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WelcomeKYB5 Genre and Biblical Interpretation

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To Identify literary styles in the ancient world

To understand the impact of genre analysis on biblical interPRetation

To overview the classifications of literary genres in the bible

Introduction to Genreand Biblical Interpretation

Aims

What is genre analysis?

Solution

Narrative

Drag each book to the group it belongs to

Organise the biblical books into genre categories

Joshua

Romans

Isaiah

1 and 2 Samuel

Poetry

Prophecy

Ezekiel

Epistle

Malachi

Psalms

Jude

Song of Songs

Genres of the Bible

Wisdom

Epistle

Gospel

Apocalyptic

Prophecy

Poetry

Narrative

Law

Is genre analysis helpful?

Problems with Genre analysis

1. Modern concepts of genre categories

Horror

Science Fiction

Biography

Fantasy

Thriller

2. Most Biblical books have a mixture of genres

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

3. The genre of some books are hard to define

What genre is Matthew?

What have we learnt so far?

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Genre analysis is a helpful tool in reading the bible

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it is important to correctly identify a book's genre

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genre helps us compare the bible to other works of ancient literature

Further reading

Grant R. Osborne, Genre Criticism—Sensus Literalis, TRINJ 04:2 (Fall 1983), 1-27.

Thomas A. Howe, Does Genre Determine Meaning? CAJ 06:1 (Spring 2007), 1-17.

Richard W.Engle, The Use Of Genre In Bible Interpretation, JMAT 04:1 (Spring 2000), 82-102.

Short Quiz

What next?

Wisdom

EcclesiastesJob

Epistle

The epistolary sections of the Book of Revelation have lead to some scholars reading the Apocalypse as a letter to the seven churches. (See...)

Genre helps the reader to know what questions to ask

Knowing the genre of a biblical book is the first step to unlocking the text. It's only the beginning! Once we know what kind of book it is, we can begin to ask other questions about the context. Paul's letters, for example, were written to a specific group of people that he met on his journey. Taking into account how letters are written and received provides a historical and cultural background that is different to poetry or narratives, for example.

Apocalyptic

The book of Revelation is generally received as an apocalyptic book. It contains rich imagery associated with other Jewish apocalyptic books.

Historical Narrative

JoshuaRuth1 & 2 Samuel1 & 2 Kings1 & 2 ChroniclesEzra NehemiahEsther

Law

GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomy

Apocalyptic

EzekielDanielRevelation

Epistles

Romans Philemon1 & 2 Corinthians HebrewsGalatians JamesEphesians 1 & 2 PeterPhilippians 1, 2 & 3 JohnColossians Jude1 & 2 Thessalonians1 & 2 TimothyTitus

Joshua1 and 2 Samuel

Narrative

Poetry

PsalmsSong of Songs

Prophecy

IsaiahEzekielMalachi

Epistle

RomansJude

Understanding genre helps us know if the author meant something symbolically or literally

Think about poetry for a second. Because poetry is familiar to us, we know when the author uses symbolic language when they use one thing to describe another. We know when the author of the Song of Songs writes, "Your hair is like a flock of goats" (4:1) that he doesn't mean the bride literally has goats on her head. But some books, like the book of Revelation, are harder to interpret because, at face value, we are not sure what is literal and what is figurative. This is where comparing Revelation with other ancient apocalyptic writings helps.

This Bible contains poetry, prophecy, narrative, epistles, biography, and many more literary genres.

Did you know...

Poetry

PsalmsProverbsSong of Songs

Genre analysis can inform biblical exegesis; however, there are limitations!

Watch out!

Prophecy

Isaiah NahumJeremiah HabakkukLamentations ZephaniahHosea HaggaiJoel ZechariahAmos MalachiObadiahJonahMicah

Grant R. Osborne

"Modern categories when imposed on the biblical framework (such as modern biography or fiction as a device for understanding the Gospels) are misleading and even inimical to actual understanding."The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (p. 181)

Gospels

MatthewMarkLukeJohnActs

Genre helps understand the thoughts and beliefs of a culture

How people group books together can teach us so much. It tells us about how people communicate and what is important to them. For example, we can learn a lot from reading some of the apocalyptic literature found in the Dead Sea Scroll with books like Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation to know more about how Jews viewed their world in the Second Temple Period. It is interesting how they viewed the Romans and believed what would happen, not just on Earth but also in Heaven.

What is Genre Analysis?

Genre analysis is a way to understand a text by looking at its common words, structure, and ideas it uses. By knowing what type of genre a book is, we can be clearer on what the author is trying to say and how the intended audience made sense of their work.

All works of literature fit into literary conventions. Identifying them is important!

Quick tip:

Genre helps understand the form and structure of the text

All texts, whether stories, poems, or letters, have structure within the rules of a genre. I like the formula for the book of Proverbs, in particular. There are usually two parts to a proverb; the first will be an analogy or symbolic statement, and the second part will interpret the first. For example, Proverbs 1:17-18 says,For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird,but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.

The first part uses the analogy of a net to capture a bird, which is a pointless exercise that makes them look silly The second uses that analogy to represent people who wait to do wicked things because they only bring harm to themselves.

Genre helps compare the Bible to other texts

Grouping texts together is the basis of comparing the Bible with other works of literature. Let's take Paul's letters as an example. Paul wrote numerous letters near the time of other great letter writers such as Pliny the Elder, Seneca, and Cicero. By comparing Paul's letters to similar works sheds light on some similarities and differences. We can see that Paul used similar opening and closing statements, but we can also note things like the length of Paul's letters is an unusual feature.

Prophecy

The book of Revelation also can be read as prophecy. The Lord has called people to repentance. Their future is determined by their response.