Evidence #303 | February 1, 2022
Chiasmus in Helaman 6:7–13
Post contributed by
Scripture Central
Abstract
The chiasm in Helaman 6:7–13 has distinct boundary points, a powerful central message, good symmetry, a lack of random repetition, and strong corresponding elements, making it one of the best in the Book of Mormon.The chiasm in Helaman 6:7–13 is somewhat unique. Rather than being found in a doctrinal discourse or prophetic utterance—where most chiasms in the Book of Mormon turn up—it is part of historical summary. All the happenings of the 64th year of the reign of the judges are covered in this chiasm’s complex 9-layer structure:
| A | And behold, there was peace in all the land, | ||||||||
| B | insomuch that the Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would, whether among the Nephites or the Lamanites. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever they would, whether it were among the Lamanites or among the Nephites; and thus they did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to sell, and to get gain, according to their desire. | ||||||||
| C | And it came to pass that they became exceedingly rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites; | ||||||||
| D | and they did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in the land north. | ||||||||
| E1 | Now the land south | ||||||||
| E2 | was called Lehi, | ||||||||
| E3 | and the land north | ||||||||
| E4 | was called Mulek, | ||||||||
| E5 | which was after the son of Zedekiah; | ||||||||
| E5* | for the Lord | ||||||||
| E4* | did bring Mulek | ||||||||
| E3* | into the land north, | ||||||||
| E2* | and Lehi | ||||||||
| E1* | into the land south. | ||||||||
| D* | And behold, there was all manner of gold in both these lands, and of silver, and of precious ore of every kind; and there were also curious workmen, who did work all kinds of ore and did refine it; | ||||||||
| C* | and thus they did become rich. | ||||||||
| B* | They did raise grain in abundance, both in the north and in the south; and they did flourish exceedingly, both in the north and in the south. And they did multiply and wax exceedingly strong in the land. And they did raise many flocks and herds, yea, many fatlings. Behold their women did toil and spin, and did make all manner of cloth, of fine-twined linen and cloth of every kind, to clothe their nakedness. | ||||||||
| A* | And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace. | ||||||||
Structural Analysis
Sections A and A* share the simple word “peace.” These sections also correspond to the beginning and ending of the 64th year, effectively solidifying the chiasm’s outer boundaries.1 These firm outer boundary points form what is often termed as an inclusio in literary studies.2
Sections B and B* feature related themes. The free trade between the Nephites and Lamanites highlighted in B can be seen as directly contributing to the prosperity and flourishing recorded in B*. Although disproportionately long compared to the rest of the elements, they are balanced and symmetrical when compared to one another.
Sections C and C* share the simple phrase “became/become rich.”
Sections D and D* include a cluster of corresponding words and phrases: (1) “all manner of,” (2) “gold,” (3) “silver,” (4) “precious metals/ore,” and (5) “both in the land south and in the land north”/“both these lands.” Importantly, the elements in 2–5 are given in the same sequential order in each section, making it especially difficult to see their placement as accidental.
Sections E and E* act as a chiastic aside, explaining the names and divine origin story of the “land north” and the “land south,” which were introduced in D and revisited in D*.3 Furthermore, they fulfill Lehi’s prophecy given in 2 Nephi 1:6: “there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.” Reaffirming the fulfillment of prophecy is an especially fitting function for the center of a lengthy history-oriented chiasm.4
When broken down into its own subsection, E and E* can be seen as a tightly knit, highly symmetrical chiastic structure nested within the larger chiasm. The sequence of key words in E1–4 (“south,” “Lehi,” “North,” “Mulek,”) are given in precisely reverse order in E*1–4. Then in E5 and E*5 we see a pairing of the words “Zedekiah” and “Lord.” John W. Welch explains,
Just as divine names often appear at the center of biblical chiasms, at the very apex of this passage in Helaman 6, the words Zedekiah and Lord stand parallel to each other. The parallelism between these two names is intriguing not only because Zedekiah was the king and adoptive royal son of Yahweh, the Lord, but also because the Hebrew word for Lord (YHWH) constitutes the final syllable, or theophoric suffix, –yah, at the end of the name Zedekiah. Thus the central chiastic structure in Helaman 6:10 actually would have worked better and would have been more obvious in Hebrew (or its related Nephite dialect) than in the English translation. Joseph Smith would have had no way of consciously concocting this parallelism on his own.5
The inverted structure is also supported by statistical analysis and is one of the four most statistically persuasive chiasms in the Book of Mormon.6 Finally, it should be noted that Helaman 6:7–13 has an interesting analog with the Mesoamerican text known as Chilam Balam of Chumayel. Both feature a chiastic structure involving migrations to a currently-occupied land, as well as an apparent wordplay at the center.7
Conclusion
The poetic structure in Helaman 6:7–11 adheres to several of the most common criteria developed for chiastic analysis.8 It has distinct boundary points, a powerful central message, good symmetry, a lack of random repetition,9 and strong corresponding elements (involving unique words, phrases, clusters, and themes). It certainly doesn’t hurt that the correspondence between the central elements (E5/E’5) requires an understanding of the Hebrew meaning behind the name Zedekiah, pointing to the text’s Israelite literary background. As Welch concluded, “Helaman 6:7–13 deserves to take its place among the finest examples of chiasmus found in the Book of Mormon.”10
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.
