Chiasmus

 

Literature can communicate ideas to us on two planes: content and form. As we approach each written work, we have one of these two in mind. We read histories to learn about the events and stories of the past history, mainly focused on the content. By contrast, we approach poetry recognizing first the form and gradually allow the content to surface as we encounter each poem. Rarely however are these two planes mingled together, when the body and form of literature itself becomes its content and message. Such is the case for a common form of ancient literature pervading the Scriptures: chiasmus.

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The term chiasmus (or chiasm) is derived from the Greek word chíasma meaning "crossing" and chiázō which means "to shape like the letter chi" (similar to the English letter "X"). The chiastic literary formula is usually as follows:

A B (X) B A

A short example can be found in Genesis 9:6:

A)Whoever sheds

  B)the blood

  C)of man,

 C)by man

  B)shall his blood

A)be shed.

A chiasmus always has an ascending and descending shape and can have any number of repetitions, almost as if we are seeing two sides of a mirror. However, a feature of chiastic literature in the Scriptures is that it is not always an identical reversal, but an altered one. Notice for example in the verse above: the first half is in regard to what the man does, the second half, of things happening to him; the former is chosen, the latter is earned. The chiastic form centers on this principal of change, which is why its description is not one of exact image, but that of a cross.

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For this reason, Christ's death by the instrument of a cross was no trivial matter. Just as the Word commanded that all creation declare His purpose, so too did He command the circumstances of His own life and death on earth. His cross becomes the axis on which the cosmic narrative turns. Through it, we see a new order of reality shine into the world: suffering becomes glory; the curse becomes blessing; death becomes life. By the cross, the cruciform order of the world, once hidden, is unveiled and the chiastic shape of reality is made known.