Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon

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Criticism

Critics claim 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.

Response

What is chiasmus?

Chiasmus is a poetical or rhetorical form used by many languages, including Sumero-Akkadian [Sumeria, Assyria, Babylon], Ugaritic [Syrian area circa. 2000 B.C.] , Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, the Talmud, the New Testament, Greek, and Latin.^[1]

Chiasmus is a form of parallelism, in which related or contrasting ideas are placed in juxtaposition for emphasis. Chiasmus uses "inverted parallelism," and takes its name from the Greek letter chi (χ) which looks like an English "X". This name was chosen to reflect the pattern of chiasmus:

Chiasmus pattern

Idea A Idea B Idea C Central idea D (the 'turning point' or 'cross' of the chi) Idea D repeated (optional) Idea C repeated Idea B repeated Idea A repeated

Because chiasmus relies, to an extent, on relationships between ideas or concepts, as well as on words (e.g. on rhymes or meter) it can survive translation remarkably intact, even if the translator is unaware of its presence. John W. Welch was the first to notice chiastic structures in the Book of Mormon.^[2]

Chiasmus itself can be understood in two distinct ways. It can be seen simply as a structural element (which describes the parallels in inverted order). It can also be seen as a rhetorical figure which employs this structure. While the second definition requires a degree of intentionality on the part of the author, the first does not. The difficulty lies in assessing whether or not a proposed example of chiasmus is really chiasmus or not - that is, is it an intentional figure or an accidental occurence.

Chiasmus as a structure can be found nearly everywhere in prose. However, without considering the rhetorical value of the text, we can only be relatively certain of the intentionality of chiasmus when its structure is offset from the surrounding text in a way that draws our attention to it. This usually only occurs within poetic material where the text around the proposed chiasmus also follows relatively rigid (and intentional) textual patternings. Semitic poetry, for example, frequently uses paired parallel phrases. A passage might go something like this:

A:A' B:B' C:C'

And so on. If on the other hand, in the middle of a series of these parallelisms, we encounter something like this:

A:A' B:B' C:D:E:E':D':C' F:F' G:G'

Then we would have a chiastic structure interrupting the more typical paired parallelisms, and the use of chiasmus would be viewed strongly as being an intentional departure from the parallels that surround it - and thus a real example of chiasmus. This kind of proof does not work in general prose - where we normally do not expect to see structured text. Arguments for the occurence in prose (and in poetics) are usually centered around the rhetorical value of the text. This can appear in several ways. A classic example of the rhetorical value of a chiasmus is seen in the Hebrew Psalm 82. There, the text uses a word which is ambiguous in Hebrew - meaning either "to rule" or "to judge" (in verses 1,2,3 and 8). 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 re-read and the ambiguity resolved. Thankfully, when translated, most translators resolve the ambiguity for us. Scholars have developed a series of rules and criteria that can be used to help identify when a proposed chiasmus is an intentional one. Accidental chiastic structures are of little value in textual interpretation, since viewing one as intentional (when it wasn't) may lead to misinterpretation of the text. While the center of a chiasmus is usually the main point of the structure, this is not always the case, further complicating the issue.

While Chiasmus as a term was not known to Joseph Smith (the term "chiasmus" was not coined as a reference to this structure until 1871), its use in English, and its description as a rhetorical figure preceded the creation of the Book of Mormon significantly. Two early descriptions of the figure can be found in George Puttenham (1589) who decribed it as: "Ye haue a figure which takes a couple of words to play with in a verse, and by making them to chaunge and shift one into others place they do very pretily exchange and shift the sence." A few years earlier (1577), Henry Peachem, in his book of rhetorical tropes The Garden of Eloquence wrote: "The use serueth properlie to praise, dispraise, to distinguish, but most commonly to confute by the inuersion of the sentence."

Coincidence?

Critics have proposed what might be called the "hickory dickory dock" theory of chiasmus. They point out that the children's nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock is chiastic:

Hickory Dickory Dock as Chiasmus

A - Hickory dickory dock B - The mouse ran up the clock C (central) - The clock struck one B' - The mouse ran down A' - Hickory dickory dock

To be sure, this is a trivial example. 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. Such simple examples of chiasmus are well known in English speech. This particular example becomes a bit more complicated, of course, because this poem can also be rewritten in a different format:

Hickory Dickory Dock as Limerick

Hickory dickory dock The mouse ran up the clock The clock struck one The mouse ran down Hickory dickory dock

Which structural label better describes the poem? Was it intended to be read chiastically? Or was it intended to be a limerick? Or does neither description best suit the likely intent of the author?