John W. Welch, “A Steady Stream of Significant Recognitions,” in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, ed. Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, UT: FARMS and Brigham Young University, 2002), 345–347.
John W. Welch, “Chiasmus in Helaman 6:7–13,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Provo and Salt Lake City, UT: FARMS and Deseret Book, 1992), 230–232.
Helaman 6:7–13- 1 For further commentary, see John W. Welch, “A Steady Stream of Significant Recognitions,” in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, ed. Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, UT: FARMS and Brigham Young University, 2002), 346–347: “since the chiasm encompasses the entire report for the year, this unifying structure strongly suggests that the account was written as a single literary unit that Mormon found on the large plates of Nephi. If the contemporary historian used chiasmus to record the events of the sixty-fourth year of the reign of the judges, the form draws attention to the fact that it was an extraordinary year in the annals of his people. Indeed, this report documents the great changes that occurred during that year involving prosperity, free travel, and peace between the Nephites and Lamanites.”
- 2 See, for example, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry, and Writings, ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 323–325.
- 3 For more information on editorial asides, see Evidence Central: “Book of Mormon Evidence: Repetitive Resumption,” Evidence# 0105, September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 4 The Book of Mormon features dozens of such prophecies, the fulfillment of which was similarly recorded or reaffirmed throughout the text. See Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Internally Fulfilled Prophecies,” Evidence# 0085, September 19, 2020, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 5 Welch, “A Steady Stream of Significant Recognitions,” 347.
- 6 Sections A/A* and B/B* weren’t included in the analysis, presumably because the thematic correspondence in B and B* isn’t statistically testable. See Boyd F. Edwards and W. Farrell Edwards, “Does Chiasmus Appear in the Book of Mormon by Chance?” BYU Studies 43, no. 2 (2004): 110, 118–119, 128n.25, Appendix G; Boyd F. Edwards and W. Farrell Edwards, “When are Chiasms Admissible as Evidence?” BYU Studies 49, no. 4 (2010): 142 (note that there is a typo on this page in the scripture reference; Helaman 9:6–11 should be Helaman 6:9–11).
- 7 See Welch, “A Steady Stream of Significant Recognitions,” 347. For more on chiasmus in ancient Mesoamerican texts, see Book of Mormon Central, “Was Chiasmus Known to Ancient American Writers? (Alma 29:4),” KnoWhy 346 (July 31, 2017).
- 8 For further information about criteria developed for assessing chiasmus, see Book of Mormon Central, “What Counts as Chiasmus? (1 Nephi 19:7),” KnoWhy 337 (July 10, 2017); Neal Rappleye, “Chiasmus Criteria in Review,” BYU Studies Quarterly 59, no. 2 (2020): 289–309; John W. Welch, “Criteria for Identifying and Evaluating the Presence of Chiasmus,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4, no. 2 (1995): 1–14; “Criteria Chart,” at Chiasmus Resources, online at chiasmusresources.org.
- 9 It could be pointed out that the terms “land north” and “land south” in section D are reused in E1, E3, E1*, and E3*. This repetition, however, shouldn’t be seen as extraneous because, as already noted, section E and E* act as a chiastic aside which directly expands upon the origin and importance of these lands. In other words, it seems to be an intentional and organized reuse of key terms, to further define and clarify them, rather than random reusage.
- 10 Welch, “A Steady Stream of Significant Recognitions,” 347.