Chiasma in Ether 4:14-15

Ether 4:14-15 is as follows:

14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

Here is the same passage without versification:

Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief. Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

And here is the same passage structured into the proposed chiasmic structure:

A	Come unto me, O ye house of Israel,
	B	and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world;
		C	and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
		C'	Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind,
	B'	then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—
A'	yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

Observe that A, B and C refer to the past, while A', B' and C' refer to a possible future. In the past, God has kept many truths from the house of Israel because of unbelief. A promise is made that these things will be made known to the house of Israel if they will believe.

I really like how "Come unto me" in A is amplified by "when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit" in A'. In the same way, "unbelief" in C is amplified by "which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind" in C'. "great things the Father hath laid up for you" in B is "great and marvelous things which have been hid up" in B'. Not only has the Father laid them up, but has hid them because of unbelief.

Chiasma in 3 Nephi 1:15-19

3 Nephi 1:15-19 is as follows:

15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

17 And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth.

18 For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.

19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

Here is the same passage without versification:

And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand. And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear; yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth. For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief. And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

And here is the same passage structured into the proposed chiasmic structure:

A	And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken;
B	for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness;
C	and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.
D	And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear;
C'	yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth. For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.
B'	And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order;
A'	and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

I have bolded phrases and words which repeat in other units. The center D unit indicates the the central point of this passage, "And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear". Corresponding units repeat each other.

In reviewing C, D and C', the textual sub-units are rather apparent. The following depicts the sub-units of C and D:

1. and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.
2. And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead,
3. for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated;
4. for the sign which had been given was already at hand.
5. And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear;

The following depicts the sub-units of C':

1. yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished
2. that they fell to the earth.
3. For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years,
4. and that the sign which had been given was already at hand;
5. and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.

Such strong correlation can hardly be accidental. I particularly like the emphasis of the 5th sub-units:

"And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly
appear"

"and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their
unbelief."

Integrating the sub-unit structure into the proposed chiasma, yields the following:

A	And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken;
	B	for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness;
		C	and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came. And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand. And they began to know that the Son of God must shortly appear;
		C'	yea, in fine, all the people upon the face of the whole earth from the west to the east, both in the land north and in the land south, were so exceedingly astonished that they fell to the earth. For they knew that the prophets had testified of these things for many years, and that the sign which had been given was already at hand; and they began to fear because of their iniquity and their unbelief.
	B'	And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order;
A'	and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

This reorganization lost the proposed D, which made for an obvious center unit, but this reorganization is much stronger in that it takes into account many very obvious sub-units. And I think it is, therefore, closer to the author's intent. C and C' become the center focus of this chiasma.

I think there is some type of structure to the subunits in C and C'. More thinking on this passage may yield that structure.

One thing is certain to me. This type of analysis definitely helps focus on the author's message.

Sub-unit 3 emphasizes the role of the prophets in informing the people of what was coming.

Textual Criticism of Matthew 5:22

It appears that "without a cause" was a late addition to Matthew 5:22. Early Greek manuscripts omit it, as do early church fathers who quote it.

Matthew 5:22

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

The Book of Mormon contains the Saviors words to the people of the Americas in which he repeats the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount given to the Israelites during his ministry. The Book of Mormon omits the "without a cause" from the verse corresponding to Matthew 5:22.

3 Nephi 12:22

But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of his judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Now there's something for critics of the Book of Mormon to consider. How did Joseph Smith know?

The NIV Bible adopts the Book of Mormon version of Matthew 5:22. Who would have thought that was possible?

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

If anyone ever notices, they'll probably add "without a cause" back in!

Creatio Ex Materia

"creatio ex materia" is latin for creation out of eternally preexistent matter.

Fromt the argument against ex nihilo found in Wikipedia:

Some have argued that this concept, meaning ex nihilo, cannot be deduced from the Hebrew and that the Book of Genesis, chapter 1, speaks of God "making" or "fashioning" the universe. However, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812) disputed these arguments in section II of his book titled "Tanya."

Thomas Jay Oord argues that Christians should abandon the doctrine of creation ex nihilo. Oord points to the work of biblical scholars, such as Jon D. Levenson, who argue that the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo is not present in Genesis. Oord speculates that God created our particular universe billions of years ago from primordial chaos. This chaos did not predate God, however, for God would have created the chaotic elements as well. Oord shows that God can create all things without creating from absolute nothingness.

Oord offers nine succinct objections to creatio ex nihilo:

1. Theoretical problem: absolute nothingness cannot be conceived.

2. Biblical problem: Scripture – in Genesis, 2 Peter, and elsewhere – suggests creation from something (water, deep, chaos, etc.), not creation from absolutely nothing.

3. Historical problem: Creatio ex nihilo was first proposed by Gnostics – Basilides and Valentinus – who assumed that creation was inherently evil and that God does not act in history. It was adopted by early Christian theologians to affirm the kind of absolute divine power that many Christians now reject.

4. Empirical problem: We have no evidence that our universe originally came into being from absolutely nothing.

5. Creation at an instant problem: We have no evidence in the history of the universe after the big bang that entities can emerge instantaneously from absolute nothingness. As the earliest philosophers noted, out of nothing comes nothing (ex nihil, nihil fit).

