Divine Symmetries

Book excerpt: This book offers a fresh and accessible approach to Bible study. Divine Symmetries engages thoughtful readers by revealing the astonishing symmetrical patternings and shaping techniques of the biblical writers. It invites the Bible to speak on its own terms, offering the key to remembering and interpreting Scripture. It asks and answers these questions: How did the oral world communicate? With what mnemonic conventions was Scripture conveyed in a largely oral world, and can those methods still be effective? The Bible was fashioned for the ear using popular symmetrical patterns and rhetorical devices that helped listeners remember without a ready "text" for reference. These astonishing literary "shapes" are both mnemonic devices and interpretative aids. They offer ideal paradigms for teaching the books, yet they have remained largely dormant under the guise of an alien medium--the printed page. This book offers a captivating and highly visual approach that represents the cutting edge of contemporary biblical study.