The Shape of Biblical Language     by John Breck The author is Professor of New Testament at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. Paperback, 390 pgs. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1994 Order from Amazon.com!

The Shape of Biblical Language is the most complete and detailed introduction to chiasmus yet published.  It also serves as a highly useful reference work that identifies and analyzes a large number of individual passages, as well as entire compositions (gospels, letters, hymns, etc.), which appear throughout the canonical Scriptures and beyond.  This is a groundbreaking study that will fascinate and inform anyone who is interested in the dynamics of literary composition.  Its special appeal will be to students, scholars, pastors and others who seek to understand more fully the message of the Bible and the way that message is conveyed.  Perhaps more than any other literary structures, chiastic patterns reveal the "literal sense" of the text.  Their detection and analysis, therefore, is essential for accurate biblical interpretation.  Written chiastically, the Bible should be read chiastically.  This book guides the reader systematically and effectively toward just such a reading.

EDITORIAL COMMENTS

"Illuminating.  A bonanza for exegetes and translators.  On the shoulders of Lund, Kugel and Gerhard, Breck has entered further into the structure of chiasm than anyone before him.  He is now facile princeps in the study of chiasm.  Serious students of chiasmic structures in the Old Testament and especially in the New Testament will find Breck's work a treasure.  He has documented the history and persistence of chiasm from ancient to modern times in a manner that illuminates chiasm as never before".

       Peter Ellis
       Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Fordham University

"Professor Breck's analysis of helical chiastic structure in the biblical texts, in particular the gospels and psalms, adds a new dimension to existing scholarship on the subject, and his demonstration of the persistence of this form of discourse in medieval and modern texts, both literary and journalistic, is truly groundbreaking in its implications"

      William MacBain
      University of Maryland

Table of Contents

ABBREVIATIONS, ix
PREFACE, 1

PART ONE: CHIASMUS, A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES, 7

   1.  New Directions in Biblical Criticism, 9
   2.  Rediscovering Chiastic Patterns, 15
   3.  The Shape of Biblical Language, 21
   4.  From Synonymous Parallelism to the Rhetorical Helix, 38
   5.  The Value of Chiasmus, 59
        ENDNOTES, 61

PART TWO: CHIASMUS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, 71

   1.  Synoptic Narratives
        A.)  Peter's Confession of Faith, 73
        B.)  The Temptation of Christ, 87
        C.)  The Transfiguration, 92
        D.)  Walking on the Lake of Galilee, 99
        E.)  The Healing of Bartimaeus, 105
              ENDNOTES, 109

   2.  Synoptic Discourses
        A.)  The Lukan Infancy Hymns, 115
        B.)  Matthean Structure and the Sermon on the Mount, 123
        C.)  Markan Structure and the "Little Apocalypse", 143
        D.)  The Parables of Jesus, 176
              ENDNOTES, 182

   3.  The Gospel of John
        A.)  Gospel Structure: The Gerhard Hypothesis, 191
        B.)  The Prologue, 198
        C.)  John 6 and the Displacement Theory, 204
        D.)  The Farewell Discourse and Spirit-Paraclete Logia, 213
        E.)  John 21: The Gospel Conclusion, 229
        F.)  Addendum: The Book of Revelation, 232
              ENDNOTES, 237

   4.  The Pauline Epistles
        A.)  First Corinthians, 243
        B.)  Romans, 252
        C.)  Philippians, 256
        D.)  Ephesians, 267
              ENDNOTES, 269

PART THREE: THE PERSISTENCE OF CHIASMUS, 273

   1.  Background: the Dead Sea Scrolls, OT Apocrypha, NT Apocrypha,
        the Apostolic Fathers, 277
   2.  Phos hilaron ("O Gladsome Light"), 287
   3.  Kataxioson ("Vouchsafe, O Lord"), 290
   4.  Romanos the Melodist: Kontakia, 294
   5.  John of Sinai: "The Ladder of Divine Ascent", 298
   6.  Clemence of Barking: "Life of St. Catherine", 300
   7.  Russian Religious Poetry: "Dukhovnye Stikhi", 309
   8.  Chiasmus in 19th Century Religious Literature, 312
   9.  Chiasmus Today, 325
        ENDNOTES, 329

CONCLUSION: CHIASMUS, A KEY TO INTERPRETATION, 333
   ENDNOTES, 329

APPENDIX 1, 335
APPENDIX 2, 359
AFTER WORD, 361
BIBLIOGRAPHY, 369
INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES, 377
INDEX OF NAMES AND SUBJECTS, 385