3. Literary Genres and Features (Historical Narrative)

We need to recognize that the Bible is made up of many different literary genres. This is an important consideration when we try to read the Bible. For example, some people try to apply a literal interpretation to every section of the Bible (e.g., taking the “thousand years” in Revelation 20:1-6 as a literal millennium on earth). But the Bible cannot be consistently interpreted that way (e.g., when Jesus metaphorically calls Herod a fox in Luke 13:32). Even people who insist that the Bible as a whole be interpreted literally (by which, they usually mean, literalistically) do not actually interpret the Bible literalistically in every instance.

A more consistent approach is to interpret the Bible according to its literary genre and the literary features that are present. Here are the major literary genres of the Bible: historical narrative, wisdom and poetry, prophecy, and didactic literature. In the following sections, we will look at each of these along with their broad characteristics. As Dr. James Hamilton aptly put it, “understanding the literary structure of a passage is necessary for understanding what an author intended to communicate.”¹

Literary Genres and Features: Historical Narrative

Historical narrative refers to all the stories of the Bible,² which detail actual historical events. Historical narrative is the most common genre in the Bible and makes up around one-third of the entire Bible.³ Historical narratives are marked by a beginning, middle, and end; they have scenes, are told from a specific point of view, and contain dialogue. Here are the key features of historical narratives:

Narratives are characterized by distinct scenes, which tell us what is happening at a particular place, setting, and time. When reading narratives, we need to look beyond the chapter breaks and to read them according to their distinctive scenes.⁴ For example, in the narrative of 1 Kings 17, we are introduced to Elijah the Tishbite. In the ensuing chapter, the action takes place across four distinct scenes (each marked by a clear transition in setting):

a. Elijah is in the palace, confronting King Ahab, and pronounces God’s judgment upon the land by withholding rain for three years (v. 1).

b. Elijah hides in the Brook Cherith where he is fed by the ravens (vv. 2-7).

c. Elijah asks the widow at Zarephath (in Phoenicia) to feed him, and this is followed by the miracle where the widow’s oil and flour are multiplied (vv. 8-16).

d. The widow’s son dies and Elijah calls upon God to resurrect the boy in the upper room (vv. 17-24).

Each narrative carries a particular point-of-view. This is related to what the author (or editor) is trying to convey and concerns the plotline. By identifying the author’s point of view, we are able to appreciate the bigger purpose that may be tying multiple scenes together; in doing so, we avoid a mere superficial reading of the text. Carrying forward with the example given above in 1 Kings 17, we should look for a unifying plot that connects the four scenes (without which, we are left with just a random collection of stories).⁵ We get a clue as to the author’s intention when we see the repeated phrase “the word of the Lord” in verses 2, 8, 16, and 24 (along with a variation of this phrase in verse 1).

This can be seen as follows:

a. Elijah, as God’s ambassador and spokesperson, pronounces God’s judgment to withhold rain “… except at my word” (v. 1).

b. We are told that God directs Elijah where to go. “Then the word of the Lord came to him…” (v. 2) and Elijah responds “according to the word of the Lord” (v. 5).

c. Once again, Elijah is instructed to go to the widow at Zarephath. “Then the word of the Lord came to him” (v. 8). Elijah asks the widow at Zarephath to feed him and gives her reassurance of God’s provision. “For thus says the Lord God of Israel” (v. 14). The widow “went away and did according to the word of Elijah” (v. 15) and sure enough, her flour was not used up nor did her oil run dry “according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah” (v. 16).

d. At the climax of the narrative, the widow’s dead son is brought back to life and the widow testifies, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth” (v. 24).

The focal point is given in verse 24: “Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.’” Walter Kaiser explains: “The narrator’s point-of-view in this passage was to show that God’s word was dependable in each of the circumstances of life depicted in the four scenes.”⁶

Narratives are not primarily concerned with reporting of raw facts, but rather to convey spiritual truths through historical events.

Dialogue is a key element. The conversations between people provide important information. It can tell us things about the speaker and the events that may be happening. Sometimes, when there are discrepancies between what different people say (such as reversals of order, elaborations, or deletions), it gives us clues that there may be something significant going on. Take, for instance, the contrast between God’s instructions and Eve’s reiteration of it in response to the serpent’s temptation in Genesis 2 and 3:

God’s instruction
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).

Eve’s alteration
“And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die”’” (Genesis 3:2-3).

We should notice two explicit alterations. First, Eve has removed the word “freely” from the description of what she and her husband are permitted to eat. In so doing, she is minimizing the blessing and privilege that they have been graciously given. Second, Eve has altered God’s commandment by exaggerating it with the addition, “nor shall you touch it.” In effect, she is maximizing the prohibition. Here, we have the birth of false religion.⁷ To this, the serpent adds a flagrant contradiction, “You will not surely die” (v. 5) to entirely remove the threat of judgment.

It is important to follow the dialogue of a narrative carefully in order to catch the point that is being made (sometimes indirectly) by the author.

