Evidence #310 | February 15, 2022
Book of Mormon Evidence: Chiasmus in 1 Nephi 4:33–35
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
The chiasm in 1 Nephi 4:33–35 has decent outer boundary points, strong internal parallel elements, a powerful central message, excellent symmetry, hardly any extraneous repetition, and good statistical backing.According to Dennis Newton, the chiastic structure in 1 Nephi 4:33–35 is “highly likely” to have been intentionally created.1 The 6-layer chiastic structure can be arranged as follows:2
| A | And I spake unto him, even with an oath, | ||||||
| B | that he need not fear; | ||||||
| C | that he should be a free man like unto us | ||||||
| D | if he would go down in the wilderness with us. | ||||||
| E | And I also spake unto him, saying: Surely the Lord hath commanded | ||||||
| F | us to do this thing; | ||||||
| F* | and shall we not be diligent | ||||||
| E* | in keeping the commandments of the Lord? | ||||||
| D* | Therefore, if thou wilt go down into the wilderness to my father | ||||||
| C* | thou shalt have place with us. | ||||||
| B* | And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage | ||||||
| A* | at the words which I spake. | ||||||
Structural Analysis
Sections A and A* contain the simple phrase “I spake.” Although not particularly unique in and of itself, this phrase shows up in only these sections of the chiasm.
Sections B and B* feature the clause “he need not fear” with the clause “Zoram did take courage.” First of all, the pronoun “he” refers to “Zoram,” so the subjects of the clauses are equivalent. In addition, the phrase “need not fear” is clearly related to the phrase “did take courage.” The terms “fear” and “courage” are direct opposites, yet the way they are phrased (with negation in B: “need not fear”) transforms them into near synonyms.
Sections C and C* pair together the clauses “he should be a free man like unto us” and “thou shalt have place with us.” Once again, the subjects of these clauses (“he” and “thou”) refer to Zoram. Then a sentiment of social acceptance and privilege is given: “should be a free man” and “shalt have place.” Finally, the word “us” is preceded by a preposition in each case: “unto us” and “with us.” In other words, the beginning, middle, and end of these clauses align very well.
Sections D and D* contain the phrases “he would go down in the wilderness” and “thou wilt go down into the wilderness.” As in the preceding two sections, the subjects (“he” and “thou”) refer to Zoram. This is followed by a nearly verbatim 5-word phrase “go down in(to) the wilderness.” The key words in this phrase (“go,” “down,” “wilderness”) don’t show up anywhere else in the chiasm. Their appearance in these sections in the same sequential order seems unlikely to be random.
Sections E and E* feature the clause “Lord hath commanded” and the phrase “commandments of the Lord.” It should be obvious that this is nearly the same idea (the things the “Lord hath commanded” turn into the “commandments of the Lord”). Moreover, the key words this phrase (“Lord” and “commanded”/“commandments”) don’t show up anywhere else in the chiasm.
Section F and F* pair the phrase “us to do this thing” with the clause “shall we not be diligent.” The word “we” is clearly synonymous with “us,” so there is some linkage there. But the primary correspondence really seems to be in the verbal phrases “do this thing” and “be diligent.” Being diligent in accomplishing a specific commandment from the Lord seems like a fitting and meaningful central message.3
Statistical Analysis
According to Newton’s calculations, this chiasm has a 98.95% chance of it having been intentionally created.4 It should be noted, however, that the rigor of the method being employed likely reduces its true statistical strength.5 For instance, although the phrases “need not fear” and “take courage” (in B and B*) are obviously parallel, they couldn’t be counted as such in the analysis because they don’t strictly “share the same significant word or words.”6
Conclusion
The chiasm in 1 Nephi 4:33–35 has a number of remarkable qualities, including decent outer boundary points, strong internal parallel elements, a powerful central message, excellent symmetry, hardly any extraneous repetition, and good statistical backing. It therefore provides good evidence of the Book of Mormon’s literary complexity and Hebrew origins.7
Dennis Newton, “Nephi’s Use of Inverted Parallels,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 22 (2016): 79–106.
Boyd F. Edwards and W. Farrell Edwards, “When are Chiasms Admissible as Evidence?” BYU Studies 49, no. 4 (2010): 131–154.
Boyd F. Edwards and W. Farrell Edwards, “Does Chiasmus Appear in the Book of Mormon by Chance?” BYU Studies 43, no. 2 (2004): 103–130.
Donald W. Parry, Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2007), 5–6.
- 1. Dennis Newton, “Nephi’s Use of Inverted Parallels,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 22 (2016): 91.
- 2. This formatting is slightly adapted from Donald W. Parry, Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2007), 10.
- 3. If one felt it were necessary, these short elements could even be combined with E and E*, without affecting the length or symmetry. Thus, they aren’t in any way a detriment to the overall chiastic structure. Combining the elements together may better convey the force of Nephi’s rhetorical question, and has the added benefit of actually placing the commandments of the Lord at the center. Many commentators have noted that this is the main theme of the Laban/brass plates narrative, and it is also a central feature in other chiasms. See Newton, “Nephi’s Use of Inverted Parallels,” 94: “Of the ten abridged candidates, eight highlight aspects of the same core theme at their center. In other words, as shown in Figure 5, Nephi’s abridged text returned, over and over, to the chiastic form to underscore the message of the importance of following the words and commandments of the Lord. Due to the remarkable consistency in Nephi’s message across these eight chiasms, I argue that it is highly improbable that these candidates occurred by chance.”
- 4. This is another way of expressing its P-value of 0.0105. See Newton, “Nephi’s Use of Inverted Parallels,” 91.
- 5. As Newton noted, “the strictness of the model lowers the P-value slightly.” Newton, “Nephi’s Use of Inverted Parallels,” 91. Note that Newton doesn’t seem to be saying here that the P-value itself (numerically speaking) is lowered by the strictness of the model. That would be nonsensical because lower P-values actually strengthen the case for intentionality. Instead, he seems to be saying that the case for the chiasm being intentionally created—which is what the P-value is ultimately measuring—is likely lessened or “lowered” because of the strictness of the model.
- 6. Boyd F. Edwards and W. Farrell Edwards, “When are Chiasms Admissible as Evidence?” BYU Studies 49, no. 4 (2010): 138. See also the chart in Newton, “Nephi’s Use of Inverted Parallels,” 91, where he identifies these specific words as not being admissible.
- 7. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Chiasmus,” Evidence# 0006, September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.