Literary structure
The shape of each book.
Chiasms, parallels and outlines for the books of the Bible, each traced from the scholar who mapped it. Read in the order of the Hebrew Bible, then the New Testament.
Collections
Structures that span several booksThe books
MappedNot mapped yet
Torah
5 / 5Prophets
17 / 19Writings
10 / 11- Psalms
- Proverbs
- Job
- Song of Songs
- Ruth
- Lamentations, not mapped yet
- Ecclesiastes
- Esther
- Daniel
- Ezra–Nehemiah
- Chronicles
New Testament
3 / 27- Matthew
- Mark, not mapped yet
- Luke
- John, not mapped yet
- Acts
- Romans, not mapped yet
- 1 Corinthians, not mapped yet
- 2 Corinthians, not mapped yet
- Galatians, not mapped yet
- Ephesians, not mapped yet
- Philippians, not mapped yet
- Colossians, not mapped yet
- 1 Thessalonians, not mapped yet
- 2 Thessalonians, not mapped yet
- 1 Timothy, not mapped yet
- 2 Timothy, not mapped yet
- Titus, not mapped yet
- Philemon, not mapped yet
- Hebrews, not mapped yet
- James, not mapped yet
- 1 Peter, not mapped yet
- 2 Peter, not mapped yet
- 1 John, not mapped yet
- 2 John, not mapped yet
- 3 John, not mapped yet
- Jude, not mapped yet
- Revelation, not mapped yet
How to read a structure
Follow the letters.
Each part of a book gets a letter. A primed letter (B′) answers the part with the same letter. In a chiasm the pairs close in on an unpaired center, which is usually the point.
Chiasm
- AOpening
- BRising
- XCenter
- B′Answer to B
- A′Answer to A
Parallel
- AFirst panel
- B
- C
- A′Second panel
- B′
- C′
Linear
- 1Section
- 2Section
- 3Section
- 4Section