Yea, I make a record in the language of my father which consists of the learning of the Jews.

1 Nephi chapter 1, verse 2.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central.

And today's podcast addresses the question,

How does the Book of Mormon text reflect a 7th century BC Israelite writing style?

Since the discovery of Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon in 1967, scholars have found many examples of this literary structure within the book,

and have highlighted a variety of ways literary structure within the book, and have highlighted

a variety of ways in which it is significant for understanding the Book of Mormon as an ancient

text. Recently, biblical scholar David R. Seeley has taken a close look at the specific rhetorical

forms of chiasmus in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and found four specific

usages of chiasmus that are relatively distinctive in Deuteronomy and Jeremiah as possible

indicators of the 7th century BC judahite rhetorical tradition. These four chiastic types are found

in the book of Mormon, suggesting it is part of this same rhetorical tradition.

First, Seeley identified what he called chiasmus of speaker rather than of topic.

The inversion in the chiasmus is not with the themes or the keywords of the passage,

but rather with the speakers. An example of this chiastic form can be found in Deuteronomy

chapter 1, verses 20 through 31. In these verses, Moses speaks first, then the Israelites, then Moses,

with the spies in the middle, and then Moses, and the Israelites, and finally Moses again to conclude.

This creates an A, B, C, D, C, B, A, B, A, pattern.

Central to this chiasm is the all-important positive report of the spies sent into Canaan.

Another chasm following this pattern can be found in Jeremiah chapter 8, verses 18 through 21,

which details an A, B, C, B, A,

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