Task 1. State the implications of the text’s genre(s)
Essence of the Task
The original readers of the biblical books knew how certain communicative conventions of their literature worked. They more or less instinctively applied that knowledge to their hearing and reading. As we move into the tasks related to the structure of our passage, the first thing we need to do is gain clarity on the imprint that these literary genres impose on our passage so that our understanding comes nearer to what was intended by the author’s use of those forms.
Detailed Description
Nearly everyone is aware that the Bible has a variety of literary styles (or genres). These literary styles have their own set of assumptions and interpretive “rules,” so to understand an author correctly, we need to understand what those are and how they work.
There are three main genre types: narrative, poetry, and prose. However, within those main categories there are any number of subgenres, as well. Leland Ryken has written in the Introduction to the ESV Literary Study Bible,
We might think that acknowledging the literary nature of the Bible would automatically produce a literary approach to the material, but this has not been the case. Even scholars and commentators who subscribe to the literary nature of the Bible as outlined in the preceding section overwhelmingly ignore the Bible’s literary features in their commentary. The concept of the Bible as literature has tended to be head knowledge only, without application to the text.
ESV Literary Study Bible, xii
It would appear that even scholars don’t always rise to the level of their goals but fall to the level of their systems.1
Task 1 puts the question of genre directly into our system and helps us deliberately think about how any of that might be shaping our passage of study. The hope is that actually having a task in our Weekly Process will help us give deliberate thought to these matters so that we actually do have a literary approach to our material.
Perhaps the easiest way to gain clarity on the imprint of the genre(s) or sub-genres in a particular passage is to deliberately ask and answer a few simple questions.
To Do
As you begin thinking about how the biblical author organized his material:
- Ask a few good questions. What is the main genre of my book? What genres and subgenres are present in my text? What do I know to be true about these genres that I need to keep in mind? How might this understanding influence what the author is trying to say and how he is saying it? Would it be helpful to me to clarify my understanding of this genre right now by reading an article on the subject in order to make sure I have the handle on this that I need?
- Write down a statement of the implications. This need not be long. One or two sentences per genre feature might be enough. The point is not to publish something about the genre(s) involved, but to specifically take note of them so that you can keep the implications in the forefront of your mind as you continue to work. At the same time, sometimes the clarity you gain is actually helpful enough, that if you are teaching, you may wish to craft your statement in such a way that you could even drop it into your teaching or preaching outline as an instructional moment for your audience.
- Update your statement, as needed, if your continuing study leads you to new insights. Both in the tasks that follow for Tuesday, and in the days ahead, you will continue to interact with your text and later with competent scholarship. Stay attentive to literary details that may help you hone your original statements. Tweak those statements as needed, but be especially sure that the insights get worked into your way of structuring and interpreting the passage.
To Keep in Mind
Sometimes when people hear the word, “literary”, they think it might mean “fictitious”. And certainly, there are works of literature in the larger world that are fiction. Lots of them2. Of course, there are many that are not. The words of Dr. Ryken are appropriate,
While fictionality is common in literature, it is not an essential ingredient of literature. The properties that make a text literary are unaffected by the historicity or fictionality of the material. A text is literary based on a writer’s selectivity and molding of the material and the style of presentation, regardless of whether the details really happened or are made up.
ESV Literary Study Bible, xiv
This is important to keep in mind and communicate, if need be, in teaching, since literary sensitivity to the biblical text is, by extension, sometimes also thought to be associated with a liberal theological understanding of the Bible. This is also not necessarily true. One’s theological leanings are generally more a matter of worldview presuppositions than taking the genres of the Bible seriously or not.
In any case, there is much to be studied in this field of biblical studies. If you wish to become more confident in your understanding and handling of the biblical genres and a literary approach to your study and teaching, there are many resources available that present cutting edge conservative evangelical scholarship on the matter. (For a list of resources, you can consult this post. For a list of basic question to ask when working with narrative, poetry, or epistle, download this guide.)
- 3-2-1: On systems vs. goals, identity-based habits, and the lessons of life – James Clear ↩︎
- Consider, for example, a typical retelling of an event such as an engagement story. Even though the retelling may be selective and somewhat – shall we say – standardized, that does not make the event untrue. The «genre» has certain repeatable similarities. ↩︎