Chiasmus in the New Testament: A Study in the Form and Function of Chiastic Structures     by Nils W. Lund The late author, a pastor and educator in the Covenant Church, was former Dean of North Park Theological Seminary, where he served on the faculty from 1922 till his death.  His Ph.D. from the University of Chicago Divinity School (conferred in 1941) culminated over thirty years of study on chiasmus. Hendrickson Publishers, 1992 (presently out of print) Paperback, 434 pgs. Order from Amazon.com!

One of the classic studies in form criticism that acknowledged the debt owed to Jewish patterns of speech and thought, Nils Lund's Chiasmus in the New Testament has had an impact upon the scholarly study of Scripture extending far beyond its original 1942 appearance.  One virtually cannot read a commentary on a New Testament book without seeing some reference to "chiastic structure", "a chiasm", "chiasmus", "inverted parallelism", or an "A B C C' B' A' pattern".  Form criticism has changed drastically since the appearance of Martin Dibelius's From Tradition to Gospel.  In some ways Chiasmus in the New Testament anticipated those evolutions and opened windows that allow us to understand the biblical text on its own terms.  Its enduring relevance to modern rhetorical and literary criticism makes its reappearance especially timely and welcome.

Table of Contents

PREFACE TO THE 1992 REPRINT, vii
PREFACE, xxiii

INTRODUCTION (Chapter II)

1.  The Study of Form, 3
2.  Preliminary Survey, 30

THE OLD TESTAMENT

1.  The Law (Chapter III)
     a.  Leviticus 11:24-28, 51
     b.  Leviticus 14:49-53, 52
     c.  Leviticus 14:10-20, 53
     d.  Leviticus 14:21-32, 55
     e.  Leviticus 24:13-23, 58
     f.   Genesis 7:21-23, 60
     g.  Genesis 4:17--11:19, 61

2.  The Prophets (Chapter IV)
     a.  Isaiah 2:1--4:6, 64
     b.  Isaiah 5:1-7, 76
     c.  Isaiah 17:1-14, 79
     d.  Amos 2:14-16, 85
     e.  Amos 9:1-4, 86
     f.   1 Samuel 10:1-16, 88
     g.  2 Samuel 13:1--1 Kings 3:28, 90

3.  The Psalms (Chapter V)
     a.  Psalm 58, 94
     b.  Psalm 67, 97
     c.  Psalm 29, 99
     d.  Psalm 101, 101
     e.  Psalm 115, 104
     f.   Psalm 126, 107
     g.  Psalm 121, 108
     h.  Psalm 114, 110
     i.   Psalm 74, 112
     j.   Psalm 77, 115
     k.  Psalms 42--43, 117
     l.   Psalm 30, 119
     m. Psalm 88, 122
     n.  Psalm 90, 125

THE NEW TESTAMENT

1.  The Style of Paul (Chapter VI), 139

2.  The First Epistle to the Corinthians
     a.  1 Corinthians 6:12-14, 143
     b.  1 Corinthians 5:2-6, 146
     c.  1 Corinthians 9:19-22, 147
     d.  1 Corinthians 11:8-12, 148
     e.  1 Corinthians 7, 151
     f.   1 Corinthians 11:34b--14:40, 164

3.  The Epistle to the Ephesians (Chapter VIII)
     a.  Ephesians 5:22-33, 198
     b.  Ephesians 5:8-11, 201
     c.  Ephesians 6:1-4, 201
     d.  Ephesians 6:10-17, 204

4.  The Epistle to the Colossians (Chapter IX)
     a.  Colossians 1:3-9a, 207
     b.  Colossians 1:14-22a, 209
     c.  Colossians 1:24--2:1, 211

5.  The Epistles to the Philippians, Philemon, and Romans (Chapter X)
     a.  Philippians 2:1-11, 216
     b.  Philippians 3:7-10a, 218
     c.  Philemon 1-25, 219
     d.  Philippians 2:12-18, 220
     e.  Romans 11:33-36, 222

THE GOSPELS

1.  The Units in the Gospels (Chapter XI)
     a.  Matthew 13:13-18, 234
     b.  Matthew 13:54-57, 235
     c.  Luke 4:16-21a, 236

2.  The Sermon on the Mount (Chapter XII)
     a.  Matthew 4:25--8:1, 241

3.  The Missionary Discourse (Chapter XIII)
     a.  Matthew 4:12--11:6, 262
     b.  Mathew 10:5--11:1, 263

4.  Discourses on Authority and the Law (Chapter XIV)
     a.  Matthew 12:22-45, 272
     b.  Matthew 15:1-20, 277

5.  Discourse Against the Pharisees (Chapter XV)
     a.  Matthew 23:1-39, 283
     b.  Luke 11:42-52, 286
     c.  Matthew 11:25-30, 298

6.  The Doings of Jesus (Chapter XVI)
     a.  Mark 2:13--3:8, 303
     b.  Matthew 4:12--11:6, 304
     c.  Matthew 11:7--14:12, 311

THE BOOK OF REVELATION

1.  The General Outline (Chapter XVII), 325
2.  The Seven Epistles and the Last Seven Angels (Chapter XVIII), 331
3.  The Seven Seals and the Seven Angels (Chapter XIX), 356
4.  The Seven Trumpets and the Seven Bowls (Chapter XX), 383
5.  The Testimony of the Church Under Persecution (Chapter XXI), 390

BIBLIOGRAPHY, 413
INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND AUTHORS, 423
INDEX OF PASSAGES CITED, 427