The Sabbath in Exodus

June 1, 2023Posted inChiasms, Sabbath
Exodus 24 to 40: A Large Chiasm About the Building of the Tabernacle and the Sabbath This large chiasm in the book of Exodus is a very simple one, but it has one very striking feature; the Sabbath Day plays a very important role in it. Immediately after the instructions for building the tabernacle the…

Psalm 25: A Complicated Chiasm and an Acrostic

March 5, 2022Posted inChiasms, Psalms Commentary
Psalm 25 is an imperfect acrostic. Though it has 22 verses, one for each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, verses 6, 18 and 22 do not begin with the expected Hebrew letter. It is also a roughly constructed chiasm, and you can see the details of it in the table below. Understanding the…

Psalm 37: Two Chiasms and an Acrostic

February 5, 2022Posted inChiasms, Psalms Commentary

At first glance, Psalm 37 seems to be a more or less random collection of verses with the general theme, “Do not fret because of evildoers.” It is, in fact, both an acrostic, or alphabetic psalm, and a carefully constructed poem with three main parts, the first two of which are chiasms. The table below lays out these parts in detail. The central promise for those who heed the exhortation and trust in the Lord is the possession of the land; it is repeated at least five times. For us, that promise means a heavenly inheritance and, in the end, the possession of all things in the new heavens and earth, “for all things are yours… and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Cor 3:21-23).”