Editing Inclusio (section)

{{short description|Literary bracketing device}}
{{morerefs|date=January 2025}}
In biblical studies, '''inclusio''' is a [[literary device]] similar to a [[refrain]]. It is also known as '''bracketing''' or an '''envelope structure''' or figure,<ref name=bowen /> and consists of the repetition of material at the beginning and end of a section of text.

The purpose of an inclusio may be structural - to alert the reader to a particularly important theme - or it may serve to show how the material within the inclusio relates to the inclusio itself. Campbell notes that the first occurrence of the repeated material may not appear to the reader as being the start of an inclusio: it is at the second occurrence the repetition might be identified: "it takes an attentive audience to keep them in mind".<ref>Campbell, E. F. (1975), [https://archive.org/details/ruthnewtranslati0000unse/page/14/mode/2up Ruth: A New Translation with Introduction, Notes, and Commentary], New York: Garden City, p. 14, accessed on 22 January 2025</ref>