Gradation

Gradation in the Bible

A parallel structure known as “gradation”¹  can be found in both the Old and New Testaments. As described by Donald W. Parry, this parallelism “occurs when the same word or words are found in successive clauses or sentences.”² As demonstrated in the following examples, “This duplication of words creates a continuation of thought from one sentence to the next, which adds power through repetition to the discourse, while at the same time connecting the lines into an inseparable body”:³

Hosea 2:19–23:

And it shall come to pass in that day,

I will hear, saith the Lord,

I will hear the

heavens, and

they shall hear the

Earth and the

earth shall hear the

corn, and the wine, and the oil; and

they shall hear Jezreel.

Joel 1:3–4:

Tell ye

your children of it, and let

your children tell

their children, and

their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the

locust eaten; and that which the

locust hath left hath the

cankerworm eaten; and that which the

cankerworm hath left hath the

caterpiller eaten.

Romans 5:3–5:

And not only so, but we glory in

tribulations also: knowing that

tribulation worketh

patience; And

patience,

experience; and

experience,

hope: And

hope maketh not ashamed …

2 Peter 1:5–7:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith

virtue; and to

virtue

knowledge; And to

knowledge

temperance; and to

temperance

patience; and to

patience

godliness; And to

godliness

brotherly kindness; and to

brotherly kindness charity.

Gradation in the Book of Mormon

In his reformatted edition of the Book of Mormon, Parry identified numerous examples of gradation (see Appendix). While it can never be demonstrated that any parallelism was intentionally implemented, it is hard to imagine that some of Parry’s proposed examples of gradation occurred by pure coincidence. For instance, notice how the following samples from Alma are very compact. Each repeated concept is important to the message, each repetition closely follows the previous one, and there are few instances of random repetition of content-rich words:

Alma 42:17–20:

Now, how could a man repent except he should

sin? How could he

sin if there was no

law? How could there be a

law save there was a

punishment? Now, there was a

punishment affixed, and a just

law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man. Now, if there was no

law given—if a man murdered he should

die—would he be afraid he would

die if he should murder? And also, if there was no law given against

sin men would not be afraid to

sin.

Alma 42:22–23:

… if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would

cease to be God. But God

ceaseth not to be God, and

mercy claimeth the penitent, and

mercy cometh because of the

atonement; and the

atonement bringeth to pass the

resurrection of the dead; and the

resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the

presence of God; and thus they are restored into his

presence, to be judged according to their works …

Some consistencies are also noteworthy. All of the proposed instances of gradation in the Book of Mormon appear to be derived from first-hand statements usually found in embedded or underlying documents, rather than in editorial commentary from Mormon or Moroni. Most examples can be found in sermons, letters, and prophecies.⁴ The single proposed instance that appears in historical narrative (1 Nephi 7:20–22) seems somewhat less convincing in regard to its intentionality.⁵

Also of interest is that several proposed examples cluster together in a single author’s prophecy or teachings. Nephi used gradation in four successive chapters that detail his expansive visions and prophecies about the Messiah and his people (see 1 Nephi 12:19–13:5; 13:23–24; 14:1–3; 15:13–20). Alma used three instances of gradation when instructing his son Corianton (see Alma 41:13; 42:17–20; 42:22–23). And Moroni used the structure twice in the very last chapter of the Book of Mormon (see Moroni 10:20–22, 32–34).

These clusters seem indicative of authors who made a conscious choice to repeatedly utilize this parallel structure for certain reasons on certain occasions. The way that the structure builds upon successive ideas, for example, was likely ideal for Alma’s delineation of the nature of law and punishment (Alma 42:17–20) or for Moroni’s doctrinal explanation of faith, hope, and charity (Moroni 10:20–22).

Conclusion

Although not as elusive or as difficult to implement as some other parallel structures, such as chiasmus, gradation is still a noteworthy parallelism. Its attestations in the Book of Mormon are rhetorically meaningful and consistent with the text’s claimed ancient Near Eastern literary background.

Donald W. Parry, Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2007), xxvi–xxviii, 566.

Donald W. Parry, “Climactic Forms in the Book of Mormon,” 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), 85.

1 Nephi 7:20–221 Nephi 10:111 Nephi 12:19–13:51 Nephi 13:23–241 Nephi 14:1–31 Nephi 15:13–201 Nephi 19:3–41 Nephi 22:9–122 Nephi 1:132 Nephi 9:62 Nephi 9:25–262 Nephi 31:2Mosiah 2:17–19Alma 5:37–39Alma 13:22Alma 32:13Alma 41:13Alma 42:17–20Alma 42:22–23Alma 61:8Helaman 5:6–8Mormon 9:11–13Ether 3:15–16Moroni 8:25–26Moroni 10:20–22Moroni 10:32–34

