Near and Far
Near and Far
The words “near” and “far” are extremely important to recognize and understand because: a) they point to a foundational Biblical theme, b) they are inextricably linked to the Menorah-Tree patterns throughout the Scriptures, and c) they are used to delineate the literary structure of Isaiah, and finally, d) one can be “near” or “far” in connection to a tree.
The key concepts on this page are provided in red colored text, and this webpage also is linked to other webpages on specific books providing further development.
The first key concept is that the words “near” and “far’ are used in the Scriptures in reference to drawing-near to a Holy God. The best way to introduce that is to point to Leviticus, and have the Scriptures speak directly. Some introductory description is provided in the Leviticus link below. Beyond that, the words often appear throughout the Scriptures in the context of the curses of the covenant, and that is the particular usage of interest for these words on this webpage.
The second important concept is that the words “near” and “far” are inextricably linked to Menorah-Tree patterns, most often located in association with the outer branches but also serving as branch separators. This is described further under the “Tree Pattern” tab, but a visual image of how “near” and “far” are employed to visually-bracket a Menorah-Tree structure is provided in the image below.
Menorah-Tree Structure in Isaiah 28 - 33
In Isaiah, it is proposed that portions of the literary structure have correspondence to a Menorah-Tree structure. Interestingly, these branch-paired Menorah structures appear to be “visually” surrounded by stanzas containing the words “near” and/or “far.” That observation partially explains the focus of the Scriptures tab on the words “near” and “far.”
In Isaiah 28 – 33, the branches have correspondence to stanzas starting with the word “woe,” or “ah” in some translations. The seven verse length stanzas, in the yellow colored boxes, employ the words “near” and/or “far.”
Being aware of this structure has incredible value to readers because they will understand what pattern Isaiah was following as he wrote his scroll and then can also understand why the text jumps around in tone. However, the text of Isaiah is not random at all, it is highly structured. At this date of writing, this Menorah-Tree literary structure continues to be under review, and reaching consensus may of course take a very long time.
The third important concept is that the words “near” and “far” are used structurally in Isaiah to separate or delineate structures. This includes visually-bracketing the tree structures, but more typically separating chiastic structures. “Hymn” verses are also used in Isaiah to structurally separate units.
On this website, the color yellow is used to help identify verses or stanzas containing the words “near” or “far.”
Important Note: When you observe the structural charts, found on links under the Sections of Isaiah page on this website, look for the yellow coloration. Verses containing the words “near” and /or “far” are colored yellow in the charts. This will help you to connect the structural importance of these words in Isaiah, to the their development in these pages found under the Scriptures tab.
The words “near” and “far” are structural markers in Isaiah.
The reason for the focus on the words “near” and “far” is that these words are employed as inclusio-like structural markers in Isaiah. That is, they tend to mark or locate the boundaries of chiastic passages which occur at the multi-stanza level.
It is not quite as simple as this figure indicates as there are other verses such as “Hymn” verses within Isaiah that provide boundaries in the poetry.
Finally, one can be “near” or “far” in connection to a tree. This is best understood from Deuteronomy 12 - 14 and Deuteronomy 30. Roughly speaking, one can be “far” in the sense of being geographically located in the regions corresponding to the outer branches of a land based Menorah-Tree, or “far” from the tree itself, which can occur relationally, or spiritually, or in the sense of distance in a heavenly temple.
Summary:
1) It is important to understand the use of the words “near” and “far.” This includes the thematic connection of these words to the blessings and curses of the covenant, and their structural placement in Biblical passages. This is important because these words are often used as inclusio-like structural markers, to surround multi-stanza chiastic structures in Isaiah.
There is ample justification for the importance of the words “near” and “far” and their structural use. One could say that they are strategically placed in Jeremiah, indicating Isaiah was written well prior to Jeremiah. Also, the word “near” is in fact used structurally in Zephaniah.
To be clear, the coverage of various scriptures above, such as Leviticus and Deuteronomy, is only in preparation for study of Isaiah. The material will be exceedingly helpful as you study the other books, but there is no sense in which the coverage is comprehensive. The site will be examining a very thin slice. Links to Bible Study materials, books, and other resources are made as appropriate.
To see a chart presenting the structural use of “near” and “far” in Isaiah, click the following button, and then click on the various links to charts on that page.