challenge #5 from Genesis 12

This is the fifth analysis in the Discovering Chiasms Challenge series, intended to help you develop your pattern recognition skills using the Bible while having fun at the same time. (See my article What is a Chiasm? if you are already confused.) The four previous analyses included multiple verses which presented some complexity in itself. This is just a single verse based on a chiasm found in Chiasmus in the New Testament: A Study in the Form and Function of Chiastic Structuresby Nils Lund.

See if you can find the structure in the following verses. Click on "Show Structure" once you have your answer. Then click on "Analysis: Why is it there?" to compare your analysis with mine. I suggest that the Personal Reflection at the end of the lesson may be the most important part of this series.

16b … and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. (Gen 12:16 ESV)

A  Sheep and oxen   B  male donkeys     C  male servants     C′  female servants   B′  female donkeys A′  camels

Analysis: Why is it there?
I hope you easily identified this chiasm. The animals of burden are paired together (A and A′), the donkeys (literally asses) in B and B′, and then the two genders of servants in the center. The more important question with each chiastic structure is, "Why is it there?"

I exhausted several ideas before concluding that, while there is a center point, there is no clear point of emphasis. Here is a record of my thoughts:

1. With the male/male on one side of the chiasm and the female/female on the other, I was immediately curious if there was a gender emphasis to this chiasm. I checked the nouns sheep, oxen and camel in the Hebrew – two are masculine and one is feminine. That's not it. Then it occurred to me that sheep, oxen and camels would be both male and females – that's how reproduction works.
2. My next observation was that this verse does not support the thought that God sees men as dominant or greater than women. Chiastic structures are the shape of a bell curve – both the ascending and descending sides are given equal emphasis. If the males are on the ascending side and the females on the other, there is equal emphasis to both. Therefore God, when inspiring the Bible, did not mention male servants and then female servants to show inequality of the sexes.
3. Confused as to why the male and female servants were the center of this chiasm, I did a Bible search using possibly the best comprehensive reference. Bible Hub for Genesis 12:16 – Commentary section. I read ten well-known Bible resources with the eye, "Why is it there?" Nothing there that I saw.
4. The chiasm points towards the middle where the people are identified as servants. Animals are important but people are more important to the Lord; God gave man dominion over the animals. Yet somehow that does not provide me with a substantive emphasis for the enter.
5. The six items that Pharaoh gave to Abram show the extent of his gratitude for Sarai, as one would pay the owner for a nice Mercedes. Earlier in Genesis 12, the Lord had promised Abram that he and the many that would follow him would be blessed. But in this brief encounter with Pharaoh, Abram relied on deceit rather than the Lord for his provision and blessings. I concluded that the six items reveal the abundance of what Pharaoh provided.

Therefore, I suggest that this chiasm does not seem to use the center point emphasis that is characteristic of many chiastic structures. To me, even though it has the literary structure of a chiasm, it would have nearly the same literary impact if it is viewed as a list, like a grocery list.

I included this simplistic chiasm as an illustration that not all chiasms are valuable when looking for emphasis.



Personal Reflection: In what ways do you help set the people free?

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Would you consider rating each of these "Discovering Chiasms Challenge" quizzes? Based on the feedback that you provide and that of others, I would like to indicate to others if a quiz is one star (* which means very easy) or up to five stars (***** which means very difficult. Your input in the comment section will be much appreciated.

Hints for Discovering Chiasms: How to Improve Your Ability to Identify Chiastic Structures in the Bible

I am glad to announce that the 'Discovering Chiasms' webpage has been completely revamped with more examples and better explanations. I sensed that some people need more help in properly identifying this unique sandwich-style structure in the Bible – this redesigned set of five webpages is my answer to that concern.

The five related webpages are:

The Discovery process
    http://bible-discernments.com/joshua/finding_chiasms.html

Five hints to help you find chiastic structures in the Bible
    http://bible-discernments.com/joshua/finding_chiasms_firstfive.html

Five more hints to help you find chiastic structures in the Bible
    http://bible-discernments.com/joshua/finding_chiasms_fivemore.html

Hints about variations of literary structure in the Bible
    http://bible-discernments.com/joshua/finding_chiasms_variations.html

Test your ability to find chiastic structures in the Bible
    http://bible-discernments.com/joshua/finding_chiasms_skills.html

Please let me know if you have further questions about discovering when a chiasmus appears in the Bible.

Discovering Chiasms Challenge #4 from Genesis 2

This is the fourth analysis in the Discovering Chiasms Challenge series, intended to help you develop your pattern recognition skills using the Bible. (See my article What is a Chiasm? if you are already confused.) The three previous challenges combined chiastic structure with other literary devices. This one just involves a chiasm.

