BYU Studies Quarterly
Keywords
Book of Abraham, inverted parallelism, literary structure
Abstract
Chiasmus, or inverted parallelism, is “a two-part [literary] structure or system in which the second half is a mirror image of the first, [that is,] where the first term recurs last, and the last first.” Most Latter-day Saints who know about chiasmus have probably heard about its presence in the Book of Mormon and the Bible. Chiasmus, however, also appears in the Book of Abraham. For instance, the opening verses of the Book of Abraham contains a chiasm highlighting Abraham’s right to priesthood.
Recommended Citation
Smoot, Stephen O.; Gee, John; Muhlestein, Kerry; and Thompson, John S.
(2022)
"Chiasmus in the Book of Abraham,"
BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 61:
Iss.
4, Article 33.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol61/iss4/33