1 Nephi 7:20–22

1 Nephi 10:11

1 Nephi 12:19–13:5

1 Nephi 13:23–24

1 Nephi 14:1–3

1 Nephi 15:13–20

1 Nephi 19:3–4

1 Nephi 22:9–12

2 Nephi 1:13

2 Nephi 9:6

2 Nephi 9:25–26

2 Nephi 31:2

Mosiah 2:17–19

Alma 5:37–39

Alma 13:22

Alma 32:13

Alma 41:13

Alma 42:17–20

Alma 42:22–23

Alma 61:8

Helaman 5:6–8

Mormon 9:11–13

Ether 3:15–16

Moroni 8:25–26

Moroni 10:20–22

Moroni 10:32–34

Examples of Gradation in the Book of Mormon⁶

1 Nephi 7:20–22

… they did bow down before me, and did plead with me that I would

forgive them of the thing that they had done against me. And it came to pass that I did frankly

forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would

pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so.

And after they had done

praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.

And it came to pass that we did

come down unto the tent of our father.

And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had

come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God …

 

1 Nephi 10:11

And it came to pass after my father had spoken these words he spake unto my brethren

concerning the gospel which should be preached among the Jews, and also

concerning the dwindling of the Jews in unbelief.

And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come,

and after he had been slain he

should rise from the dead, and

should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles.

 

1 Nephi 12:19–13:5

… and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the

seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed.

And it came to pass that I beheld, and saw the people of the

seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth

in multitudes upon the face of the land. And I saw them gathered together

in multitudes; and I saw

wars and rumors of wars among them; and in

wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away.

And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall

dwindle in unbelief. And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had

dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness

and all manner of abominations.

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying:

Look! And I

looked and beheld

many nations and kingdoms. And the angel said unto me:

What beholdest thou? And I said: I behold

many nations and  kingdoms. And he said unto me: These are the

nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles. And it came to pass that I saw among the

nations of the Gentiles

the formation of a great church. And the angel said unto me: Behold

the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches

 

1 Nephi 13:23–24

And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a

Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me:

The book that thou beholdest is a record of the

Jews, which

contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also

containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the

engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many;

nevertheless, they

contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore,

they are of great worth unto the Gentiles. And the angel of the Lord said unto me:

Thou hast beheld that the book

proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it

proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the

gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles

bear record; and they

bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.

 

1 Nephi 14:1–3

And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the

Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in

very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—And harden not their hearts against the

Lamb of God,

they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea,

they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a

blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be

no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall

no more be confounded. And

that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which

was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea,

that great pit which hath been digged for the

destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter

destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the

destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.

 

1 Nephi 15:13–20

Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the

gospel of the

Messiah come unto

the Gentiles, and from

the Gentiles unto

the remnant of our seed—And at that day shall

the remnant of our seed

know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord;

and then shall they

know and come

to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also

to the knowledge of the gospel

of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore,

they shall come to the knowledge

of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how

to come unto him and be saved. And then

at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God,

their rock and their salvation? Yea,

at that day,

will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea,

will they not come unto the true fold of God? Behold, I say unto you, Yea;

they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel;

they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the

olive-tree, into the true

olive-tree. And this is what our

father meaneth,

he meaneth that it will not come to pass until after they are scattered by

the Gentiles; and he meaneth that it shall come by way of

the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his power unto

the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of

the house of Israel. Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone,

but also of all

the house of Israel, pointing to the

covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days; which

covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the

kindreds of the earth be blessed. And it came to pass that I, Nephi,

spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I

spake unto them concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter days. And I did rehearse unto

             them the words of Isaiah, who

spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel …

 

1 Nephi 19:3–4

wherefore, the things which transpired before I made these plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon the first

plates. And after I had made these

plates by way of

commandment, I, Nephi, received a

commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and

precious parts of them, should be

written upon these plates; and that the things which were

written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the

land, and also for other wise

purposes, which

purposes are known unto the Lord. Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon

the other plates, which gives an

account, or which gives a greater

account of the wars and contentions and destructions of my people. And this have

I done, and commanded my people what they should do after

I was gone; and that these plates should be handed down from one generation

to another, or from one prophet

to another, until further commandments of the Lord.

 

1 Nephi 22:9–12

And it shall also be of worth

unto the Gentiles; and not only

unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the

covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the

kindreds of the earth be blessed. And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the

kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall

make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations. Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to

make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in

bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel. Wherefore, he will

bring them again out of captivity …  

 

2 Nephi 1:13

O that ye would

awake;

awake from a deep

sleep, yea, even from the

sleep of hell, and shake off the awful

chains by which ye are bound, which are the

chains which bind the children of men …

 

2 Nephi 2:13

And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is 

no sin. If ye shall say there is 

no sin, ye shall also say there is 

no righteousness. And if there be 

no righteousness there be 

no happiness. And if there be no righteousness 

nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is

no God. And if there is

no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of

things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all

things must have vanished away.

