Pattern Analysis for Acts 2:1-13

Within Pattern Analysis, rhetoric is the persuasive portion of a literary unit based on its structure. Certain locations within each literary unit are potentially persuasive–they are presented below for the sake of analysis. Normally, many of the potential locations can be persuasive, but often not all. The student is encouraged to listen to what the Holy Spirit seems to be emphasizing.

Like the imperfect chiastic structures, imperfect parallel symmetries can also have a high impact upon a reader. When an element has been inserted, omitted, transposed to another location, or substantially varied, that then is an imperfect parallel symmetry. This makes the structure look less than totally symmetric. An additional emphasis should be found in an imperfect parallel symmetry at the place of asymmetry.

In a parallel symmetry, these are the two A elements, A-B-C-A'-B'-C'. Sometimes these are a place of emphasis.

An element was intentionally inserted from one of the two parts. For example, the C element in A-B-C-D-D'-B'-A'. does not have a corresponding C' element, which means C is an extra. This anomaly only applies to chiastic and parallel symmetry structures. The extra is a place of rhetorical importance, whereas the corresponding element is missing.

In a parallel symmetry, this is oftentimes a place of emphasis. For example, in an A-B-C-D-A'-B'-C'-D' structure, the two D elements are in the last/last position.

A summarization that concludes a basic structure which is designated with the letters SUM. For example, A-B-C-A'-B'-C'-SUM. A closing summary is also known as a concluding epitome, final unit, and an epilogue. It serves two functions: to summarize and to motivate. It is always emphatic and should be easily detected.

In a chiasm, these are the two A elements: A-B-C-C'-B'-A'. Oftentimes an emphasis may be found in these locations.

Some questions seem designed to ask the reader to pause and reflect on his or her own answer. In those cases, the text is intended to slow the reader down and cause them to read the context, listen to what the Spirit is nudging them, gain a fresh understanding, and then respond. Questions are many times emphatic, but it is a mistake to say that most questions are emphatic. Whether any one question is emphatic or not can be subjective.

Some questions seem designed to ask the reader to pause and reflect on his or her own answer. In those cases, the text is intended to slow the reader down and cause them to read the context, listen to what the Spirit is nudging them, gain a fresh understanding, and then respond. Questions are many times emphatic, but it is a mistake to say that most questions are emphatic. Whether any one question is emphatic or not can be subjective.

An emphasis or turning point that is at the logical center of a structure. It is either an X in the middle of a chiasm, parallel symmetry, immediate repetition, or list is a center point, or if two elements appear at the center of a chiasm rather than an X, those two elements are the center point. For example, X is the center point of A-B-C-X-A'-B'-C', and C-C' is the center point of A-B-C-C'-B'-A'.

Some questions seem designed to ask the reader to pause and reflect on his or her own answer. In those cases, the text is intended to slow the reader down and cause them to read the context, listen to what the Spirit is nudging them, gain a fresh understanding, and then respond. Questions are many times emphatic, but it is a mistake to say that most questions are emphatic. Whether any one question is emphatic or not can be subjective.

An opening or closing summarization that appears within a substructure. The schematic representation is the lowercase letters sum. This summarization may appear at the end of a substructure, a-b-x-a'-b'-sum, or at the beginning, sum-a-b-c-d. All the substructure summaries are emphatic.