The amazing true story of how chiasmus was discovered in. Ive expended most of my efforts demonstrating the amazing quantity and quality of these poems in the book of mormon. In this passage, every single phrase is mirrored by a related phrase. This year marks 50 years since the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon on august 16, 1967. Chiasmus in mesoamerican texts book of mormon central. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmus a figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the book s ancient origin. The book of mormon has many examples and, at first sight, this seems impressive. Chiasmus was particularly popular in the literature of the ancient world, including hebrew, greek, ancient kiche maya, and latin, where it was used to articulate the balance of order within the text. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. Time now for a few final evaluations of what we have learned about chiasmus in the book of mormon. The complete text reformatted gives us the entire book of mormon in a new format. The intial instances, when read in hebrew are ambiguous until, through the chiastic structure, they are explained, and the first half of the poem can be reread and. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon philosophies of men mingled. Many of these chiasms have been identified and discussed, 3 but very little research has been done on the use of chiasmus in other ancient american writings. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly. Furthermore, while it is common in the bible, old and new testaments, as well as the book of mormon, it is by no means restricted to these. The most commonly cited example of chiasmus in the book of mormon is the prophet almas religious experience, as recorded in alma 36. It is just one of several complex forms of literary parallelism that are common to other ancient semitic writings.
How did biblical and ancient near eastern authors use chiasmus. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, v8a. Book of mormonanthropologylanguagehebraismschiasmus. Chiasmus is an invertedparallel literary form that was employed by ancient hebrew biblical writers, among others. Chiasmus as well as other forms of parallelism appears throughout the entirety of the book of mormon, both in prose and poetic passages.
This article provides an introduction to chiasmus, explaining what it is and why mormons think it is evidence for the book of mormon, giving examples from the bible, and discussing whether the book of mormon contains clear instances of chiasmus. In august 1967, fifty years ago this month, john welch was a young latterday saint on his mission in germany. After attending a lecture in which the presence of a compositional feature called chiasmus in matthew was mentioned as an example of its hebraic style, welch began looking for chiasmus while he was reading the book of mormon in german. Should we consider it contrived that ishmael is mentioned only twice in the entire book of mormon and that these two occurrences just happen to fall symmetrically around 1 nephi 11. How else, except by chiasmus, can we explain the postponed interpretation of the vision of the tree of life. This poetical form, chiasmus, a type of inverted parallelism, reaches highly artistic heights in the book of mormon and is difficult to ascribe to chance. Why did king benjamin use poetic parallels so extensively. Chiasmus is an elegant literary device where parallel phrases are inverted. One of the conclusions is that because both the bible and the book of mormon have the chiastic structure, then this gives validity to. The most famous example of this is chapter 36 of the book of alma. Free admission preregistration encouraged chiasmus. Discussed in detail in my thesis, a study relating chiasmus in the book of mormon to chiasmus in the old testament, ugaritic epics, homer and selected greek and latin authors m. For those unfamiliar with the term, chiasmus is an ancient literary device that has been found in greek, latin, and hebrew writings.
Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus. This video gives a brief description of a writing style called chiasmus, and tells the story of how one 20yearold latterday saint missionary first discovered its existence in the book of mormon. This article provides a fairly basic overview of the issue. How did biblical and ancient near eastern authors use. Chiasmus in the scriptures biblical chiasm exchange. The examples are strong enough that they are difficult to explain if we assume that. Some of these examples may seem to be compelling, but when closely examined, they turn out to be little more than wishful thinking. The professor discussed the work of father paul gaechter, a catholic priest who had written a book titled, the literary art in the gospel of matthew. I first heard about chiasmus in the book of mormon as a student at byu. There can be no question that chiasmus was used heavily in ancient israelite writing at and around the time of lehi, welch explained. Aug 02, 2009 chiasmus, poetry and literary forms book of mormon evidence. The amazing true story of how chiasmus was discovered in the. Chiasmus repetition of any group of verse elements including rhyme and grammatical structure in reverse order, such as the rhyme scheme abba.
