2
Ne 4:15-16 Nephi uses classic patterns of Hebrew poetry
Nephi’s
favorite prophet, Isaiah, is famous for a pattern of Hebrew poetry called
parallelism. Nephi emulates this in many of his passages including these
verses. Of Hebrew poetry, Victor Ludlow writes:
“Parallelism
is the most distinctive quality of Hebrew poetry, and it is found in most of
the famous biblical passages. In parallelism, a thought, idea, grammar pattern,
or key word of the first line is repeated or continued in the second line.
There are two basic types of parallelism, grammatical and semantic. Grammatical
or ‘form’ parallelism is often difficult to identify, especially in non-Hebrew
translations, because the rhyme schemes, grammar forms, conjugation patterns,
prefix or suffix parallelisms, and so on may not carry over into the new
translation. However, semantic parallelism is more easily recognized in English
and other non-Semitic language translations since it is a ‘theme rhyme’ or
‘idea pattern’ in which the thought or meaning in one line is related to an
idea of another line in a variety of parallel patterns.” (Isaiah: Prophet,
Seer, and Poet, p. 32)
He
goes on to describe seven different types of semantic parallelism. The passage
in question exhibits two of these types.
a)
For my soul delighteth in the scriptures,
b)
and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for
the learning and the profit of my children.
a)
Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the
Lord;
b)
and my heart pondereth continually upon the things
which I have seen and heard.
These
passages exhibit synthetic parallelism and synonymous parallelism. In synthetic
parallelism, “the second line completes or complements the
thought of the first in a variety of possible combinations…An idea is
introduced in the first line, which is incomplete or generates questions about
that idea. The second line then completes the idea, or answers a question
raised by the first line.” (Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet, pp. 33-4)
In verse 15, the first thought, my soul delighteth
in the scriptures, is completed in the second line, and my heart pondereth them and writeth them for the
learning and profit of my children.
In
synonymous parallelism, “a theme of the first line repeats itself in the
second line, but in slightly different words.” (Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and
Poet, pp. 32) The ideas in verse 15 are repeated in verse 16 with slightly
different concepts. The phrase, ‘For my soul
delighteth in the scriptures’ is repeated in verse 16 as ‘my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord.’
In
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, another poetic style is discussed—that of
chiasmus, or the repeating of concepts in the reverse order in which they were
presented. This pattern is described as following the general patterns
(a-b-b-a), (a-b-c-c-b-a), etc:
“In
the Psalm of Nephi (2 Ne. 4:15-35), the initial appeals to the soul and heart
are accompanied by negations, while the subsequent mirror uses the heart and
soul are conjoined with strong affirmations, making the contrasts literarily
effective and climactic:
A)
Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin.
B)
Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the
enemy of my soul.
C)
Do not anger again because of mine enemies.
C)
Do not slacken my strength because of mine
afflictions.
B) Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say:
A)
O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul
will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation. [2 Ne. 4;28-
30.]” (The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by D. Ludlow, p. 182)