TY - CHAP
T1 - Exegesis or Eisegesis
T2 - Does chiastic analysis help us to understand Leviticus 20?
AU - Burnside, Jonathan P
PY - 2020/9/1
Y1 - 2020/9/1
N2 - Contrary to the arguments of some scholars, Leviticus 20 is not simply a miscellaneous collection of legal material. Rather, the chapter is chiastic, structured according to who has responsibility to punish various offenses. Two parts of the overall chiasm are themselves chiastically structured, and the center-point of the chiasm (the punishments meted out by humanity) consists of a series of binary oppositions. A common structure in biblical law, these particular binary oppositions are based on the identities of the parties involved in sexual offenses. They are presented in increasing order of their deviation from the biblical norm of sexual relations. After outlining this sophisticated literary structure and speculating as to its purposes, a three-fold test for validating the presence of chiasmus is offered, which, it is concluded, this analysis satisfies.
AB - Contrary to the arguments of some scholars, Leviticus 20 is not simply a miscellaneous collection of legal material. Rather, the chapter is chiastic, structured according to who has responsibility to punish various offenses. Two parts of the overall chiasm are themselves chiastically structured, and the center-point of the chiasm (the punishments meted out by humanity) consists of a series of binary oppositions. A common structure in biblical law, these particular binary oppositions are based on the identities of the parties involved in sexual offenses. They are presented in increasing order of their deviation from the biblical norm of sexual relations. After outlining this sophisticated literary structure and speculating as to its purposes, a three-fold test for validating the presence of chiasmus is offered, which, it is concluded, this analysis satisfies.
UR - https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/exegesis-or-eisegesis-does-chiastic-analysis-help-us-understand-leviticus-20
M3 - Chapter in a book
T3 - Writings from the Ancient World, Ancient Israel and Its Literature
SP - 67
EP - 84
BT - Chiasmus
A2 - Welch, John W.
A2 - Parry, Donald W.
PB - BYU Studies/Book of Mormon Central
ER -