Chiasmus, poetry and literary forms book of mormon evidence. Chiasmus is both a necessary and natural way of understanding book of mormon literature. The phenomenon which makes that possible is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church. It is found in the bible and the quran and other ancient documents. Supporting of the authenticity of the book of mormon with expert opinion kelland, frank e. For example, many long and complex chiasmi have been found in shakespeare. Those who were not so credulous insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text.
Book of mormon literature the encyclopedia of mormonism. Dec 04, 2010 in the late 1960s, a young latterday saint discovered that an ancient form of middle eastern poetry was found throughout the book of mormon, suggestive of its ancient semitic origins. Chapter 15 chiasmus in the book of mormon reachout trust. It no longer contains current data and will be sunset by april 30, 2020. Examples can be found in biblical scripture but many that are first shall be last, and many that are last shall be first. Chiasmus in the book of mormon philosophies of men. Both chiasmus and antimetabole can be used to reinforce antithesis. However, a recently recognized phenomenon in the book of mormon has now made it possible for us to cite many specific examples of passages in the book of mormon which bear the distinct stamp of an ancient hebraic literary form.
Oct 26, 2012 see in particular the chapter on chiasmus. Chiasmus in the book of mormon thoughts and truth from. Welch practically since the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who believed in the book asserted that it obviously read like a hebrew text. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. Chiasmus, poetry and literary forms book of mormon. Mosiah, alma, helaman, and mormon this is the sixth in a series of articles about the hebrew poetry in the scriptures. A study relating chiasmus in the book of mormon, chiasmus in the old testament, ugaritic epics, homer, and selected greek and latin authors.
Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany, and since that time, chiasmus has served as a profound witness for the beauty and complexity of the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon is both a necessary and a natural way of explaining some things in the book of mormon that go unaccounted for otherwise. Select one of the links above to view examples of chiasmus in various books of the book of mormon. These verses from the book of mormon use chiasmus to build an argument for embracing god. If this was the only sort of chiasmus to be found in the book of mormon, then it would be weak evidence, at best, of any sort of ancient origin for the text. Book of mormon and hopi ceremonial sash both use the hebraism chiasmus as proof of antiquity. In the late 1960s, a young latterday saint discovered that an ancient form of middle eastern poetry was found throughout the book of mormon, suggestive of its ancient semitic origins. Indeed, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon may be evidence of joseph smiths own literary style and genius. The chiastic structure, according to welch, is as follows. Although understated as literature in its clear and plain language, the book of mormon exhibits a wide variety of literary forms, including intricate hebraic poetry, memorable narratives, rhetorically effective sermons, diverse letters, allegory, figurative language, imagery, symbolic types, and wisdom literature. Chiasmus in the book of mormon judaicaworld archives. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. Chiasmus is a rhetorical device in which two or more clauses are balanced against each other by the reversal of their structures in order to produce an artistic effect.
Possible evidence of authenticity ancient hebrew middle eastern poetry in the book of mormon. Hebrew poetry in the book of mormon, zarahemla record. Search through the bibliography to see all of the citations on chiasmus. What more can we learn from 10 of the best chiasms in the book. Chiasmus in the book of mormon 73 name he used for chiasmus in 1854 however john forbesforbes4forbess completed a much more extensive study the symmetrical structures of scripture with the publication of this book it is possible to begin speaking of relatively widespread awareness of chiasmic forms in the bible a wave of other writers fol lowed forbes and in 1860 a section on. Chiasmus in the book of mormon also provides a glimpse into nephite society and culture, and it reveals close affinities with ancient israelite and maya poetic and authorial methods. Why is the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon significant. Sep 01, 2015 this video gives a brief description of a writing style called chiasmus, and tells the story of how one 20yearold latterday saint missionary first discovered its existence in the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. Chiasmus in the book of mormon the discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record.
