BYU ScholarsArchive

Article Title

Exegesis or Eisegesis: Does Chiastic Analysis Help Us to Understand Leviticus 20?

Authors

Jonathan Burnside

Keywords

BYU Studies, Chiasmus, Leviticus, Chiastic studies

Abstract

Chiastic studies have been vulnerable, on occasion, over the past fifty years to the charge that their existence may be more a matter of eisegesis rather than exegesis. This paper contends that it is possible to have objective, textual grounds for the existence of a chiasmus which can, in turn, be key to exegesis. In particular, it proposes that chiastic analysis helps us to understand the complexities of Lev 20 and, furthermore, that this text should be held up as an example of a well-developed chiasmus in biblical law.¹ Towards the end of the paper I speculate on some of the particular functions this literary device may perform in the context of Lev 20. I also suggest some general criteria that may encourage us in developing rigorous and robust chiastic analyses, so that we have even more to celebrate over the next fifty years.

Recommended Citation

Burnside, Jonathan (2020) "Exegesis or Eisegesis: Does Chiastic Analysis Help Us to Understand Leviticus 20?," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 59: Iss. 5, Article 5.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol59/iss5/5