A Primer on Biblical Literary Genre
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Biblical hermeneutics are attached to a wide array of external factors such as one’s traditional upbringing, previous instruction, personal contexts, e.g. family, work, and school, and (perhaps more than the rest) literary genre. Many Christians seem to make the mistake of interpreting biblical texts without proper understanding of the literary genre they read. Such an understanding is imperative, nonetheless, to a correct interpretation. One cannot read the metaphors of poetry, for example, as literal history. Various genres exist in the canon of Scripture. This paper will examine each of the major genres of the Bible in an overarching fashion and ultimately call believers to excellence in biblical interpretation.
Narrative
The
narrative genre might be named synonymously with history, i.e. a narrative
offers a text within the framework of a historical account. Narrative is the
most employed genre in biblical writing and is certainly more prevalent in the
New Testament than in the Old Testament. It could be suggested that the
entirety of the Bible is framed within the narrative genre, for the text of
Scripture, from beginning to end, presents a narrative: the story of God and
his work in the lives of his people.
Narratives
often yield a point or a plurality of points to be acquired by the reader. The
Gospels, for example, give accounts of the life of Christ from the authors’
various perspectives yet often hold the same trajectory and aim in teaching.[1] The account of Jesus
feeding the multitude varies in all four of the gospels. Nonetheless, the truth
that Jesus provides for his people and performs spectacular miracles is evident
in all four accounts.
Narrative
should be considered the support of biblical revelation. Said another way, the
narrative genre provides substance to the mysterious workings of God throughout
Scripture. Because of factual and historical accounts of God’s work throughout
human history through narrative, even the skeptic may be assured that the holy
text of the Bible is accurate and reliable. Narrative then lays the foundation
for what God does through his miracles in Scripture.
Because narrative does not take liberties in the use of metaphor, the reader should interpret the text through the lens of precision, i.e. narrative is intended to be taken literally. With the account of Moses’ parting of the Red Sea (Exod 14), some might make the mistake of approaching the text as hyperbole or metaphor; nonetheless, the account is factual history and should be taken literally. While miraculous in nature, the aim of the story is not to be stretched into a mere metaphor but to provide a historical account of the reality of God’s miracle and work in the lives of his people. Narrative must be interpreted not as a figure of speech but as literal and historical accounts.
Wisdom
Wisdom
is a biblical literary genre found uniquely in the Old Testament. While
Ecclesiastes, Job, and Proverbs are traditionally considered the wisdom texts
of the Bible, some of the psalms and writings within Song of Solomon enjoy the
same category. Wisdom texts in the Bible are devoted to divine morality and
right choices, which are only derived from obedience to God. Wisdom literature
points the reader to a sometimes difficult but right decision and often a
blessing for heeding its call. In this genre, wisdom is sometimes personified
and grants a call to its hearers. The purpose then of wisdom literature is to
present the blessing of making godly choices and heeding the call of God to
obey him.
Unlike
narrative, wisdom literature does not provide historical prose but instead
grants a variety of scenarios and choices and consequences attached to them.
Much of the guidance offered in wisdom literature stems from the personal
experiences of the authors. For example, Ecclesiastes is traditionally thought
to have been authored by Solomon himself. Thus, many of the experiences listed
in the book are likely his own. In such a case, Solomon presents sound reason
based upon his own experience, to which readers may or may not relate but
should observe as godly truth. While it took a lifetime of experiences for
Solomon to gain understanding in the areas about which he writes, the wisdom of
the text allows believers to avoid learning those truths in such a difficult
way.
To properly interpret wisdom literature, the readers should be mindful of the broad scope. The wisdom genre may not give explicit commands but instead propose to the reader the benefit of godly choices in a plurality of circumstances. Therefore, interpretation should be gained in a broad way, i.e. the interpreter should not mistake single portions of wisdom literature for specific directions for individual believers but rather as broad recommendations based on the author’s experience.
Poetry
Poetry
holds the purpose of praise, worship, and often liturgy and prayer. The Psalms,
for example, might be considered the hymnal of Israel. The New Testament, in
fact, references the Psalms as usage in liturgical and worship settings (Eph 5:19).
Biblical books in the category of poetry would be Psalms, Song of Solomon, and
Lamentations. While Lamentations takes a disparate approach in the usage of
poetry than Psalms and Song of Solomon, it is poetry often in the form of
prayer. Poetry, nevertheless, may be found in other biblical books. The
Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), for example, is a form of poetry set within the
bounds of Luke’s Gospel. Poetry employs metaphor to paint a picture in its aim,
e.g. lament, praise, prayer, etc.
To properly interpret poetry, the reader should consider the aspect of metaphor significantly. David, in Psalm 18:2, for example, compares God to a rock. The reader should not take such a comparison literally, for it is a use of metaphor. God is the David’s spiritual rock and fortress. Furthermore, Solomon compares his love’s neck to the tower of David (Song 4:5). Such a comparison also is not literal but a figure of speech in metaphor. The reader should look beyond the metaphor itself to the point the author desires to make. Rather than taking poetry literally, the interpreter should approach the text from a broad perspective with a specific use. Whether the poetry is intended for lament, praise, or prayer, poetry conveys an intentional use of language and often expands literal truth to a hyperbolic picture to achieve a specific aim.
Prophecy
Biblical
prophecy has the purpose of giving a specific message to a specific people
during a specific era. The prophet is a messenger from God preaching a message
and giving people the opportunity to repent. Nonetheless, New Testament and Old
Testament prophecies should be distinguished by the interpreter. It is helpful
to examine New Testament prophecies next to Old Testament prophecies, i.e.
looking back to determine what has been fulfilled. As an example, Isaiah
vividly describes the Messiah who would save his people from their sin (Isa
53). New Testament writings reveal the fulfilling of the Messiah in Jesus
Christ.
