Item Detail
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29730
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4
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8
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English
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Does Chiasmus Appear in the Book of Mormon by Chance?
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BYU Studies
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Spring 2004
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43
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2
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Provo, UT
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Brigham Young University Press
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103-130
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Chiasmus is an inverted-parallel literary form that was employed by ancient Hebrew biblical writers, among others. An instance of this form, called a "chiasm," presents two or more literary elements, and then restates them in reverse order.
Short chiasms are not uncommon in literature. In some cases, the authors undoubtedly intended to use that form for literary effect (that is, by design); in other cases, the elements fell into that form without author intent (that is, by chance).
In 1969, John W. Welch reported his discovery of many-element chiasms in the Book of Mormon,1 which Joseph Smith testified to have translated from plates written anciently by Hebrew descendants.
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A Masterpiece: Alma 36
Apologetic and Critical Assumptions about Book of Mormon Historicity
A Steady Stream of Significant Recognitions
Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited : The Evidence for Ancient Origins
Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon
Conceptual Patterns of Repetition in the Doctrine and Covenants and their Implications
Criteria for Identifying and Evaluating the Presence of Chiasmus
Reexploring the Book of Mormon