I'm sure you've heard of the Bible Codes in which you take every 5th or 15th or whatever letter from the text of the Bible and look for words formed by those letters. It can get pretty complicated because it's only valid if you're using the original Hebrew. Since ancient manuscripts often have minor variations in spelling or individual words, you could get different results depending on which manuscripts you use, and that's if you can get the actual text of any ancient manuscripts at all. Like I said, it can get complicated.

Fortunately, I'm talking about something else entirely: chiasms! Or chiasmi if you want to be really technical.

A chiasm is a way of organizing a text--or even a speech--so that the second half mirrors the first half. Although modern writers sometimes use them to make short, catchy slogans, ancient writers frequently used them as the structure for broad story arcs. The ancient Greeks, Anglo-Saxons, and other cultures used them when recording their great sagas.

The best thing about chiasms is that the Bible is full of them!

Sometimes they are used to help the reader remember the order of the story. Sometimes they highlight connections between different ideas or different characters. In doing so, they can reveal things about how the author saw his subject that you might not get from just reading the plain text. They're like a code, but they're not really a secret. Since ancient writers used them, ancient readers knew about them. We've just kinda forgotten.

Chiasms can add a lot of depth and even fun to your Bible study, and I want to show you how to find them!

The Chiasm Course starts on August 25th at Common Sense Bible Study and you can't sign up after it starts.

Go to Common Sense Bible Study, click on the Choose A Plan button and select the only plan available to join the community. Once there, introduce yourself to the rest of the class and start a conversation.

https://commonsensebiblestudy.com