Chiasms, Memorable Teaching
“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10).
Effective teaching employs repetition, precept upon precept as noted in Isaiah. Sadly, as the Isaiah context shows, the immediate hearers seem to have included those slow of heart. A special style of effective repetitive teaching called Chiasms appears throughout the Bible and follows an established pattern.
Let us begin with a simple example from our Lord. He preached a general principle in a memorable way. His words seem to have an echo: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. Whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). Clearly there is repetition here. This repetition follows a predictable pattern and is a characteristic of much we find Biblical teaching:
We see a focus on the thought of humility. This thought of humility is nested within a contrasting thought of exaltation. The first mentioned self‑exaltation is negative, the Bible teaches that self‑exaltation is an error. However, the nested second exaltation for the humble one is positive, it is a reward for acting with a spirit pleasing to God.
WHY CHIASM?
Writing out this text from Matthew with arrows pointing to the related nested thoughts, we see:
Because this pattern with the connecting arrows suggests the letter “X,” called Chi in Greek, this pattern is called a Chiasm.
Chiasms appear throughout Matthew. This specific pattern used in Matthew 23:12 follows the pattern A:B:B:A. This simple pattern appears elsewhere in scripture and is employed frequently in Ezekiel’s prophetic writing.[1] One well‑formed example will be presented from Ezekiel 19:2‑3 although throughout the Old Testament many, many examples could be shown:
Chiasm use among Jews is found in Moses’ writings. The code of conduct commanded by Jehovah Himself, following the flood, employs Chiasm (Genesis 9:6):
This method of reinforcing learning was familiar and well established when our Lord employed it in his teaching. Though this structure is not common in our day, Chiasm structure was already centuries‑old when Moses employed it. Chiasms appear in the most ancient literature of the Near East that pre‑date Moses. Chiasms are used in The Epic of Gilgamesh, which recounts the exaggerated exploits of this ruler who lived after the flood as the fifth king of Uruk, or biblical Erech, a city just north of Ur, second in importance only to Babel in the confederacy of Nimrod (Genesis 10:10).[2] Chiasms are used in the God‑dishonoring Creation myths (Enuma elis) which also pre‑dates the Pentateuch and stands in stark contrast to the sensible established science that opens the book of Genesis.[3]
The Church historian Eusebius writing ~326 AD refers to Matthew as, “the Gospel of Matthew in the Hebrew, which is also preserved until this time” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, Section 10). In Matthew we hear the actual words of our Lord in his own Aramaic language, which Eusebius calls Hebrew. Matthew 24:26 has three nested thoughts forming a Chiastic structure:
The focus of the nested thoughts is that which is loved and held to by an individual making a decision as to whom he will serve — either God or Mammon. This is nested within consideration of which one of these two masters he will hate and despise. Hopefully, the good hearer of this message will hate and despise Mammon. In turn, the next layer of nesting opens and closes repeating a declaration of the impossibility of serving both of these masters. You may either serve God, or you certainly shall serve Mammon.
Matthew 13 demonstrates that Chiasm structure is far from accidental. Chiasms are carefully constructed. The focus, or center, of the Chiasm is the sad observation that the unspiritual have no understanding. Their eyes are closed lest they should see with their eyes; hear with their ears; have an understanding heart and be converted; for the eyes of the unspiritual see, but do not perceive. In contrast, the spiritual have eyes that are blessed; the ears of the unspiritual hear, but do not understand, while in contrast the spiritual hear with their ears and understand; this fulfills what prophecy promised and what prophets longed for; hearing these words; now taught in parables.
OLD TESTAMENT CHIASMS, OR ATBESH
Numerous examples of Chiasms may be found in the Old Testament. The Jewish commentators are familiar with this structure and make reference to it calling it both Chiasm and Atbesh. Frequently, the Hebrew may use clearly related words not always as clearly linked when translated from the Hebrew.[4]
Chiastic, or Atbesh structure appears frequently in the Psalms. The structure may be found in Psalm 18 where it is spread out over 47 verses:
The focus for this Chiasm in Psalm 18 is that the LORD would reward the Psalmist’s righteousness and cleanness of hands. That is, while David had responded with force, David had not been provoked to brutality. He had been rescued from his powerful enemies. The LORD is his rock!
CHIASMS OVER MANY CHAPTERS
While the structure for these Chiasms has been examined only for related verses of the Bible, as Fohrman shows, this structure may also cover many chapters of the Bible.[4] This large‑scale structure will be examined separately. The Bible teachings are memorable. What assists and makes them memorable to us is a deliberate structure that may not be obvious without examination.
— Br. Richard Doctor
[1] Boadt, Lawrence, “The A:B:B:A Chiasm of Identical Roots in Ezekiel,” Vetus Testamentum, 25 (4), October 1975, pages 693‑699.
[2] Doctor, Richard, “The Deluge and the Epic of Gilgamesh,” Beauties of the Truth, 9 (2), May 1998.
[3] Seri, Andrea, “Borrowings to Create Anew: Intertextuality in the Babylonian Poem of ‘Creation’ (Enuma elis),” Journal of the American Oriental Society, 134 (1), January‑March 2014, pages 89‑106.
[4] Fohrman, David, Genesis: A Parsha Companion, Aleph Beta Press and Maggid Books, New Milford, Conneticut, 2019. This acronym Atbesh used in Jewish commentaries is based on the Hebrew alphabet. The first Hebrew letter is Aleph (A). It is paired with the final letter Tau (T). Then the second letter Beth (B) is paired with the second to last letter Shin (Sh). Hence, A-T-Be-Sh, or Atbesh.