Synonymous Parallelisms

Words that share the same or similar meanings, such as happy and glad, are referred to as synonyms. Many Book of Mormon passages utilize synonyms in formal patterns, called parallelisms. These come in two primary categories: (1) simple synonymous and (2) extended synonymous.

Simple Synonymous

According to Hebrew scholar Donald Parry, the simple synonymous variety “consists of two lines; line two being a synonymous repetition, an echo, or a symmetrical counterpart of line one.”¹ This often consists of more than just a single synonymous word or phrase. As explained by Robert Alter, it involves “parallelism of meaning … every component of the first half being precisely echoed in the second half.”² For instance, notice how the second line of this verse from Genesis 4:23 recapitulates the subject-verb-object pattern of the first verse:

Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice;

ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech

As can be seen in the following examples, similar synonymous couplets are found throughout the Book of Mormon:

2 Nephi 25:2:

for their works were works of darkness,

and their doings were doings of abominations.

3 Nephi 29:5:

Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord;

yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works!

Extended Synonymous

As might be expected, extended synonymous parallelisms expand upon the simple variety. Instead of being confined to couplets, they feature three or more synonymous lines of text, as can be seen in this example from Psalm 1:1:

Blessed is the man that

walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor standeth in the way of sinners,

nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

In this case we have three parallel verbs (walketh, standeth, sitteth) followed by three parallel phrases (in the counsel, in the way, in the seat) followed by three more parallel phrases (of the ungodly, of sinners, of the scornful). Note that in this example, as in many others, the parallel terms aren’t precisely synonymous. Yet they are all clearly related. For instance, “walketh,” “standeth,” and “sitteth” are three modes of action which get progressively more sedentary. The synonymity of the passage is therefore more of general outcome, rather than a specific one-for-one equivalency of all terms. In this case, the poetic unit collectively says the same thing (a man will be blessed if he disassociates himself with unrighteousness) in three slightly different ways.

Here are a few samples of extended synonymous parallelisms in the Book of Mormon:

Alma 5:18:

having a remembrance of all your guilt,

yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness,

yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?

3 Nephi 8:13:

And the highways were broken up,

and the level roads were spoiled,

and many smooth places became rough.

Mormon 8:24:

for in his name could they remove mountains;

and in his name could they cause the earth to shake;

and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth;

Conclusion

In his reformatted edition of the Book of Mormon, Parry identified nearly 200 instances of synonymous parallelism, when both simple and extended varieties are accounted for (see Appendices).³ Although approximately half of these come from quotations of Isaiah, there are still many dozens of examples that are original to the Book of Mormon itself. The strong presence of this literary feature in the text demonstrates one aspect of the Book of Mormon’s literary complexity, while also helping affirm its ancient Hebrew origins.

Donald W. Parry, Preserved in Translation: Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2020), 13–17.

Carl J. Cranney, “The Deliberate Use of Hebrew Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 23, no. 1 (2014): 140–165.

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

Donald W. Parry, “Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in the Book of Mormon,” in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2002), 155–189.

Hugh J. Pinnock, Finding Biblical Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999).

