Chiasmus/Helaman 6:7-13

From: John W. Welch, "Chiasmus in Hel. 6:7–13," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 230–232.GL direct link

A "And behold, there was peace in all the land" (6:7).

B [Freedom of travel and trade in both lands is discussed (6:7-8).]

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 precious metals, both in the land

south and in the land north" (6:9).

E "Now the land south

was called Lehi, and

the land north

was called Mulek,

which was after the son of Zedekiah;^[1]

for the Lord

did bring Mulek

into the land north,

and Lehi

into the land south" (6:10).

D "And behold, there was all manner of gold

in both these lands, and of silver, and of

precious ore of every kind;

C and there were also curious workmen, who did

work all kinds of ore and did refine it; and thus

they did become rich" (6:11).

B [Economic prosperity in both lands is discussed (6:12-13).]

A "And thus the sixty and fourth year did pass away in peace" (6:13).

Notes

↑ The center of this chiasm involves two individual words. At the very apex, the words "Zedekiah" and "Lord" stand parallel to each other, which is intriguing since the Hebrew word for "Lord" constitutes the theophoric suffix -yah at the end of the name "Zedekiah."

Further Reading