'Genesis Death Sandwich' Discovered in Bible

[n2doc]

Updated Thurs., Feb. 21, at 12:20 p.m. ET

Researchers using text-analysis software say they've discovered a new literary device in the first book of the Bible: the "Genesis death sandwich."

The name refers to a familiar rhetorical structure — sandwiching bad news in between the good. In the case of Genesis, the slices of white bread are themes of life, and the slimy cold cuts in between are mentions of death.

"The structuring of life and death in Genesis appears to be something that hasn't been noticed before," researcher Gordon Rugg, a senior lecturer in Computing and Mathematics at Keele University in the United Kingdom, wrote in a Feb. 21 blog post. "We think it's a standard literary device being used on a larger scale than had been previously realized. No aliens, no secret codes, no conspiracies, but some striking images, and a great name for a band."

For their study, Rugg and his colleagues ran the King James version of the text through software known as the Search Visualizer, which plotted mentions of life in red and death in green on a single gridded page representing the whole book. Their results showed frequent mentions of life in the opening and closing verses of Genesis, while themes of death were clustered in the middle. They say the device is an example of a literary convention known as inclusio, also called bracketing, where one theme frames another.
more
http://www.livescience.com/27285-genesis-death-sandwich-discovered-in-bible.html?cid=dlvr.it

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. Make mine Baloney, please.

Somehow that seems fitting.

I wonder if it matters which version and which translation they used. After all, the current bible has little in common with the early days' scribblings. Not after Trent, Nicea, and the wholesale rewrites that took place over the centuries, and after poor translations from one dead language to another.

[dballance]

4. Thank You, I was Wondering the Same Thing

Seems a bit unrealistic to run the KJV through software rather than the original Hebrew of the Old Testament or the Greek of the New Testament and expect valid scientific conclusions to be forthcoming. Though this is not really a new sort of phenomenon. People "couch" bad news with good news (or less "bad" news) all the time. Doesn't really seem like any real historic discovery to write home about to me.

[intaglio]

2. Genesis Death Sandwich!

Yeahhh

[OriginalGeek]

9. No sheet! lol

If that isn't a crossover hardcore punk band name within 2 weeks I will lose faith in humanity.

[kenemery]

3. Totally

Yep, 'death' is totally hidden away in the whole chapter 3 'to dust you shall return' thing the Creator told Adam & Eve as they were evicted from the Garden, not to mention that little tif between Cain & Abel where the blood cried out from the ground! And it is SO cleverly hidden in the burial accounts of Jacob & Joseph in the last chapter.

Though the last verse almost gave it away: "So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt."

[GiveMeFreedom]

5. Hello, WELCOME to DU

I hope.

I am not clever enough to understand or figure out the "he almost gave it away". I am not being a troll or disrespectful I hope, I truly do not get the "Joke" .

I am sure it shows my ignorance, but my mind is old and slow. Wish I did get it, that's why I am asking.

Other than that, enjoy DU.

[kenemery]

7. Sarcasm fail., sorry.

Thanks for the welcome!

Not sure if 'joke' is the right word, but i was being playful in response to the patently ridiculous theory that the book of Genesis hides away death in the middle of its 50 chapters 'sandwiching' it with 'life' at the beginning and end. 'Patently' if one simply reads the text instead applying a poorly designed algorithm simplistically looking for two words.

If you haven't lately, simply read the last chapter of the book (detailing the death/burial accounts of first Jacob then Joseph) and it will be obvious how silly the thesis of the article was. Add in the fact that Adam & Eve weren't even out of the Garden yet (ch3) when the Creator tells them "From dust you came, and to dust you will return." And immediately afterwards is the narrative of Cain murdering Abel and 'the blood crying from the ground'!

I was trying -- unsuccessfully apparently -- to point this out in a light-hearted way. I did actually 'Laugh Out Loud' as i read the article and was trying to pass along the mirth.

Thanks again for both the feedback and the welcome!

Shalom!
Ken

[GiveMeFreedom]

8. Thank you kenemery,

I appreciate the explanation, now I just have to read the "bible".

And yes WELCOME to DU

[ZombieHorde]

6. That is one of the best ways to give bad news in writing. nt