Read Genesis 7 here or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions:
6:13-8:14 {s} …
Now we come to a very important teaching tool that God has embedded within the text of the Bible: the Chiastic Structure. The Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, contain chiastic structures from beginning to end. They are one of the thumbprints of God on His Word, that reveal a single divine author from beginning to end, as their beauty, elegance, logic, and symmetry is impossible for a human mind to create in the complexity that they are found in Scripture.
A chiastic structure is a narrative with a central point, which is the key point of the passage. The Spirit highlights that point by having the narrative around it zero in on it like an arrow. The way the narrative zeroes in on the central point is fascinating: let’s say there are four elements or ideas in a passage that leads up to the central point. Following the central point, the same elements or ideas will be repeated in some way, but in reverse order. This makes pairings, as the element immediately preceding the central point is paired by common theme, to the element immediately following the central point, and so on throughout the narrative.
There can be any number of elements or ideas. But that they repeat in reverse order around a central point is the key characteristic. For example,
The central axis concerns the birth of Noah. This History Prophesies, for judgment for sin came upon the earth—the history really happened—but God provided Noah with an ark of salvation. And the prophecy is that judgment for sin is coming upon the earth, but God will provide an ark of salvation. Interestingly enough, John the Baptist upbraided the Pharisees and Sadduccees:
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance …” Mat 3:7-8
For the wrath now coming on the world because of unrepented sin, is a wrath of unquenchable fire. But Yeshua is the ark of our salvation!
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Gen 1:1-7:24, Chiastic structure, and the C pair – Christine Miller
Chiastic structures in Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, Gen 4, Gen 5, Gen 6, Gen 7 – Hebraic Faith Bible
Gen 6:9-7:24, The teaching tool of comparison and contrast – Christine Miller
Flood Answers – Answers in Genesis
Leave a Reply