6. Solitary power problem: Creatio ex nihilo assumes that a powerful God once acted alone. But power is a social concept only meaningful in relation to others.

7. Errant revelation problem: The God with the capacity to create something from absolutely nothing would apparently have the power to guarantee an unambiguous and inerrant message of salvation (e.g, inerrant Bible). An unambiguously clear and inerrant divine revelation does not exist.

8. Evil problem: If God once had the power to create from absolutely nothing, God essentially retains that power. But a God of love with this capacity is culpable for failing to prevent genuine evil.

9. Empire Problem: The kind of divine power implied in creatio ex nihilo supports a theology of empire, which is based upon unilateral force and control of others.

A few early Jewish and Christian theologians and philosophers, including Philo, Justin, Athenagoras, Hermogenes, Clement of Alexandria, and, later, Johannes Scotus Eriugena have made statements that seem to indicate that they do not hold to the concept of the creation-out-of-nothing. Philo, for instance, postulated a pre-existent matter alongside God.

Process theologians argue that God has always been related to some “world” or another.

The doctrine may, as the quotation from Maccabees illustrate, have arisen to explain the creative action of a God who is usually referred to in male terms, a patriarchal God even. Males do not gestate living things in the way normally capable of observation, so it had to be explained in a different sense.

Critics also claim that rejecting 'creatio ex nihilo' provides the opportunity to affirm that God has everlastingly created and related with some realm of nondivine actualities or another. According to this alternative God-world theory, no nondivine thing exists without the creative activity of God, and nothing can terminate God’s necessary existence.

Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement dismissed creation ex nihilo, and introduced revelation that specifically countered this concept.^[3][4] Some Mormon sects, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teach that matter is both eternal and infinite and that it can be neither created nor destroyed.^[5] Latter-day Saint apologists have commented on Colossians 1:16 that the "Greek text does not teach ex nihilo, but creation out of pre-existing raw materials, since the verb ktidzo 'carried an architectural connotation...as in to build or establish a city....Thus, the verb presupposes the presence of already existing material.'"^[6]

While the idea of God everlastingly relating with creatures may seem strange because of its novelty, even its opponents in Christian history – like Thomas Aquinas – admitted it as a logical possibility.

Chiasmus: An Important Structural Device Commonly Found in Biblical Literature

"Chiasmus: An Important Structural Device Commonly Found in Biblical Literature" (PDF)
by Brad McCoy

Chiasmus in Antiquity: Structures, Analyses, Exegesis (book)
by John W. Welch

Textual Criticism - Mark 16:9-20

The ending of Mark, specifically Mark 16:9-20, has several variants, short and long.

From Wikipedia:

The final twelve verses, 16:9-20, are not present in two fourth-century Greek manuscripts, the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.[17] The only other Greek manuscript without the ending is a twelfth century commentary on Matthew and Mark, known as "304".[18] As such, verses 9-20 are present in 99% of the Greek manuscripts,[19] with most of these witnessing to the "Byzantine text-type" manuscript tradition.[20] However, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, largely of the Alexandrian text-type, are generally highly valued as a witness to the autograph of Mark due to their antiquity. Because of this, and also because of linguistic and stylistic differences between these verses and the rest of the Gospel, there has resulted scholarly debate concerning the authenticity of these passages and the original ending of the Gospel.

Codex Washingtonianus (late 4th or early 5th century A.D.), included the addition to 16:14 that is known as the Freer Logion.

Another ending, called the shorter ending is found in an Old Latin manuscript of Mark.[21] Some seventh-to-ninth-century Greek manuscripts and Syriac, Sahidic, Bohairic and Ethiopic have minor variations on this shorter ending.

Hypotheses on how to explain the textual variations include:

Mark intentionally ended his Gospel at 16:8, and someone else (at an early date) wrote the concluding lines.

Mark did not intend to end at 16:8, but was somehow prevented from finishing (perhaps by his own death), whereupon another person finished the work.

The Gospel originally contained a different (perhaps similar) ending that was lost, for one reason or another, whereafter the current ending was added.

Verses 16:9-20 are authentic, and were omitted or lost from the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus for one reason or another, perhaps accidental, perhaps intentional.

James H. Charlesworth pointed out that Codex Syriacus (a 5th-century translation), Codex Vaticanus (mid-4th century), and Codex Bobiensis (4th- or 5th-century Latin) are all early manuscripts that exclude the Marcan Appendix. In addition to these, approximately 100 early Armenian translations, as well as the two oldest Georgian translations, also omitted the appendix (James Bentley p. 179) In Secrets of Mt. Sinai, James Bentley made this observation about the omission of the Marcan Appendix in Codex Sinaiticus: "The scribe who brought Mark's Gospel to an end in Codex Sinaiticus had no doubt that it finished at chapter 16, verse 8. He underlined the text with a fine artistic squiggle, and wrote, "The Gospel according to Mark." Immediately following begins the Gospel of Luke (p. 139).

There is much more on wikipedia. I recommend reading it for more information on this topic.

More Online Resources

Textual Criticism of the Greek New Testament