The “Chiasmus” Structure of Noah’s Story

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Genesis 8:1 “And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters asswaged;”

Ancient Hebrew literature often used a structure called a Chiasmus, where a story is told in a mirror image (A-B-C-B-A) to highlight the central point. The story of the Flood (Genesis 6–9) is a massive chiasmus:

A. God resolves to destroy the earth (Gen. 6:11-12)

B. Noah builds the Ark (Gen. 6:13-22)

C. Floods rise & waters prevail (Gen. 7:6-24)

X. CENTRAL POINT: “But God remembered Noah” (Gen. 8:1)

C. Floods recede & waters abate (Gen. 8:2-14)

B. Noah leaves the Ark (Gen. 8:15-19)

A. God resolves never to destroy the earth again (Gen. 8:20-22)

The revelation here is that, Noah’s story isn’t primarily about God’s judgement, the ark or the animals; structurally, the entire narrative points at the center – Genesis 8:1—the faithfulness of God remembering His people even in a great flood.