See if you can find the structure in the following verses. Click on "Show Structure" once you have your answer. Then click on "Analysis: Why is it there?" to check your analysis with mine. I suggest that the Personal Reflection at the end of the lesson can be the most important part of these quizzes.

5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up – for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground – 7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9a And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. (Gen 2:5-9a ESV)

A  No life, either shrubs or plants (v5a)   B  Dry land (v5b)     C  No man to work the ground (v5c)       D  A mist watered the ground (v6)     C′  The Lord breathed life into man (v7)   B′  The Lord planted a garden with man (v8) A′  The Lord caused plant life to spring up (v9a)

Analysis: Why is it there?
Some people suggest that following the creation story in Genesis 1, Genesis 2:5-9 is a second creation. To me that is not correct. I like to think of Genesis 1 as a picture of what was created and Genesis 2 as perspective of who, where and how creation developed. To me, I view these as the same creation.

A change took place in verse six. Before that, there was no life: no plants in a parched land where no man existed. Afterwards there was life in the form of man, a garden and abundant plants. The question then focuses on, "What happened?" The key role is in the center of the chiasm: the water and the mist.

The reference to mist and water in verse 6, and to breathed and breath in verse 7, points to the Holy Spirit. The frequent metaphors of water, breath and wind in both the Old and New Testaments are consistent pictures of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus breathed on the disciples to receive new life in the Holy Spirit (John 20:22), so breath was used to give life to the first man. Jesus was resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11), so life was breathed into man through the Holy Spirit. The first man was filled with life by the Holy Spirit.



Personal Reflection: In what ways do you help set the people free?

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Would you consider rating each of these Discovering Chiasms Challenges? Based on the feedback that you provide and that of others, I would like to indicate to others if a quiz is one star (* which means very easy) or up to five stars (***** which means very difficult. Your input in the comment section will be much appreciated.

Discovering Chiasms Challenge #3 from Exodus 2

This is the third challenge in a series intended to help develop and refine your ability to glean greater understanding of God's Words in the Bible. In the previous challenge Discovering Chiasms Challenge #2 from Deuteronomy 30, we looked at a chiasm that included an introductory epitome and a list. (See my article What is a Chiasm? if you are already confused.) This quiz is a more straight-forward chiastic structure ‐ the center-point again adds understanding.

See if you can find the structure in the following verses. Click on "Show Structure" once you have your answer. Then click on "Analysis: Why is it there?" to check your analysis with mine. I suggest that the Personal Reflection at the end of the lesson can be the most important part of these quizzes.

11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, "Why do you strike your companion?" 14 He answered, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses was afraid, and thought, "Surely the thing is known." 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well. (Ex 2:11-15 ESV)

A  Moses understands people's burdens (v11a)   B  An Egyptian oppresses a Hebrew (v11b)     C  Moses stops Egyptian oppression (v12)       D  Two Hebrews are being hostile (v13a)       D′  Moses stops their hostility (v13b)     C′  Exposed: Moses stopped Egyptians (v14)   B′  Pharaoh oppresses Moses (v15a) A′  Moses flees from people's burdens (v15b)

Analysis: Why is it there?
Moses deals with two types of hostility in this brief scenario: first there is the oppression of the Egyptians onto the Hebrew people; then there is the hostile fighting between his own people. He killed the Egyptian and subdued the in-fighting.

While an argument could be made that line C resolves line B, and D′ resolves line D, I think that the above chiastic structure is more revealing. Not only does line B match quite well with line B′, but the other pairings of A and A′, C and C′, and D with D′ seem fairly strong.

The overall theme of this passage is hostility and its resolution. By inference, the position that Moses will assume as leader-to-be is alluded to in B′. The death of the Egyptian is a foretelling of the ultimate death of Pharaoh's army in the C level. At the center of this chiasm, we see a picture of the role that Moses will assume in D′ – to liberate his people from their hostilities.

To me, this chiasm points to the heart of Moses, even forty years before his encounter with the burning bush. His heart, as revealed here, was to liberate his people – to set the captives free. Moses wanted more than just freedom from slavery; his hope was to eliminate conflicts within his own people.




Personal Reflection: In what ways do you help set the people free?

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Would you consider rating each of these Discovering Chiasms Challenges? Based on the feedback that you provide and that of others, I would like to indicate to others if a quiz is one star (* which means very easy) or up to five stars (***** which means very difficult. Your input in the comment section will be much appreciated.

Discovering Chiasms Challenge #2 from Deuteronomy 30

This is the second challenge in a series intended to help develop and refine your ability to glean greater understanding of God's Words in the Bible. In the previous quiz Discovering Chiasms Challenge #1 from John 16, we looked at some asymmetry within a chiasm and the effect it had on the analysis of the passage. (See my article What is a Chiasm? if you are already confused.) This quiz looks at balance of the levels.

