The Chiastic Canon

I've been on the subject of chiasm lately, and something interesting appeared that I wanted to share. Perhaps it's the old adage of the man who buys a Toyota sees Toyotas everywhere, but it is quite fascinating nonetheless. Chiasm and Hebrew literary style are used, and inspired to be used, I might add, throughout the entire Bible. For a solid introduction to chiasm, check out the post Psalm 8 and chiasms. 

The chiasm I'd like to talk about today is the Bible. Reading through the Bible in its modern order, the chiastic nature of its layout isn't readily apparent, but in its original form, it's actually quite obvious. The whole canon, in its original order (More info on original order here, starting on page 26 in the left-hand menu) and proper divisions, is a chiasm! It's really beautiful when you take the time to look at it, especially because of what the center of the chiasm is, which we'll see in a moment. 

The divisions in their original order are as follows:

A: The Law
    B: The Prophets
        C: The Writings
            D: The Gospels
        C: The General Epistles
    B: The Epistles of Paul
A: Revelations

The Pentateuch and Revelations form an Inclusio, which means the two ends mirror each other, also known as bookends. A good example of an inclusio is in the book of Matthew, where in the first chapter you have Immanuel, or “God with us,” and then in the last verse you have Jesus's words, “Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the age.” The use of inclusio here emphasizes the permanent nature of His being with us and extends it beyond His physical ministry on Earth. 

So in the canon, the first five books of the Bible chronicle the fall of man, the introduction of God's work with man, and the institution of the covenant. Then in Revelations, we find the covenant fulfilled and mankind restored to his place with God. It's a classic inclusio, but an inclusio does not always mean that there is a chiasm, so there's a bit more to it than that.

The prophets and the epistles of Paul mirror each other in some significant ways. The prophets are mostly warnings from God about the consequences of disobedience and urges for them to turn back to Him. The Epistles of Paul are, as it turns out, mostly warnings and corrections, and an explanation to Gentiles of living life in God's covenant. 

The writings and the general epistles mirror each other as well, both having mostly to do with wisdom from above, faithful endurance, and sound doctrine. 

James meshes well with the Psalms, and Peter combines the endurance of Job with the wisdom and warnings of Proverbs.

1st John matches quite well with SOS and Ruth, combining loyal, obedient bride imagery and love.

2nd John matches Lamentations and Ecclesiastes very well, since Ecclesiastes is about the vanity of the world, the purpose of man in service to God, and Lamentations is a lament for those who have fallen away. 2nd John's main message is a warning about loving the world and avoiding deceivers. 

Esther and Daniel have to do with faithfulness in exile, and 3rd John is about supporting the faithful and rejecting false teachers. 

Ezra and Nehemiah, tell us of men who had unwavering faithfulness to God, rebuilt the temple in purity, and rejected compromise, while Chronicles retell Israel's history. Jude summarizes redemptive history and calls for holiness. 

The center of it all is the gospels, and Acts is included in that lineup. Everything hinges around the Gospels, and the center of the message of the Bible, the main point that the Author is trying to get across is the ministry of Jesus. 

While this is a curiosity project on my part, there's a deeper message behind this structure. The Bible is a book that was written across thousands of years, and here we find that all of those authors collaborated to utilize a Hebrew literary device in the order in which they were canonized. There's about as much chance of that happening as there is of winning the lottery five times in a row. From the beginning to the end, even down to its very structure, the Bible was inspired by God's Spirit. (Seven divisions, anyone?)

This post represents the merest scratch on the surface of the divine structure of the Bible, and as you dig into the individual books themselves and the categories they represent, there is far to the structure of the Bible than what meets the eye. Who wrote the Bible, man or God?

Men penned the words, but the thumbprint of God is in every word and every sentence of the Bible. 

I'm serious.

Just like a perfectly formed rose, it's one perfect and beautiful creation from beginning to end, and one continuous story of God's work and relationship with mankind.