It
would be incorrect to consider prophetic writings as merely foretelling the
future, for prophecies present a message from God that, although intended for a
specific group of people in a specific era, is relevant to God’s people
throughout history. A common theme in prophetic writings is the message of
repentance. God often gives people a choice to repent or face the consequences
of disobedience, i.e. the Day of the Lord. Most Old Testament prophecies were
preached to God’s people: Israel. Nevertheless, there subsist Old Testament prophecies
for other groups of people. Jonah, for example, was called to proclaim a
message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. After first disobeying God, he
reluctantly went to Nineveh and preached. The people of Nineveh repented,
causing God to relent in his destruction of them. Jonah’s message then should
be interpreted as the extension of God’s words to the people of Nineveh and yet
one which is broadly relevant to all people.
Prophecies should additionally be interpreted with the realization that God’s final revelation to his people has already been given through the canon of Scripture. That is to say that no further revelation exists. Therefore, any word classified as prophesy in the current era should be a mere proclamation of what has already been presented in the Bible. While New Testament and Old Testament prophecies are disparate in nature, the two are similar in that they testify to Jesus Christ and his work among his people.
Gospels
and Parables
The
gospel genre consists of firsthand accounts of the life of Christ during his
ministry on earth.[2]
There exist four gospel writings in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
John is the most unique in literary form. The other three Gospels are known as
the Synoptic Gospels. Accounts within these three writings are often similar and
sometimes verbatim. The purpose of gospel literature is to declare the earthly
life of Jesus Christ, his work, his miracles, his miraculous birth, his death,
and his resurrection from the dead.
In
interpreting gospel texts, the reader should be aware of the audience to whom
Jesus speaks and the type of speech he gives. Jesus commonly speaks in
parables, which are not necessarily true stories, although they certainly could
occur. Parables, nonetheless, are stories Jesus uses to provide a lesson to his
audience. Parables usually contain some aspect about the kingdom of God.
Interpreters should be careful to examine parables as fictitious stories, which
offer a lesson rather than historical accounts.
Moreover, gospel texts point the reader directly to the central focus of the entire Bible: Jesus Christ. The prophets testify to Christ; biblical historical literature point to the Messiah who would redeem the people of God; and throughout the Old Testament subsists types of the one who would come in Christ Jesus. The gospel message itself and indeed the entire Bible revolve around the person and work of Jesus Christ. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, therefore, boldly and vividly tell of who he is from firsthand accounts.
Epistles
Epistles
claim a far more theological tone than do the other biblical genres. Working
knowledge of languages, setting, and background are crucial to properly
interpreting epistles. Most of the New Testament books are epistles; therefore,
examining the New Testament in its entirety should involve the realization of
theological premises. Unique to the epistles is the fact that despite specific
instruction for specific groups of people, e.g. the Church at Corinth, the
theological truth epistles possess reach broadly across all of Christianity.
Epistles are often penned as letters to churches or people and should be
interpreted with such in mind.
Epistles are specific in that
they are often written in response to a specific circumstance and expect a
response from that audience to such a circumstance. Most epistle writings come
from Paul; yet, there are other epistle letters as well. Epistles support the
overarching focus of the Bible: the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Nonetheless, epistles also address difficult theological topics and concepts.
Much of the content of epistle texts has been debated by theologians for
centuries and still does not have a broad resolution to the diversity of
thought and opinion, which is why interpretation of epistles demands attention
to details such as audience, context, background, and language.
Apocalyptic
The
genre of apocalyptic writing is perhaps one of the most misunderstood genres in
the Bible. Where prophesy declares a message to a group of people with the
intention of repentance, apocalyptic literature indeed proclaims future events,
often in the context of end times. Most apocalyptic literature was composed
during the latter days of the Old Testament, in the intertestamental period,
and at the end of the New Testament. Some Old Testament prophetic literature
includes elements of apocalypse, e.g. Joel, Amos, Zechariah, and Daniel. Most
people, however, seem to think primarily of Revelation regarding apocalyptic
writing. Revelation certainly stands as uniquely apocalyptic in nature. Nonetheless,
Revelation is not the only apocalyptic book; the latter prophets also often
speak of eschatological events.
A common thread
running through all apocalyptic literature is symbolism. The interpreter should
be careful not to elevate symbolism to literality but should instead determine
the meaning behind the symbolism. Additionally, one should realize that
apocalyptic writers often saw visions occurring in the future and wrote with
the best description possible given their own limited knowledge in their era of
time. Therefore, apocalyptic literature is contextual in two ways: 1) the text
was composed thousands of years before the future events described and 2) the
best description of future events possible is blurred and hazy at best.
Lest one consider the apocalyptic genre to be mere entertaining stories, the genre itself should be understood to have the purpose of declaring what is to come upon the return of Christ. For God’s people, apocalyptic messages should be hopeful; for those who do not know Christ, however, the genre is suggestive of a warning and a call to repentance before it is too late.
A
Call to Every Believer for Precise Hermeneutics
Everyone
has a hermeneutic whether from personal context, past instructors, or
background and tradition. Certainly, those external factors which impact one’s
hermeneutic may changer over a span of time; yet, there does not exist an
uninterpreted text, lesson, or commentary. The believer’s goal in hermeneutics
then should be to interpret the biblical text as precisely as possible by
understanding the text first and foremost but also the grid of external factors
and literary genres through which the text is written. Whether a theologian, a
pastor, or a lay-person, the call to every believer in understanding the
scriptures is excellence and precision in hermeneutics.
[1]
Gospel writings might be considered narrative but also hold their own unique
genre called gospel, which will be discussed later in the paper.
[2] Parables
are stalwartly connected to gospel literature so the two genres are approached
here together.
