Isaiah: A literary master at work - From the Ministers Blog at Emmanuel Evangelical Church, London - ift.tt/1Bt0cvQ As chiasms go, the one in Isaiah 61:1-3 is a little more complicated than usual. But its nonetheless significant, and spotting it helps us to understand the structure not just of these verses but also of the rest of the short section to which it belongs. Here it is: 1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion – to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. The chiasm itself is pretty easy to identify. The six elements are each identified by the same syntactical structure, to + verb (Heb. l + infinitive contruct). The central two use the same verb proclaim (Heb. qr); the second and fifth elements clearly match thematically (bind up the broken-hearted = comfort those who mourn); as do the first and last elements (bring good news = give to those ... in Zion). But where it really gets interesting in with the variations in line length. The central two are double the usual length esthablished by the first two elements. This serves as a focus for the chiasm as a whole - in general the central elements are emphasised in structures of this kind, and the lengthening of the lines enhances this focus. But the final element is the most strange: its six times longer than the normal length (1, 2, 5), and the to + verb structure is repeated (to grant ... to give) with a slightly different verb. What function does this dramatic lengthening serve? There are at least two answers. First, it serves as a second climax to the whole structure. The abnormal lenthening of an element in such a well-defined structure always serves to attract attention, as for example in the narrative of the 6th day in Genesis 1 , which is much longer than the previous five. So just as in Genesis 1 the sixth day is the focus of the days of creation (paving the way for a second climax in thhe Sabbath), so also here, the final element in the chiasm is itself a second climax to this section of the poem, showing the goal towards which the proclamation of the good news is heading. But theres a second reason why this final element is lengthened so markedly. It creates space for the introduction of a whole plethora of new images, including celebratory images (clothing with garments, headdress, oil of gladness, praise), agricultural metaphors (oaks, planting), and a final Godward focus. These themes are echoed just a few verses later, in vv 10-11. Thus v. 3 and vv. 10-11 together form an inclusio around the intervening section (vv. 4-9), providing structure to that later section. This highlights one of the striking features of the book of Isaiah: he is truly a master of poetic imagery and literary form. more than perhaps any other biblical author, he doesnt just take the stock structures and roll them out , but instead stretches them and plays with them and explores their boundaries, all the time seeking new literary-imaginative ways to portray the glorious majesty of the Living God. View blog: ift.tt/1Bt0cvQ
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 13:21:40 +0000
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