A chiasm is a literary structure where the themes of the first section of a passage are repeated in reverse order in the second. Typically whatever is in the center of the chiasm is what is being emphasized. In 1 Kings 11:26-14:20, the emphasis is on the cultic sins of Jeroboam (1 Kgs 12:26-33).A 1Ahijah of Shiloh Announces Jeroboam’s Kingship (11:26-40)2Closing Formula for Solomon’s Reign (11:41-43)BPolitical Disunity: Rejection of Rehoboam (12:1-20)CJudahite Prophet’s Confirmation (12:21-25)DThe Sin of Jeroboam: Cultic Innovations (12:26-33)C’Judahite Prophet’s Condemnation (Shemaiah) (12:21-25)B’Prophetic Disunity: Rejection of Judahite Prophet (13:11-32)A’1Ahijah of Shiloh Announces Jeroboam’s Downfall (14:1-18)2Closing Formula for Jeroboam’s Reign (14:19-20)1 Bruce K. Waltke and Charles Yu, An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 712
Leave A Comment