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KnoWhy #353 - How Was Chiasmus Discovered in the Book of Mormon?

TitleKnoWhy #353 - How Was Chiasmus Discovered in the Book of Mormon?
Publication TypeKnoWhy
Year of Publication2017
Corporate AuthorsBook of Mormon Central Staff
PublisherBook of Mormon Central
Place PublishedSpringville, UT
KeywordsChiasm; Chiasmus; Inverted Parallelism; Literary Structure
Abstract

In the early, still-dark hours of the morning, August 16, 1967, a young John W. Welch awoke with one thought ringing in his head: “If [chiasmus] is evidence of Hebrew style in the Bible, it must be evidence of Hebrew style in the Book of Mormon.”

Welch was a missionary serving in Regensburg, Germany, and chiasmus was an ancient literary technique he had only recently learned about. The possibility was tantalizing—could it be possible? Could this twenty-year old be on the verge of a major breakthrough in Book of Mormon scholarship? Now, fifty years later, it has become increasingly clear that this was a watershed moment that has forever influenced and enriched Book of Mormon studies.

URLhttps://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/how-was-chiasmus-discovered-in-the-book-of-mormon
Citation Key3480

Scripture Reference

Mosiah 5:10-12