Unlike prose where things are often stated directly (e.g., an academic paper), historical narrative often presents its purposes indirectly.⁸ Historical narrative is not simply a play-by-play recounting of a series of events, but it is designed to convey a specific theological message. This is to say, the Bible is not interested in merely reporting facts, but the authors are motivated in explaining the significance of these events.⁹ The authors are both historians and theologians. While the history they tell is true, they additionally provide an interpretation of the events.¹⁰

The narrative sections of the Bible are not principally given for our moral example. A common trap that readers fall into is to impose a moralistic lesson on every narrative passage, even when that is not the intention of the text: “Be like Moses,” “Fight the giants in your life like David fought Goliath,” “Dare to be Daniel,” etc. While there is moral instruction contained in the historical narratives of the Old and New Testaments, these are not necessarily intended for us to replicate. Rather, we need to interpret everything through the lens of the person and work of Jesus Christ—in light of who Jesus is, what He has done, and who we are in Him.

As such, the Bible presents a selective history (with inclusion of certain details but omission of others); it is arranged in a particular way (sometimes non-chronologically); and it employs certain rhetorical devices (some of which we will see in more detail below).

Rhetorical devices are common literary features found in historical narrative. These can also appear in other literary genres, such as the wisdom and poetry literature, as well as in prophecy.

Repetition. This is one of the most common rhetorical devices used in Hebrew narrative. It can involve words, phrases, actions, themes, and ideas. Repetition is often used for emphasis (e.g., in 2 Kings 1:3, 6, and 16, Elijah asks the same question, “Is it because there is no God in Israel… ?” multiple times to drive home the point King Ahaziah is foolishly consulting idols while ignoring the true God).

Sometimes variations in the repeated pattern are used to provide contrast (e.g., in 2 Kings 2:9, 11, King Ahaziah’s soldiers try to silence Elijah twice with intimidation, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’” But on the third occasion in verses 13-14, the captain learns his lesson and humbly begs, “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.”)

Other famous examples of repetition include Genesis 1 (“So the evening and the morning were the first [second, etc.] day” in verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, and 31); the four messengers in Job 1 (“I alone have escaped to tell you” in verses 15, 16, 17, and 19); the four times Delilah presses Samson to divulge the secret of his strength (Judges 16:6, 10, 13, and 15). All these provide the basic structure of the narrative.¹¹

Inclusion (inclusio). These act as bookends and bracket an idea. When it is used, two portions of Scripture are used, one as a beginning and the other as the end; in between them is another portion of text. Together, the beginning (A), middle (B), and end (A) are considered one unit.

A good example of an inclusio is found in Exodus 6:13-27.¹² The passage starts this way: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt” (v. 13). Then, the passage ends in almost the same way: “These are the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, ‘Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.’ These are the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron” (vv. 26-27).

Almost unexpectedly, what falls between the two bookends is a genealogy of three of the twelve sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Why a genealogy and why these three sons in particular? Recall, all three sons were caught in scandal earlier in Scripture: Reuben slept with his father’s concubine (Genesis 35:22; 49:4); both Simeon and Levi took revenge on the Shechemites for raping their sister, Dinah, by massacring them after the men in the city were circumcised (Genesis 34:25-31). After all this, we might well presume that God would no longer be willing to use them anymore. But the present text tells us differently. The genealogies lead us to Moses and Aaron (v. 20)—yes, “the same Moses and Aaron” that God is presently using to deliver his people (v. 27)!

“The inclusio thus helps us to focus on the point that the calling and gifts of God for leadership had very little to do with heritage, natural endowments, human lineage, deserving merit, or sinlessness.”¹³ God is able and willing to use even the least of us.

Tip: Context matters! We need to consider the surrounding passage to understand the bookended verse(s). Inclusions are found throughout the Bible and give us useful hints as to the intended meaning of a particular passage.

Intercalation (sandwich). The sandwich is a literary technique that is especially frequent in the Gospel of Mark, and for this reason is frequently called the “Markan sandwich.” It functions similarly to an inclusion and follows the same A-B-A pattern.¹⁴ It is essentially “a story within a story” where both stories are theologically linked.

We can examine Mark 11 for an example.¹⁵ As we look at the chapter as a whole, we see that in verses 12-14, Jesus encounters a fig tree without fruit. From verses 15-19, Jesus cleanses the temple. Then from verses 20 onward, the narrative returns to the fig tree again. The structure is summarized as follows:

            A: verses 12-14 = Jesus encounters a fig tree without fruit
                        B: verses 15-19 = Jesus cleanses the temple
            A: verses 20-26 = Jesus returns to the fig tree again

Here, Mark has sandwiched the cleansing of the temple with the fig tree narrative. Why? The likely intention of the sandwich in Mark 11 is to illustrate the following point. From a distance, as Jesus approaches the fig tree, he expects there to be fruit because it is full of leaves. But upon closer inspection, Jesus finds no fruit (v. 13). Likewise, as Jesus approaches the temple, we find a similar situation. The temple is like the fig tree. The temple is beautiful and full of activity. It looks as if it should be bearing much fruit. But when Jesus arrives, he it had no fruit, but rather corruption, so he has to cleanse it (vv. 15-17). The next morning, as he passes by the fig tree again, it is withered up from its roots (v. 20).¹⁶ Peter makes the observation (v. 21) to which Jesus responds: “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (vv. 22-23). Here, Jesus refers to a specific mountain (not just any mountain). Given the context, Jesus was pointing to the Temple Mount. He is referring to the destruction of the temple, the fact that it would be taken up from the root, just like the fig tree.¹⁷

Tip: The example above highlights the danger of trying to read and interpret Scripture out of context, and illustrates just how helpful it can be to recognize the presence of literary features that bring out the intention of the text. Grabbing Bible verses at random without appreciating the surrounding context will lead to errors in interpretation (a “fortune cookie” method).

