This week we will be searching for a chiasm in Isaiah 43:15-21 (you may extend out verses either way if you wish to extend the chiasm).
Today when we met as a group I explained what chiasms are. If you didn't make it today, I will post a document for the lecture this week a little later tonight (Starbucks wi-fi and my computer are fighting).
Please post by Thursday midnight. Lily and Nicole McG have already discovered their versions of a chiasm so don't look at their previous posts. Try to come up with it on your own.
If you don't think a chiasm exists, you can say that too and explain why. That is certainly a possibility. This work is subjective and we may have different ideas. But the beauty of community is that we can generally come to consensus, and if not, we can gain new perspective and graciously disagree (and then consult scholars to see who's actually right). :-)
Looking forward to what you come up with!
Clay
My chiasm:
ReplyDelete15b-the Creator of Isreal, your King
19c-I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
16b-who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,
17a-who brings forth chariot & horse, army & warrior
17b-they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick
19a-Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
18-"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
20a - The wild beasts will honor me, th jackals & the ostriches,
20b-for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert
20c-to give drink to my chosen people,
21-the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.
In a Chiasm does every verse have to be used, or can some be skipped? Would it not be a real Chiasm if some were skipped?
ReplyDeleteAlso, does it have to be an opposing or alternate understanding of the verses or can it be a similar meaning or does it not matter?
Here's my attempt at a Chiasm for Isaiah 43:15-21
A- I am the Lord, your Holy One, the CREATOR of Israel, your King. (15)
B- ...who MAKES A WAY in the SEA, A PATH in the mighty waters. (16)
C- Remember not the FORMER THINGS, nor consider the THINGS OF OLD. (18)
C*-Behold, I am doing A NEW THING; NOW it springs forth... (19)
B*-...I will MAKE A WAY in the wilderness and RIVERS in the desert. (19c)
A*- the people whom I FORMED... (21)
In my pathetic attempt, I do not have a center line. Perhaps C and C* can be together to be the center?
You guys pretty much nailed it. To answer your questions Tony, YES, the crux of this chiasm is a parallel double line so you nailed it. No, you do not have to account for everything in the passage, but if you see my chiasm, I pretty much do. Sometimes the chiasm is in the detail (like in this case), sometimes it is only thematic (like in the story of Noah). It depends on the passage.
ReplyDelete