A. 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

B. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light,  but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

C. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

D. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

A’. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

B’. 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

C’. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

D’. 18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

The prologue of the Gospel of John is often taken to be a chiastic structure, and it was this idea captured my interest in literary structure. However, I have since been convinced that the prologue is better understood as a step parallelism. Chiastic structures for this passage use similarities of concepts to mark parallels, but this is a shaky foundation. Using repetition of keywords and phrases sets out a different pattern. For example,  “logos” only occurs in verses 1 and 14, John the Baptist is referenced in verses 6 and 15, and the word “received” (lambano) in v12 reoccurs only in verse 16. This supports an ABCDA’B’C’D’ structure. The first arm describes the Word of God as the Light who introduced by John the Baptist but rejected by the “world”, only to be “received” by some who have become the children of God. In the chiastic structures this last point is the centre, and it seemed to me to be key to the Gospel record. However, the point is not lost at all by recognising a different structure. The new creation that the first half of the prologue is speaking about culminates in the new creation of men and women by the power of God. The contrast is between those boasting of a special status through natural descent from Abraham (see John 8) and those who are “born again” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The second part of the prologue begins again with the Word that has now been manifest in human form, revealing the characteristics of the Father. This is the one that John the Baptist was speaking about, and he it was who brought grace and truth to light.

The original post is keept below for comparison.

Note: I have just come across the article by Alan Culpepper in New Test. Stud. 1980, pp. 1-31  THE PIVOT OF JOHN’S PROLOGUE. It is clear that the prologue of the Gospel is one of the earliest scriptures to be recognised as chiastic in structure, going back to Lund,  and there have been many published versions. Below I have edited our original post in the light of Culpepper’s analysis to tease out the centre more precisely, and I have also suggested parallelisms within units.

A.  1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.

B. 3 All things were made by him;
and without him was not any thing made that was made.

C. 4 In him was life;
                 and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness;
and the darkness
comprehended  it not.

D. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light,
but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

E. 10 He was in the world,
and the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not.

F. 11 He came unto his own,
and his own received him not.

G. 12 But as many as received him,

H. to them gave he power to become the sons of God,

G’. even to them that believe on his name:

F’. 13 Which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man,
but of God.

E’. 14 And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.

D’. 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying,
This was he of whom I spake,
He that cometh after me is preferred before me:
for he was before me.

C’. 16 And of his fulness have all we received,
and grace for grace.

B’ 17 For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

A’. 18 No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him.