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Overview of Benjamin's Speech
Title
Overview of Benjamin's Speech
Publication Type
Chart
Year of Publication
1999
Authors
Welch, John W. (Primary), and Welch, Greg (Primary)
Number
6-87
Publisher
Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies
City
Provo, UT
Terms of use
Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.
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Abstract
This chart is an outline of the chiastic nature of King Benjamin's speech to the people at the temple of Zarahemla. In it are seven major sections separated by interruptions or intervening ceremonial acts. The overall structure of the text follows an A–B–C–D–C'–B'–A' pattern: the atonement of Jesus Christ is the crux, or center, of the speech (section D), the angel's and Benjamin's testimonies of the atonement are found on either side of it (sections C and C'), the behavior of the people is addressed in sections B and B', and sections A and A' address God and his relationship with the people. Further chiasms can be found on the sentence level, indicating that this speech was highly structured for the occasion. The evidence of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon attests to its artistry and antiquity. For a more detailed explanation of chiasmus, refer to charts 128–33.
King Benjamin
Chiasmus
Chiasm
Inverted Parallelism
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