Cryptochiasmus: A Key to Interpreting Biblical Prophecy
Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 23 September 2017
1. The Definition of Cryptochiasmus
1.1 Definition
A cryptochiasmus is a literary device that is used to obfuscate certain prophetic passages in the Bible. It consists of a set of events or facts, each of which is split into two portions, with one portion of the set presented in a particular sequence followed by the other portion of the set presented in the reverse sequence. A chiastic pivot, also called the 'X' or Chi, is placed between the forward and reverse sequences. The pivot must be special or different from the rest of the chiasmus in some way - it may be a headline or another event. The text of a cryptochiasmus must be rearranged in order for it to be correctly interpreted.
A cryptochiasmus is so named because its function is to obscure the meaning of text (on the other hand, a regular chiasmus, as used in ancient literature, is a rhetorical/poetic or mnemonic device),
This definition is based on examples from the Bible (they are only found in the Bible as far as we know), and the definition may be updated as necessary if more examples are found.
1.2 An Example
Since it may be instructive to see how a cryptochiasmus is constructed, we will choose three different events from the Bible and combine them into one chiasmus. Consider the three events below: event X, which will be the pivot; event 'A', which is split into 'A1' and 'A2'; and event 'B', which consists of 'B1' and 'B2'.
X For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son
A1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
A2 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
B1 The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord.
B2 and He will reign forever and ever.
In order to combine these distinct events into a cryptochiasmus, we designate event 'X' as the pivot point and reorder the phrases in the following sequence:
A1 B1 X B2 A2
(i.e., The initial parts of A and B are listed in sequence, the second parts are listed in reverse sequence and the pivot point, X, is placed at the centre.)
So we get the cryptochiasmus:
A1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth
B1 The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
X For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son
B2 and He will reign forever and ever
A2 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
Although we can get some sense of the events from these jumbled phrases, the phrases must be reordered into their original sequence, [X] [A1,A2] [B1,B2], to get a coherent narrative.
1.3 Auxiliary definitions
Unit and Subunit: Each of the two parts of an event or fact is called a subunit, and the combination of corresponding subunits is called a unit. In the example above, corresponding subunits A1 and A2 combine to form the unit [A1, A2].Pivot point: The text at the centre of the chiasmus is the pivot point 'X' or 'Chi' in Greek (from which we get the word chiasmus).
Parse and reconfigure: Parsing a chiasmus is the process of splitting the text into subunits, and reconfiguring is the reordering of those subunits into individual units. In the example above, a parse and reconfigure of the cryptochiasmus (which is in the form [A1 B1 X B2 A2]) reorders the text into the form [X] [A1,A2] [B1,B2].
Multiply-applied Chiasmi: The result of one chiastic parse and reconfiguration can be treated as the input text for another chiastic reconfiguration. Subsequent applications of the chiastic reconfiguration may incorporate surrounding text that was not used in the previous reconfiguration. Subsequent applications may also omit units of the previous reconfiguration.
1.4 Ordering Rules
Ordering rules are the rules by which the subunits and units of a parsed chiasmus may be reconfigured. The basic reconfiguration takes the form:[X] [A1,A2] [B1,B2] [C1,C2]...
More unusual orderings are employed in the case of multiply-applied chiasmi. (Since each unit and the pivot typically describe distinct events, not necessarily in chronological order, we can change the order of units without changing the meaning of the text. )
- The pivot phrase, 'X', is usually placed at the beginning and sometimes at the end, but it cannot be placed between two units. (In the example above, we may rearrange in the sequence [X] [A1,A2] [B1,B2] or [A1,A2] [B1,B2] [X], but NOT [A1,A2] [X] [B1,B2])
- The units are usually arranged in the order they are encountered, but, in some cases of multiply-applied chiasmi, the order of the units may be changed ([X] [A1,A2] [B1,B2] or [X] [B1,B2] [A1,A2]).
- The subunits of each unit are to be arranged in the order they are encountered ([A1,A2] and NOT [A2,A1]).
1.5 Differences between a cryptochiasmus and a regular chiasmus.
- A cryptochiasmus must be reordered to make proper sense of its meaning, while a regular chiasmus is a rhetorical or mnemonic device.
- Typically, a cryptochiasmus is an intermingling of narratives of several distinct periods, while a regular chiasmus deals with one narrative.
- A cryptochiasmus always has a pivot, 'X', while a regular chiasmus may or may not have a pivot.
- A cryptochiasmus may be split into subunits of widely varying sizes, while a regular chiasmus tends to be divided into more or less even sized subunits.
- The corresponding subunits of a cryptochiasmus (for ex., A1 and A2 in the example above) may give no indication that they are related. In the case of a regular chiasm, you may find matching words or phrases.
1.6 Examples of chiasmi in the Bible
Regular Chiasmi are a commonly used organizing structure in both the Old and New Testaments in keeping with the literature of the time [1]. They can vary in length from a short phrase to entire books of the Bible. A small example can be seen in Isaiah 49:24-25a.
"24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,
or captives be rescued from the fierce?
25 But this is what the Lord says:
“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;"
Cryptochiasmi are hard to spot, but many examples can be found among these papers - the "Seventy Weeks of Daniel" (Daniel 9:24-27) [2] for instance.
1.7 Rules and Observations Regarding Cryptochiasmi in the Bible
These are some of the patterns we observed while deciphering cryptochiasmi in the Bible. There are the occasional exceptions to all the "rules" we list below.- Prophetic passages arranged as cryptochiasmi are typically regarding three distinct Periods. They are generally two-unit chiasmi with a pivot point and are chiastically reconfigured 1-3 times.
- Each Period is itself structured as a set of regular chiasmi. The subunits of these regular chiasmi are approximately the same size and regarding the same subject.
- The Period of the First Jewish-Roman war (66-73AD) is always found in prophetic cryptochiasmi. We believe this event is significant because it represents the complete termination of the Old Covenant between God and the Israelites, and the start of the time in which only the New Covenant between God and all mankind is in force. Periods related to Christ's Millennial Reign on earth also feature in almost all cryptochiasmi.
- We find that chiastic subunit boundaries do not always correspond to chapter and verse divisions. Chapter and verse divisions are a useful tool for study, but they can sometimes be quite misleading when dealing with cryptochiasmi.
- Although the cryptochiasmus is the main tool of obfuscation of prophetic passages, other methods are also used to obscure the meaning and chiastic structure of these passages. For instance, the same word may have different meanings in different Periods, or a similar metaphor may be used across Periods, or similar characteristics of different things may be accentuated across Periods.
Conclusion and Warning
Many scholars agree that certain prophetic passages are a mix of interwoven prophecies from several time periods, and we show that these prophecies are not intermingled arbitrarily but in a principled fashion through the chiastic method.
We believe that the cryptochiastic reconfigurations presented here are the result of divine inspiration: Please do NOT try this on your own, as it amounts to altering the Bible.
As far as we know, cryptochiasmi in the Bible are only found in certain prophetic passages whose message must remain obscured until the time to open their 'seal' arrives (for ex., see Dan. 12:4).
References
[1] Chiasmus: An Important Structural Device Commonly Found in Biblical Literature By Brad McCoy[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"