Pattern Analysis for Ezekiel 6:1-14

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.

An A-B-C-C'-B'-A' or A-B-C-X-C'-B'-A' type of structure. It is a repetition of similar themes in the reverse sequence. Other names for chiasms include chiasmus, concentric symmetry, introversion, inverted parallelism, reverse symmetry, and ring construction. The most common emphatic locations are found in the center point and the first/last elements.

A strongly worded directive or command that conveys the importance of doing something. In English, Hebrew and Greek, the imperative is a verb. In Greek, the spelling of the word indicates it is imperative. In English, imperatives are usually the first word in a sentence or phrase. For example, the phrase in Deuteronomy 30:19C which states, "Choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants," is an imperative. Context is important in determining if an imperative statement is emphatic.

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

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

Use of the word "behold," often appearing near the beginning of a sentence, which points to emphasis in the words immediately following the interjection.

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.

The expected elements have been re-arranged, e.g. A-B-C-X-B'-C'-A'. When a transposition appears, the location of one element is interchanged with another; an intentional relocation. Transpositions appear in imperfect chiasms and parallel symmetries. The emphasis appears either in the element that is transposed or in the one which has been dislocated. That is, in an A-B-C-X-B'-C'-A' structure, either the B' or C' elements would be emphatic.

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'.

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.

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'.

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

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'.

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.

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.

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.

A clarification of an element or a sequence of elements where the second part in some way removes the obfuscation that may be found in the first. An amplification can be a large increase such as the multiplication of believers in the book of Acts; the additional detail provided by its conjugate pair, seen especially when a substructure provides data that is not in the first; or in an immediate repetition where the second part adds more than just the antithesis to the first such as Kugel’s A what’s more B teaching.

A clarification of an element or a sequence of elements where the second part in some way removes the obfuscation that may be found in the first. An amplification can be a large increase such as the multiplication of believers in the book of Acts; the additional detail provided by its conjugate pair, seen especially when a substructure provides data that is not in the first; or in an immediate repetition where the second part adds more than just the antithesis to the first such as Kugel’s A what’s more B teaching.

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.