From the Bible

A - The last B - shall be first B' - and the first A' - shall be last. From: Matthew 9:30, Matthew 20:16

From Shakespeare

A - Fair is B - foul B' - and foul A' - is fair. From: Macbeth, Act I, scene 1, lines 11–12.

The "hickory dickory dock" theory would seem to be a strawman. Such simple examples do exist in the Book of Mormon, (examples) but they are not the most impressive ones. Critics try to pretend that the simple, trivial parallelisms represent all such chiastic samples in the Book of Mormon. If Joseph Smith was writing the Book of Mormon himself, he might well compose simple parallelisms intentionally, or even accidentally.

But, the complex examples within the Book of Mormon show much greater sophistication than a child's nursery rhyme.

• Mosiah 3:18–19
• Mosiah 5:10–12
• Alma 36
• Alma 41:12–15

One might honestly debate the merit of of the less clear examples of "chiasmus" in the Book of Mormon, in which believers may have been over-enthusiastic. And it is debated whether or not examples of macro-chiasmus (chiasms which span many chapters of text) should be properly identified as chiastic. But the examples given above are not as arbitrary. They are detailed, enhance the meaning of the text when appreciated, and require no 'special pleading' for anyone to notice them. They exist within well defined textual boundaries, and often display secondary features, making an argument for coincidence far less appealing. It is true that there are differences of opinions on some of the more widely recognized chiasmus in the Book of Mormon in terms of how they should be phrase, but this doesn't detract from the validity of the expression. To provide an example, here is one possible reading of Mosiah 5:10-12 as a chiasmus (slightly different from the version linked to above):

Mosiah 5:10-12 as Chiasmus

A - whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ (man) B - must be called by some other name (divine) C - therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God (man) D - And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name that I said I should give unto you (divine) E - that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression (divine) E' - therefore, take heed that ye do not transgree, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts (man) D' - I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts (man) C' - that ye are not found on the left hand of God, (divine) B' - but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, (man) A' - and also, the name by which he shall call you (divine)

This chiasmus is interesting because it alternates the roles of man and God throughout the structure - except at the center, where those roles are reversed.

Knowledge of chiasmus in Joseph Smith's era

Some work had been published on Hebrew poetry previous to the publication of the Book of Mormon. If critics of the Book of Mormon are to make their case for 19th century authorship, they need to demonstrate that Joseph Smith had access to and relied on contemporary research into Hebrew parallelism. John Welch recently summarized the issue:

...I...assert a very low probability that Joseph Smith knew anything about chiasmus in 1829, being careful not to imply, claim, or suggest complete ignorance of this literary form in America at that time.

∗       ∗       ∗

Although further information may yet come forth to change this view (and I welcome any other information that may come to light), I do not believe that Joseph Smith knew anything about chiasmus from [contemporary] publications, even though it is remotely possible that he could have. While one cannot be sure on such matters, and more work probably remains to be done on this topic, I know of no evidence that [such works] reached America, let alone Palmyra or Harmony, in the 1820s; and no copy of [the major work of the period] was found on the book lists of the Manchester library, which contained very few religious books of any kind (only 8 of its 421 titles were religious).

∗       ∗       ∗

And finally, even assuming that Joseph Smith had known of chiasmus, the following observation, which I made in 1981, still stands: "There would still have remained the formidable task of composing the well-balanced, meaningful chiastic structures...which are found in precisely those portions of the Book of Mormon in which one would logically and historically expect to find them." To me the complexity of Alma 36 seems evidence enough of this point. Imagine the young prophet, without notes, dictating "extensive texts in this style that was unnatural to his world, while at the same time keeping numerous other strands, threads, and concepts flowing without confusion in his dictation."^[3]

Conclusion

Small, "trivial" chiastic structures containing only a few elements might well arise through chance or English rhetoric. However, critics ignore numerous complex, subtle, and meaningful chiamus when they pretend that all of the Book of Mormon's inverted parallel structures are so simple. On the other hand, more work needs to be done to evaluate the hundreds of proposed chiastic readings of the Book of Mormon. Some of them will inevitably end up as less likely than others. And for LDS members, the value of these readings is less about demonstrating historicity in the text, and more about interpreting the text with the intentions of the authors in mind, as viewed through their use of rhetorical figures.

