CHIASMUS

Chiasmus is a traditional style of writing that was used in ancient times by peoples of Hebrew origin. Knowledge of Chiasmus had been forgotten or lost by the world for more than 1000 years when it was rediscovered by a few nineteenth century pioneer theologians in Germany and England. However it was not until the 1930's before it found an ardent exponent, Nils Lund, who was able to lay the principle before the eyes of the world in a convincing way. But even then, it was not until the 1960's, after much more had been learned about ancient Semitic languages, that Chiasmus was properly understood and unequivocally acknowledged. Today, articles on the subject are quite common.

The only known examples of the Chiasmus style of writing so far discovered occur in the text of ancient manuscripts which originate from the Hebrew people. It would therefore seem that Chiasmus is the hallmark of ancient Hebrew authorship.

Much to the dismay of those who try to dismiss the Book of Mormon as something worthless concocted by Joseph Smith and his friends, it so happens that the Book of Mormon contains many stunning examples of Chiasmus. How could this possibly be so, given that The Book of Mormon was published in 1830, about 100 years before Chiasmus was re-discovered? Also, Joseph Smith had grown up in a community where there was little opportunity for even basic education, let alone a study of the structures of ancient languages. In these circumstances it is therefore extremely unlikely, to say the least, that Joseph Smith could possibly have known about chiasmus in the 1820's and thus cunningly included it in the book in order to give it the appearance of an authentic translation from an ancient Hebrew document.

In many examples of Chiasmus in the bible, it is quite impossible to determine that the passage of text contains a Chiasmus structure until a transliteration or word for word translation from the Hebrew is carefully examined. This of course makes it even more unlikely and improbable that any persons such as Joseph Smith and his associates could ever have accidentally absorbed the Chiasmus style of writing as a result of reading an English translation of the Bible.

1) The King James translation of Genesis 7:21-23 contains chiasmus, but it is hidden. The text reads ....

"And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth and every man. All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the land died. And every living substance was destroyed which was on the face of the ground, both of man and cattle and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth| and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark."

In this example the chiasmus structure is only evident in the word-for-word translation from the Hebrew, which is....

A)--There died on the earth

| B)--all birds

| | C)--cattle

| | | D)--beasts and creeping things

| | | | E)--man

| | | | | F)-all life

| | | | | | G)--died

| | | | | | |

| | | | | | G)--and was destroyed

| | | | | F)-every living thing

| | | | E)--man

| | | D)--creeping things

| | C)--cattle

| B)--birds

A)--were destroyed from the earth (So Far So Good ! !)

2) In these next examples, Chiasmus is clearly evident in the King James version . . . but only now that you know what to look for!

Exodus 10:15 reads...The locusts "covered the face of the whole earth so that the

LAND was darkened and they did eat every

| HERB of the land and all fruit of the

| | TREES which the hail had left

| | | and there remained not any green thing in

| | the TREES or in the

| HERBS of the field through all the

LAND of Egypt"

3) Isaiah 60:1 reads "....

A)--ARISE shine

| B)--for thy LIGHT is come

| | C)--and the GLORY of the Lord

| | | D)--is RISEN upon thee for behold,

| | | | E)-- DARKNESS shall cover the earth

| | | | E)--and gross DARKNESS the people

| | | D)--but the Lord shall ARISE upon thee

| | C)--and his GLORY shall be seen upon thee

| B)--and the gentiles shall come to thy LIGHT and kings to

A)--the brightness of thy RISING."

Chiasmus makes these poems harmonic, complete and brilliant. No ends are left untied. No thoughts are left unbalanced. And yet they flow freely from one point to the next and back again. To an ancient Israelite this was beautiful, this was metrical, this was inspirational.

Jesus himself in the New Testament used chiasmus structures - for example

Therefore I speak to them in PARABLES

| Because they seeing SEE not; and hearing they HEAR not.

| | In them is fulfilled the PROPHECY of Esaias which sayeth

| | | By hearing ye shall HEAR not; and seeing ye shall SEE not

| | | | For this people's HEART is waxed gross

| | | | | And their EARS are dull of HEARING

| | | | | | And their EYES they have closed

| | | | | | | LEST AT ANY TIME THEY SHOULD SEE

| | | | | | With their EYES

| | | | | And HEAR with their EARS,

| | | | And should understand with their HEART and be converted.

| | | Blessed are your eyes, for they SEE and your ears for they HEAR

| | Many PROPHETS and righteous men

| Have longed to SEE what you see and HEAR what you hear

Hear ye therefore the PARABLE of the sower . . . . . . (Matthew 13:13-18 )

Now for some examples from the Book of Mormon.

4) Alma 41:13-14 reads "O my son, this is not the case but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish

A)--GOOD for that which is good;

| B)--RIGHTEOUS for that which is righteous;

| | C)--JUST for that which is just;

| | | D)--MERCIFUL for that which is merciful.

| | | | E)--Therefore, my son, see that you are

| | | D)-- MERCIFUL unto your bretheren;

| | C)--deal JUSTLY,

| B)--judge RIGHTEOUSLY,

B)--and do GOOD continually

and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have MERCY restored unto you again, ye shall have JUSTICE restored unto you again; ye shall have a RIGHTEOUS judgement restored unto you again; and ye shall have GOOD rewarded unto you again."

It is very obviously not a coincidence that the words are repeated in reverse or mirror order. In many cases the purpose of the chiasmus structure is to emphasise the subject matter located in the centre or between the two mirror images.

5) Mosiah 3: 18-19 reads...".....but men drink damnation to their own souls except...

A)--they HUMBLE themselves

| B)--and BECOME as little CHILDREN

| | C)--and believe that salvation is in and through the ATONING BLOOD OF CHRIST

| | | | D)--For the NATURAL MAN

| | | | | E)--is an enemy to GOD and has been from the fall of Adam and will be

| | | | | for ever and ever

| | | | | E)--unless he yields to the enticings of the HOLY SPIRIT

| | | | D)--and putteth off the NATURAL MAN

| | C)--and becometh a saint through the ATONEMENT OF CHRIST THE LORD

| B)--and BECOMETH as a CHILD

A)--submissive, meek, HUMBLE, full of love......."

6) One of the most impressive Book of Mormon examples of chiasmus is in Alma Ch 36. The subject matter of the verses is as follows......

V1)--keep the commandments...prosper in the land

| V2)--delivered from bondage and captivity

| | V3)--trust in God, supported in trials and afflictions

| | | V4)--I know

| | | | V5)--born of God

| | | | | V5)--Angel

| | | | | | V7,23)--fell to the earth,limbs

| | | | | | | V12) to V21 )THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST

| | | | | | V23)----stood upon feet,limbs

| | | | | V22)--Angels

| | | | V24)--born of God

| | | V26)--knowledge which I have is of God

| | V27)--supported under trials and afflictions

| V29)--delivered from bondage and captivity

V30)--keep the commandments of God...prosper in the land.

There can be no doubt that Chiasmus does exist extensively in the Book of Mormon. This is strong evidence indeed that the Book of Mormon is genuine, and that the authors were ancient Hebrews. If this is right, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Joseph Smith could only have translated the Book of Mormon in the manner he claimed, which was by the gift and power of God. How else could he have produced a text containing structures that even he did not know about? When all the circumstances surrounding the book’s appearance are considered, there is really no other feasible explanation. The book is so complex and profound that even without the evidence of chiasmus, it is simply not conceivable that any group of academics living in America at the time could ever have produced it.

In summary, Chiasmus is one of the most stunning recent discoveries concerning the Book of Mormon.