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This structure is a PARALLEL SYMMETRY. Noah seems to have misunderstood God′s heart regarding the living things that had been placed in the ark.
1) There is a substantial VARIATION in the second of the two LAST/LAST elements, C and C′. In the first C element, Noah was instructed to release the birds, animals and creeping things so they may propagate abundantly. Eleven months had passed from verse 7:11 to 8:14 which presumably was enough time for these clean animals and birds to procreate. Yet in the C′ element, Noah was sacrificing some of those clean animals and birds. There is not an indication in C that Noah was to kill and sacrifice these living things. This leads to the question, Was Noah revealing disobedience, was this true piety, or was this an indication of the heart of mankind?
2) Verse 6:5 states, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. I suggest that the Lord in the CLOSING SUMMARY (verses 8:21 and 22) was seeing even more wickedness by noting the bloodthirsty sacrifices for the intent of man′s heart is evil from his youths (verse 8:20). That is because Noah, who had just witnessed the tremendous miracle of the flood, had stepped into the Lord′s domain by taking the lives of these beasts and birds. Yet the Lord found their aroma soothing.
3) Therefore, the parallel symmetry substructure in verses 9:1 to 7, part of the closing summary, begins and ends with a FRAME that commands Noah (representing mankind) to be fruitful and multiply, just as the C element gave the same blessing to the various living things. The SUBSTRUCTURE SUMMARY in verse 9:2 provides a hierarchy: the beasts and birds shall be fearful of mankind.
PARALLEL SYMMETRY:
... the people and living things were removed from the ark ...
a change of time
BEGINNING MARKER: __ ___ ______ ______ __ ___ ______________ ___ __ ___ ______ ___ _____ ___ ____ (v8:14)
get your family out of the ark
A
____ ___ _____ __ _____ _______ ___ ___ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ ____ _____ _____ ____ ____ (v8:15,16)
remove all the living things
B
______ ___ ____ ___ _____ ______ _____ __ ___ _____ ____ __ ____ ____ _____ ___ _______ ___ _____ ________ _____ ____ ______ __ ___ ______ (v8:17A)
the living things may abundantly multiply
C
____ ____ ___ _____ __________ __ ___ ______ ___ __ ________ ___ ________ __ ___ _______ (v8:17B)
a change of location
SUB-UNIT MARKER: __ ____ ____ ____ (v8:18A)
Noah and family got our of the ark
A′
___ ___ ____ ___ ___ ____ ___ ___ _____ _____ ____ ____ (v8:18B)
the living things were removed from the ark
B′
_____ ______ _____ ________ ______ ___ _____ _____ __________ ____ _____ __ ___ ______ ____ ___ __ _____ ________ ____ ___ ____ (v8:19)
VARIATION: some of the living things were sacrificed (killed)
C′
____ ____ _____ __ _____ __ ___ _____ ___ ____ __ _____ _____ ______ ___ __ _____ _____ ____ ___ _______ _____ _________ __ ___ ______ (v8:20)
CLOSING SUMMARY: the Lord knew the evil in the heart of man and vowed not destroy the living things
SUM
___ ____ _______ ___ ________ ______ ___ ___ ____ ____ __ ________ __ ____ _____ _____ _____ ___ ______ __ _______ __ ____ ___ ___ ______ __ _____ _____ __ ____ ____ ___ ______ ___ _ ____ _____ _____ _______ _____ ______ ______ __ _ ____ _____ _____ ___ _____ ________ ________ ___ ________ ___ ____ ___ _____ ___ ______ ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ _____ _____ ___ _______ (v8:21,22)
parallel symmetry SUBSTRUCTURE: ... distribution of the flesh and blood for both man and the Lord ... Show Hide
man should be fruitful and multiply
frame
___ ___ _______ ____ ___ ___ ____ ___ ____ __ _____ ___ ________ ___ _________ ___ ____ ___ ______ (v9:1)
SUBSTRUCTURE SUMMARY: the living things shall fear man
sum
____ ____ __ ___ ___ ___ ______ __ ___ ____ __ __ _____ _____ __ ___ _____ ___ __ _____ ____ __ ___ ____ ____ __________ ____ ______ __ ___ _______ ___ ___ ___ ____ __ ___ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ___ ______ (v9:2)
man may eat the clean animals and birds
a
______ ______ _____ ____ __ _____ _____ __ ____ ___ ____ _ ____ ___ __ ____ __ _ ____ ___ _____ ______ (v9:3)
man may not eat the blood of animals and birds
b
_____ ___ _____ ___ ___ _____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ___ ___ ______ (v9:4)
the Lord requires the blood of both beast and man
a′
______ _ ____ _______ ____ __________ ____ _____ _____ _ ____ _______ ___ ___ ____ _____ ____ ____ _____ _____ _______ _ ____ _______ ___ ____ __ ____ (v9:5)
man will shed the blood of other men
b′
________ _____ _____ ______ __ ___ ___ _____ _____ __ _____ ___ __ ___ _____ __ ___ __ ____ ____ (v9:6)
man should be fruitful and multiply
frame
___ ___ ____ __ ________ ___ _________ ________ ___ _____ __________ ___ ________ __ ____ (v9:7)