Does Chiasmus Appear in the Book of Mormon by Chance?

Authors

Boyd F. Edwards
W. Farrell Edwards

Keywords

Chiasmus, Book of Mormon, Language, style

Abstract

Chiasmus in an inverted-parallel literary form that was employed by ancient Hebrew biblical writers, among others. An instance of this form, called a "chiasm," presents two or more literary elements, and then restates them in reverse order. For example, Matthew 10:39 is a two-element chiasm:

EXAMPLE 1

He that (a) findeth his life shall (b) lose it:

And he that (b) loseth his life for my sake shall (a) find it.

Recommended Citation

Edwards, Boyd F. and Edwards, W. Farrell (2004) "Does Chiasmus Appear in the Book of Mormon by Chance?," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 43: Iss. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol43/iss2/4