continue

Endnotes

1. [note] John W. Welch, Chiasmus In Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis (Provo, Utah: FARMS, Research Press, 1981 [1989]), 5. ISBN 3806707979 ISBN 0934893330. FAIR link
2. [note] John W. Welch, "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon," Brigham Young University Studies 10 no. 1 (1969), 69–84. off-site
3. [note] John W. Welch, "How Much Was Known about Chiasmus in 1829 When the Book of Mormon Was Translated?," FARMS Review 15/1 (2003): 47–80. off-site (pages 75,76,80)

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

• Links to related articles in the wiki

FAIR web site

• FAIR Topical Guide: Chiasmus

External links

• John W. Welch, "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon," Brigham Young University Studies 10 no. 1 (1969), 69–84. off-site
• John W. Welch, "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon," New Era (February 1976), 6. off-site
• John W. Welch, "How Much Was Known about Chiasmus in 1829 When the Book of Mormon Was Translated?," FARMS Review 15/1 (2003): 47–80. off-site
• Noel B. Reynolds, "Nephi's Outline," Brigham Young University Studies 20 no. 2 (1980), 131–49.off-site
• Jo Ann H. Seely, "Review of The Book of Mormon Text Reformatted according to Parallelistic Patterns by Donald W. Parry," FARMS Review of Books 5/1 (1993): 203–208. off-site
• John W. Welch, "Criteria for Identifying and Evaluating the Presence of Chiasmus," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/2 (1995). [1–4] link
• David E. Sloan, "Nephi's Convincing of Christ through Chiasmus: Plain and Precious Persuading from a Prophet of God," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6/2 (1997). [67–98] link
• Cynthia L. Hallen, "What's in a Word?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10/2 (2001). link

Printed material

LDS

• Noel B. Reynolds, "Nephi's Outline," in Noel B. Reynolds and Charles D. Tate (eds.), Book of Mormon Authorship: New Light on Ancient Origins (Provo, Utah : Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University ; Salt Lake City, Utah : Distributed by Bookcraft, 1996 [1982]), 53–74.ISBN 0934893187. ISBN 0884944697.
• John W. Welch, "A Masterpiece: Alma 36," in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co.; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 114–131. GL direct link
• John W. Welch, "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon," in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, edited by Noel B. Reynolds, (Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1997),33–52. ISBN 093489325X ISBN 0934893187 ISBN 0884944697. off-site GL direct link
• John W. Welch, "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon," in Chiasmus In Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis (Provo, Utah: FARMS, Research Press, 1981 [1989]), 5. ISBN 3806707979 ISBN 0934893330. FAIR link
• John W. Welch, "Chiasmus in Hel. 6:7–13" (Provo: FARMS, 1987).

Non–LDS

• J. R. Lundbom, Jeremiah: A Study in Ancient Hebrew Rhetoric (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1997).
• P. Trible, Rhetorical Criticism: Context, Method, and the Book of Jonah (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1994).
• O. S. F. S. Ceresco, "A Rhetorical Analysis of David's `Boast' (1 Sam. 17:34–37): Some Reflections on Method," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 47 (1985): 58–74.
• I. M. Kikawada, "The Shape of Genesis 11:1–9," in Rhetorical Criticism: Essays in Honor of James Muilenburg, ed. J. J. Jackson and M. Kessler (Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1974), 18–32.
• G. Ridoud, "The Rape of Tamar: A Rhetorical Analysis of 1 Sam. 31:1–22," in Rhetorical Criticism, 75–84.
• M. Butterworth, Structure and the Book of Zachariah, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament sup 130 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992).
• Y. Zakovitch, "Every High Official Has a Higher One Set over Him": A Literary Analysis of 2 Kings 5 (Hebrew) (Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1985), 86.
• N. Klaus, Pivot Patterns in the Former Prophets, JSOT sup 247 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 253–56.
• F. I. Andersen, The Sentence in Biblical Hebrew (The Hague, 1974), 119–40, 140 n. 1
• A. R. Ceresko, "The A:B::B:A: A Word Pattern in Hebrew and Northwest Semitic, with Special Reference to the Book of Job," Ugarit–Forschungen 7 (1975): 73–88, "The Chiastic Word Pattern in Hebrew," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 38 (1976): 303–11, and "The Function of Chiasmus in Hebrew Poetry," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 40 (1978): 1–10
• G. E. Watson, Traditional Techniques in Classical Hebrew Verse, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament sup 170 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 311–91.