An inclusio refers to a structural literary pattern where a text opens and closes with similar language, images, or concepts, creating a clear frame around the material in between. The repeated elements mark the start and end of a unit and draw attention to its central message. Inclusio is used in narrative, poetry, and instructional writing to organize material, guide interpretation, and emphasize cohesion. Rather than adding new content, it shapes how existing content is read by signaling what belongs together and what carries special importance.
Intertexts
References
- Aune, David E., "The Polyvalent Imagery of Rev 3:20 in the Light of Greco-Egyptian Divination Texts" in Aune, David E. (ed.) Greco-Roman Culture and the New Testament: Studies Commemorating the Centennial of the Pontifical Biblical Institute
- Bodi, Daniel, "When YHWH's Wife, Jerusalem, Became a Strange Woman: Inversion of Values in Ezekiel 16 in Light of Ištar Cult" in Berlejung, Angelika, and Marianne Grohmann (eds.) Foreign Women - Women in Foreign Lands: Studies on Foreignness and Gender in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East in the First Millennium BCE
- Timmer, D. C., "The Non-Israelite Nations in Zephaniah: Conceptual Coherence and the Relationship of the Parts to the Whole" in Boda, Mark J., et al. (eds.) The Book of the Twelve and the New Form Criticism
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