Aug 29, 2017 since welchs discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon fifty years ago, chiasmus has become one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon as ancient literature, and therefore as having been translated miraculously by joseph smith. That parallelism chiasmus existed in hebrew writing was knowsin joseph smiths day in books that were available to joseph smiith. Professor john welch is a mormon that edited a collection of works about christian and nonchristian uses of the chiastic structure including the book of mormon. Chiasmus in the book of mormon is evidence of an ancient origin, not conclusive proof. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany, a steady stream of publications since that time has thrown much light on this matter. Interestingly, the book of mormon, which claims to have its literary roots in the ancient middle east, shows many excellent examples of what appear to be deliberate, crafted chiasmus. Chiasm bookstore recommended books about chiastic structure. Nov 09, 2011 many latterday saints point out that the use of chiasmus in the book of mormon is proof that joseph smith translated a script that was hebrew in origin, since the chiasmus had not yet been discovered when the book of mormon was translated in 1829. An instance of this form, called a chiasm, presents two or more literary elements, and then restates them in reverse order. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry. Many latterday saints point out that the use of chiasmus in the book of mormon is proof that joseph smith translated a script that was hebrew in origin, since the chiasmus had not yet been discovered when the book of mormon was translated in 1829. The existence of chiasmusparallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it. Welch welch, chiastic syllabus of the book of mormon, abccba. An anonymous author similarly suggests that chiasms in the book of mormon are the result of the incredible amount of repetition contained therein, and are well within the bounds of probability.
It is a generally used literary style found in many cultures, both. The book was republished in 1992 and the preface written by two academics summarises the reception of the original book. It is entirely possible that descendants of the book of mormon peoples knew of the device and used it in their own records. It is claimed that the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon is either coincidental, an artifact of the observer, or not impressive since examples of chiastic patterns have been found in the doctrine and covenants or other 19th century writing. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in english speech. While there, on preparation day, he attended a lecture given by a german bible scholar. What is chiasmus and why is it so important in the book of. Welch discovered a variety of instances of chiasmus in the book of mormon and along with his discovery came attention to the phenomenon. A there is an intelligent omnipotent being, who is selfexistent and infinitely b good and benevolent matter eternally existed. The pattern chiasmus creates here serves to reiterate and elaborate upon ideas. Practically since the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who believed in the book asserted that it obviously read like a hebrew text. In the first place, we have demonstrated the extensive existence of chiasmus in the book of mormon beyond any possible doubt.
Thoughtful insights from 32 top scholars continue the journey into the book of mormons thousandyear span, aiding understanding of this. Department of classical and asian languages, brigham young university, provo. It is basically inverted parallelism where words, phrases, or concepts are introduced in ascending order and then repeated in descending order. The academic study of chiasmus in modern times can be dated to the work of nils wilhelm lund who published articles in 1930 and 1931 and then a book entitled chiasmus in the new testament in 1942. Solomon spaulding wrote a manuscript that is now missing some critics believe it is the actual source of the book of mormon had another book, manuscript found, in which appears the following chiasmus. In chiasmus, the clauses display inverted parallelism. To celebrate this 50th anniversary, throughout july and august book of mormon central will publish one knowhy each week that discusses chiasmus and its significance and value to understanding the bible, the book of mormon, and other ancient literatures.
Perhaps welch could have strengthened his premise by demonstrating that the parallel members in the book of mormon consist of semitic word pairs, the basis of ancient hebrew poetry. Chiasmus makes this poem harmonic, complete, and brilliant. Chiasmus in the book of mormon mormonism, the mormon. Chiasmus is one of the most frequently cited evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Book of mormon and hopi ceremonial sash both use the. The existence of chiasmus parallelism in the book of mormon tells nothing about whether it is an ancient work. Almas poetic reflections in alma 29, likely coming on the cusp of a jubilee year,19 are among. A chiasm or chiasmus if you rather is a writing style that uses a unique repetition pattern for clarification and emphasis. Chiasmus was popular in the ancient languages like greek, latin, and especially hebrew. The wednesday evening chiasmus jubilee will feature guest speakers, musical numbers, and special presentations on chiasmus in the book of mormon. Definition, usage and a list of chiasmus examples in common speech and literature. So it is, in my opinion, with the issue of chiasmus in the book of mormon.
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