My wife, Laurel, and I have spent nearly 14 years studying to understand the Hebraic roots of our Christian faith. Early in our exposure to Hebraic customs and writings, we became of aware of chiastic Hebrew poetry. Simply stated, it is a Hebrew writing style which echoes God’s authenticating message system, using two witnesses to testify to His Biblical truths in Hebrew parallelism. In our teaching of chiastic Hebrew poetry, we discovered, after reading Thomas Clark’s book, Joshua’s Spiritual Warfare that we are at an elementary level. Tom has taken us to another dimension in understanding chiastic Hebrew poetry. His chiastic presentation of the Book of Joshua demonstrates the intricate design of the Holy Spirit. This book is most intriguing to read, as it unravels a spiritually deeper understanding into God’s Word. These complex chiastic verses - many times 4-5 tier chiasms or larger - are outlined as to their occurrences in the text, and their composite structure is presented in a diagram format concluding with its spiritual warfare application.

For example on page 46, following the chiasm, for Joshua 1: 5-9 is a four tier chiastic structure (A-A’ to D-D’) that refers to the Lord telling Joshua that he will never leave nor forsake him (A); to be strong and courageous (C); to obey and you will be successful (D); and do not let the Torah depart from your mouth (D). Now on the reverse limb of this chiastic structure, we are given this insight into a message by Hebrew Parallelism: You ought to meditate on the Word day and night so that you may be careful to do everything that is written in God’s Word (D’), for being in the Word, you will be prosperous and successful (C’); Be strong and courageous, have no fear, and do not be discouraged (B’); For the Lord your God, will be with you wherever you go (A’). The center point of the chiasm is D-D’, which gives wisdom is “do not let God’s Word depart from your mouth, and meditate on it day and night.” This beautiful chiastic structure tells about the Lord’s presence in your life with obedience and accountability, and that strength and courage comes from the Scriptures, which leads to success. This message is not clearly seen in the surface text. The accompanying notation for spiritual warfare is “Keep the Words of the Lord alive in your spirit.” God’s word will feed your spirit and you will have spiritual vitality.

Throughout the text, the author very cleverly in his teaching of Joshua’s conquest of the Promise Land includes a geography lesson using your computer’s “Google Earth.” You are given the ordinance to locate the area under discussion by simply typing the longitude and latitude as given. This very informative text is easy to read. It is written in a style that keeps you intrigued and interested. The complex nature of the chiasms is best retained in your memory if you read small portions on a regular reading schedule. I have done this by reading several pages or a chapter before bedtime. If you desire a greater - in-depth - understanding in God’s Word, become skilled in using this chiastic tool. It is the methodology of the Hebrew writers. Those that strive to understand and love Hebrew poetry will find this book very beneficial.

Contact Thomas B. Clarke at www.Bible-Discernments.com

Pastor Fred and Laurel Hofeldt
Judeo-Christian Israel Alliance
Las Cruces, New Mexico