Chiastic Structuring of Large Texts: Second Nephi as a Case Study

Title

Chiastic Structuring of Large Texts: Second Nephi as a Case Study

Publication Type

Journal Article

Year of Publication

2020

Authors

Journal

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Pagination

193-210

Volume

41

Terms of use

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Bibliographic Citation

Abstract

In this important paper, Noel Reynolds extends his 1980 argument for the chiastic structure of 1 Nephi to demonstrate that 2 Nephi can be seen as a matching structure with a similar nature. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that chiasmus is not a phenomenon that confines itself to the details of words and phrases at the level of scriptural verses but can extend to much larger units of meaning, allowing the rhetorical beauty and emphasis of their overall messages to shine more brilliantly when they are considered as purposefully crafted wholes.

Chiasmus
Rhetoric
2 Nephi (Book)

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