See if you can find the structure in the following verses. Click on "Show Structure" once you have your answer. Click again on "Analysis: Why is it there?" to check your analysis with mine. I suggest that the Personal Reflection at the end of the lesson can be the most important part of these quizzes.

6 "… love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 Also the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, 10 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deut 30:6-10 NKJV)

A  Love the Lord with all your heart and soul, that you may live and your enemies will be cursed (v6b,7)   B  Obey the voice of the Lord your God and do all His commands (v8)     C  The Lord will make you abound (v9a)       1) in the work of your hand (v9b)       2) in the fruit of your body (v9c)       3) in your livestock(v9d)       4) in your produce (v9e)     C′  For the Lord will again rejoice over you (v9f)   B′  Obey the voice of the Lord your God and keep all His commandments and statutes (v10a,b) A′  Turn to the Lord with all your heart and soul (v10c)

Analysis: Why is it there?
As you will see, this structure reveals the definition of the circumcised heart that is used by the apostle Paul in Romans 2:29. Please allow me to explain.

Did you find the chiasm? Hopefully the repetition of themes was fairly apparent. Repetition is also found in both modern and classical music – themes appear and then re-appear. I believe that the Hebrew people, normally without access to a written document, would memorize the passages based on the rhythms in the repeating patterns.

The structure of this passage is two literary devices: a chiasm and a list. The chiasm is shown with upper case letters ABCC'B'A' and the list is represented by numbers 1234.

The preceding portion of this chiasm reads, "And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants". This is called an introductory epitome which, as Jerome Walsh explains, "acts as a sort of introductory outline or table of contents." 1 Therefore this chiasm is a definition of circumcision of the heart.

There are several places where circumcision of the heart is mentioned in the Bible, most notably Deuteronomy 10:16, Romans 2:29, and this verse. A question is often asked, "How does one circumcise their heart?" The answer is shown by analyzing the chiasm: love the Lord your God, obey His voice, and keep all His commandments.

Notice the outward to inward flow of this chiasm: it begins at the A-A' level with the heart, flows to the B-B' level in obedience, and then the Lord's response is on the C-C' level. All of the 1234 items in the list begin with the word "in", similar to how bullets are used in modern English to identify items for a kitchen recipe. The first two items in the list, 1 and 2, may be a grouping of man's toils, while the second two items, 3 and 4 seems to be a grouping of God's toils.

Nonetheless, the emphasis of this literary structure is found in the center point: the blessings due to love and obedience. When that is properly aligned, we then have a circumcised heart.


Personal Reflection: What does circumcision of the heart mean to you?

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1 Jerome T. Walsh, " Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative" , (Collegeville, MN, Liturgical Press, 2001), 60.

Would you consider rating each of these Discovering Chiasms Challenges? Based on the feedback that you provide and that of others, I would like to indicate to others if a quiz is one star (* which means very easy) or up to five stars (***** which means very difficult. Your input in the comment section will be much appreciated.

Discovering Chiasms Challenge #1 from John 16

This is the first analysis in the "Discovering Chiasms Challenge" series. See if you can find the chiastic structure in John 16:27-30. (See my article What is a Chiasm? if you are already confused.) Click on "Show Structure" once you have your answer. You will be able to compare your answer with mine:

27 "… because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father." 29 His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God." (John 16:27-30 ESV)

A  You have loved me and have believed that I came from God (v27b)   B  I came from the Father (v28a)     C  I have come into the world (v28b)     C′  I am leaving the world (v28c)   B′  I am going to the Father (v28d) A′  Disciples confess their belief that Jesus came from God (v29-30)

Analysis: Why is it there?
To me, the value of the chiastic structure really stands out in this passage. Notice how much longer A′ is than A: linguists might call this slightly asymmetrical (i.e. non-symmetrical) because v29-30 is so much longer than v27b.

Normally the length of each of the levels should be approximately the same. In this case, the repetition of the words 'have believed that I came from God' in v27b with 'we believe that you came from God' in v30 qualifies this as a chiasm. What is peculiar is that the disciples do not mention love.

The slight asymmetry is used to draw our attention to that section of the structure. On the A′ level, the disciples state they believe he came from God but they fail to say that they love Jesus.

I suggest that it is one thing to believe someone and an entirely different thing to love them. Here the chiasm reveals their heart: the disciples do not yet love the Lord. The C-C′ centerpoint reveals the importance of Jesus leaving the world – so that they could love him.


Personal Reflection: How would you respond to Jesus?

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Would you consider rating each of these Discovering Chiasms Challenges? Based on the feedback that you provide and that of others, I would like to indicate to others if a quiz is one star (* which means very easy) or up to five stars (***** which means very difficult. Your input in the comment section will be much appreciated.