Chiasmus, pronounced kai-as-mas, is a literary 'sandwich' in which the points are repeated (with slight variation) in an A-B-C-D-C'-B'-A' order. By having a point unrepeated (Point D) and set at the centre, attention is thus focused on that point. The name comes from the Greek letter χ, chi, which looks like a "cross-over." A cross-over point at the center is characteristic of chiasmus (even though the terminology is not consistently applied). It is also sometimes called envelope structure or palindrome. Aside from its power of presentation and beauty, chiasmus helps those who grow up in cultures that use them to more easily remember the material presented.
One of the difficulties many people have reading the Old Testament is its seeming long-windedness, where things are repeated often. Those repetitions are usually artful and purposeful parts of often highly complex chiastic structures. Discerning such structures is vitally important for understanding the text.
Chiamus, though found often in biblical literature, is also often used in ancient literatures from other cultures. To read more about chiasmus, check out Repetitions in the Old Testament.
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