 

2 Nephi 9:6

… there must needs be a power of

resurrection, and the

resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the

fall; and the

fall came by reason of transgression ...

 

2 Nephi 9:25–26

Wherefore, he has given a

law; and where there is no

law given there is no

punishment; and where there is no

punishment there is no

condemnation; and where there is no

condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the

atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him. For the

atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice

 

2 Nephi 31:2

speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall

speak unto you plainly, according to the

plainness of my prophesying. For my soul delighteth in

plainness; for after this manner doth the

Lord God work among the children of men. For the

Lord God giveth light unto the

understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their

understanding.

 

Mosiah 2:17–19

And behold, I tell you these things

that ye may learn wisdom;

that ye may learn that when ye are in the

service of your fellow beings ye are only in the

service of your God. Behold,

ye have called me your king; and if I, whom

ye call your king, do

labor to serve you, then ought not ye to

labor to serve one another? And behold also, if I, whom ye call

your king, who has spent his days in your

service, and yet has been in the

service of God, do merit any

thanks from you, O how you ought to

thank your heavenly King!

 

Alma 5:37–39

O ye workers of iniquity;

ye that are puffed up in the vain things of the world,

ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless

have gone astray, as sheep having no

shepherd, notwithstanding a

shepherd hath

called after you and is still

calling after you, but ye will not hearken unto his voice!

Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth

call you; yea, and in his own name he doth

call you, which is the

name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the

name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the

sheep of the good shepherd. And now if ye are not the

sheep of the good shepherd,

of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are

of his fold; and now, who can

deny this? Behold, I say unto you, whosoever

denieth this is a liar and a child of the devil.

 

Alma 13:22

Yea, and the

voice of the Lord, by the

mouth of angels, doth

declare it unto all nations; yea, doth

declare it, that they may have

glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these

glad tidings among all his people …

 

Alma 32:13

And now, because ye are

compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is

compelled to be humble, seeketh

repentance; and now surely, whosoever

repenteth shall find

mercy; and he that findeth

mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.

 

Alma 41:13

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—

good for that which is

good;

righteous for that which is

righteous;

just for that which is

just;

merciful for that which is

merciful.

 

Alma 42:17–20

Now, how could a man repent except he should

sin? How could he

sin if there was no

law? How could there be a

law save there was a

punishment? Now, there was a

punishment affixed, and a just

law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man. Now, if there was no

law given—if a man murdered he should

die—would he be afraid he would

die if he should murder? And also, if there was no law given against

sin men would not be afraid to

sin.

 

Alma 42:22–23

… if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would

cease to be God. But God

ceaseth not to be God, and

mercy claimeth the penitent, and

mercy cometh because of the

atonement; and the

atonement bringeth to pass the

resurrection of the dead; and the

resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the

presence of God; and thus they are restored into his

presence, to be judged according to their works …

 

Alma 61:8

They have got possession of the land, or the city, of Zarahemla; they have appointed a

king over them, and he hath written unto the

king of the Lamanites, in the which he hath joined an

alliance with him; in the which

alliance he hath agreed to

maintain the city of Zarahemla, which

maintenance he supposeth will enable the Lamanites to conquer the remainder of the land …

 

Helaman 5:6–8

Behold, I have given unto you the

names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem;

and this I have done that when you remember your

names

ye may remember them; and when

ye remember them

ye may remember their works; and when

ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were

good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is

good, that it may be

said of you, and also written, even as it has been

said and written of them. And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to

desire of you, which

desire is, that ye may not do

these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do

these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is

eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of

eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

 

Mormon 9:11–13

But behold, I will show unto you a

God of miracles, even the

God of Abraham, and the

God of Isaac, and the

God of Jacob; and it is that same

God who

created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. Behold he

created

Adam, and by

Adam came the

fall of man. And because of the

fall of man came

Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of

Jesus Christ came the

redemption of man. And because of the

redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord …

 

Ether 3:15–16

And

never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for

never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are

created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were

created in the beginning after mine own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the

body of my spirit; and man have I created after the

body of my spirit; and even as

I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will

I appear unto my people in the flesh.

 

Moroni 8:25–26

And the first fruits of repentance is

baptism; and

baptism cometh by faith unto the

fulfilling the commandments; and the

fulfilling the commandments bringeth

remission of sins; And the

remission of sins bringeth

meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of

meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the

Holy Ghost, which

Comforter filleth with hope and perfect

love, which

love endureth by diligence unto prayer…

 

Moroni 10:20–22

Wherefore,

there must be faith; and if

there must be faith

there must also be hope; and

if there must be hope there must also be

charity. And except ye have

charity ye can in nowise be

saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be

saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no

hope. And if ye have no

hope ye must needs be in

despair; and

despair cometh because of iniquity.

 

Moroni 10:32–34

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and

deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall

deny yourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all your might,

mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his

grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the

grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in

nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and

deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God …