Simple Synonymous

1 Nephi 1:15

1 Nephi 3:15

1 Nephi 17:47

1 Nephi 18:11

1 Nephi 20:4

1 Nephi 20:10

1 Nephi 20:12

1 Nephi 20:13

1 Nephi 20:14

1 Nephi 20:20

1 Nephi 21:4

1 Nephi 21:6

1 Nephi 21:7

1 Nephi 21:8

1 Nephi 21:9

1 Nephi 21:10

1 Nephi 21:14

1 Nephi 21:15

1 Nephi 21:23

1 Nephi 22:3

1 Nephi 22:23

2 Nephi 1:26

2 Nephi 6:6

2 Nephi 6:7

2 Nephi 7:1

2 Nephi 8:1

2 Nephi 8:2

2 Nephi 8:3

2 Nephi 8:4

2 Nephi 8:5

2 Nephi 8:6

2 Nephi 8:7

2 Nephi 8:8

2 Nephi 8:13

2 Nephi 8:16

2 Nephi 8:24

2 Nephi 9:2

2 Nephi 9:14

2 Nephi 9:52

2 Nephi 10:8

2 Nephi 10:9

2 Nephi 12:2

2 Nephi 12:3

2 Nephi 12:4

2 Nephi 12:9

2 Nephi 12:12

2 Nephi 12:13

2 Nephi 12:14

2 Nephi 12:15

2 Nephi 12:16

2 Nephi 13:4

2 Nephi 13:5

2 Nephi 13:8

2 Nephi 13:12

2 Nephi 13:25

2 Nephi 14:4

2 Nephi 14:5

2 Nephi 15:3

2 Nephi 15:9

2 Nephi 15:10

2 Nephi 15:21

2 Nephi 15:22

2 Nephi 15:24

2 Nephi 15:26

2 Nephi 15:27

2 Nephi 15:28

2 Nephi 16:7

2 Nephi 16:8

2 Nephi 17:18

2 Nephi 18:7

2 Nephi 18:13

2 Nephi 19:6

2 Nephi 19:18

2 Nephi 19:20

2 Nephi 20:1

2 Nephi 20:2

2 Nephi 20:4

2 Nephi 20:9

2 Nephi 20:11

2 Nephi 20:15

2 Nephi 20:17

2 Nephi 20:28

2 Nephi 20:29

2 Nephi 20:31

2 Nephi 20:33

2 Nephi 21:1

2 Nephi 21:3

2 Nephi 21:4

2 Nephi 21:5

2 Nephi 21:6

2 Nephi 21:8

2 Nephi 21:12

2 Nephi 21:13

2 Nephi 23:3

2 Nephi 23:4

2 Nephi 23:7

2 Nephi 23:11

2 Nephi 23:12

2 Nephi 23:14

2 Nephi 23:15

2 Nephi 23:18

2 Nephi 23:22

2 Nephi 24:10

2 Nephi 24:11

2 Nephi 24:25

2 Nephi 25:2

2 Nephi 27:26

2 Nephi 28:4

2 Nephi 28:13

2 Nephi 28:22

2 Nephi 28:25

2 Nephi 30:9

2 Nephi 30:11

2 Nephi 30:12

2 Nephi 30:14

2 Nephi 32:7

2 Nephi 33:3

Mosiah 4:11

Mosiah 8:17

Mosiah 14:5

Mosiah 14:7

Mosiah 14:12

Mosiah 16:10

Mosiah 18:17

Alma 1:23

Alma 5:10

Alma 22:17

Alma 26:11

Alma 26:12

Alma 32:34

Alma 34:32

Alma 36:19

Alma 37:36

Alma 38:11

Alma 40:2

Helaman 10:6

Helaman 13:37

Helaman 16:4

3 Nephi 5:21

3 Nephi 6:7

3 Nephi 6:8

3 Nephi 7:8

3 Nephi 10:18

3 Nephi 12:47

3 Nephi 13:11

3 Nephi 14:6

3 Nephi 19:25

3 Nephi 20:19

3 Nephi 20:22

3 Nephi 20:36

3 Nephi 20:42

3 Nephi 20:45

3 Nephi 21:8

3 Nephi 21:12

3 Nephi 22:2

3 Nephi 22:4

3 Nephi 22:9

3 Nephi 22:11

3 Nephi 24:2

3 Nephi 24:18

3 Nephi 30:2

Ether 2:18

Ether 6:9

Ether 6:10

Ether 10:6

Moroni 10:27

Extended Synonymous

1 Nephi 18:18

1 Nephi 20:1

1 Nephi 20:3

1 Nephi 20:5

1 Nephi 20:8

1 Nephi 21:12

2 Nephi 15:15

2 Nephi 16:11

2 Nephi 23:10

2 Nephi 23:16

2 Nephi 23:20

2 Nephi 23:21

Jacob 2:19

Mosiah 6:6

Alma 5:18

Alma 13:23

Alma 14:29

Alma 26:19

Helaman 12:3–5

Helaman 15:5

3 Nephi 2:1

3 Nephi 6:8

3 Nephi 8:13

3 Nephi 10:9

3 Nephi 12:44

3 Nephi 22:12

3 Nephi 24:15

Mormon 8:24

Ether 7:20