FAQ       Top  >  Literary Structure of the Bible  >  Book of Job

Literary structure (chiasm, chiasmus) of Book of Job

Correspondence table of Pericopes and Literary Structure


The text can be divided in 25 (5 x 5) pericopes. This text includes, one 12 paired (25 pericopes) whole concentric structure, divided in three 4 paired concentric structures, divided in four 3 paired concentric structures, divided in five 2 paired concentric structures.

Pericope1345
1 Job's fortunes and sufferings (1:1-2:10) 1-1 3-1 4-1 5-1
2 Job's friends (2:11-13) 1-1 3-1 4-1 5-1
3 Job curses the day he was born (3:1-26) 1-1 3-1 4-1 5-1
4 First dialogue of Eliphaz and Job (4:1-7:21) 1-1 3-1 4-1 5-1
5 First dialogue of Bildad and Job (8:1-10:22) 1-1 3-1 4-1 5-1
6 First dialogue of Zophar and Job (11:1-14:22) 1-1 3-1 4-1 5-2
7 Second dialogue of Eliphaz and Job (15:1-17:16) 1-1 3-1 4-1 4-2 5-2
8 Second dialogue of Bildad and Job (18:1-19:29) 1-1 3-1 4-2 5-2
9 Second dialogue of Zophar and Job (20:1-21:34) 1-1 3-1 3-2 4-2 5-2
10 Third dialogue of Eliphaz and Job (22:1-24:25) 1-1 3-2 4-2 5-2
11 Third dialogue of Bildad and Job (25:1-26:14) 1-1 3-2 4-2 5-3
12 Words of Job (27:1-23) 1-1 3-2 4-2 5-3
13 Where wisdom is found (28:1-28) 1-1 3-2 4-2 4-3 5-3
14 Words of Job (29:1-31:40) 1-1 3-2 4-3 5-3
15 Elifu rebukes Job and Job's friend (32:1-33:33) 1-1 3-2 4-3 5-3
16 Elifu proclaims God's justice (34:1-37) 1-1 3-2 4-3 5-4
17 Elifu condemns self-righteousness (35:1-16) 1-1 3-2 3-3 4-3 5-4
18 Elifu proclaims God's majesty (36:1-37:24) 1-1 3-3 4-3 5-4
19 The LORD answers Job (38:1-39:30) 1-1 3-3 4-3 4-4 5-4
20 Words of the LORD (40:1-2) 1-1 3-3 4-4 5-4
21 Words of Job (40:3-5) 1-1 3-3 4-4 5-5
22 Words of the LORD (40:6-41:26) 1-1 3-3 4-4 5-5
23 Words of Job (42:1-6) 1-1 3-3 4-4 5-5
24 Job's friends are humiliated (42:7-10) 1-1 3-3 4-4 5-5
25 Job's fortunes (42:11-17) 1-1 3-3 4-4 5-5

Citations of the Bible are from New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version and New Jerusalem Bible.

Creative Commons License
Literary Structure of the Bible by Hajime Murai is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Caution: The copyright of the cited Bible verses belongs to each translator and publisher.

Comments