Chiasm. The chiasm (named after the Greek letter chi, 𝜒) is another literary device. It is used to present contrasting ideas. Two ideas, A and B, are placed alongside with two variants A’ and B’, and presented as A-B-B’-A’.

Galatians 4:4b-5 provides an example of a chiasm:

            A: God sent forth His Son, born of a woman
                        B: born under the law
                        B’: to redeem those who were under the law
            A’: that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Isaiah 11:13b is another example: “Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.” Here we see the following:

            A: Ephraim
                        B: shall not envy
                                    C: Judah
                                    C’: Judah
                        B’: shall not harass
            A’: Ephraim

This is one of the most common literary features in the Bible. It is found in the narratives, the Psalms, wisdom literature, and prophetic literature. Sometimes, chiasms can be even more sophisticated in structure and take on several ideas together (e.g., with a A-B-C… C′-B′-A′ pattern). Understanding the first half of a chiasm (e.g., A-B-C) will shed light on the second half (e.g., C’-B’-A’). Generally, the main point that the author is trying to communicate appears at the apex of the chiasm (i.e., in the middle of the story or passage).

Chiasms are not just limited to one or two verses, but can envelope chapters and even entire books of the Bible.¹⁸ For instance, in the Book of Revelation, the letters to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 (2:1-3:22) take on the literary structure of a chiasm:

“The seven churches fall into three groups. The first [Ephesus] and last [Laodicea] are in danger of losing their very identity as a Christian church… The churches addressed in the three central letters [Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis] have to varying degrees some who have remained faithful and others who are compromising with pagan culture… The second [Smyrna] and sixth [Philadelphia] are written to churches which have proved themselves faithful and loyal to Christ’s ‘name’ even in the face of persecution… In this light, the condition of the churches is presented in the literary form of a chiasm: a-b-c-c-c-b’-a’. The significance of this is that the Christian church as a whole is perceived as being in poor condition, since not only are the healthy churches in a minority but the literary pattern points to this emphasis because the churches in the worst condition form the literary boundaries of the letters and the churches with the serious problems for the very core of the presentation.”¹⁹

Another example of a chiasm is from the first seven chapters of the Book of Daniel:²⁰

Introduction: Daniel 1

            A: Daniel 2 = four Gentile world empires
                        B: Daniel 3 = Gentile persecution of Israel
                                    C: Daniel 4 = Divine providence governing Gentiles
                                    C’: Daniel 5 = Divine providence governing Gentiles
                        B’: Daniel 6 = Gentile persecution of Israel
            A’: Daniel 7 = four Gentile world empires

The center of this chiasm is Daniel 4 and 5, which record God’s word to Nebuchadnezzar and to Belshazzar, respectively. In a sense, these two kings represent the beginning and the end of the Babylonian dynasty. Therefore, God’s final word to them serves as both encouragement and warning to all nations because God is sovereign over all.²¹

Case Study: Jeremiah 8:18-9:11 is a passage that can be very tricky to interpret. One of the reasons is because there is ongoing dialogue between several voices: “the speaker of any particular section may be the Lord, or the writer or speaker, or the city or nation, and the question is who says what.”²² Let’s take a closer look at Jeremiah 8:18-21:

            ¹⁸I would comfort myself in sorrow;My heart is faint in me.
            ¹⁹ Listen! The voice,
            The cry of the daughter of my people
            From a far country:
            “Is not the Lord in Zion?
            Is not her King in her?”
            “Why have they provoked Me to anger
            With their carved images—
            With foreign idols?”
            ²⁰ “The harvest is past,
            The summer is ended,
            And we are not saved!”
            ²¹ For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.
            I am mourning;
            Astonishment has taken hold of me.

Based on the context of the Book of Jeremiah, it is clear that it is the prophet Jeremiah himself who is grieving in 8:18. The “daughter” in 8:19a refers to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. This means that the one who is “provoked” to “anger” must be God in 8:19b.²³  (It is clear that the translators of the NKJV also felt the same way because the capitalized “Me” in verse 19b is telltale). Within 2 short verses, we already have a trio of voices! Can identifying the presence of a chiasm help us figure out who is speaking next (and what is the central message)?

Solution: Chiasms are frequently used in the Book of Jeremiah and it seems to be the case here too:²⁴

            A: Jeremiah grieves = ¹⁸I would comfort myself in sorrow;My heart is faint in me.
                        B: The people cry = ¹⁹ Listen! The voice,
                                                The cry of the daughter of my people
                                                From a far country:
                                                “Is not the Lord in Zion?
                                                Is not her King in her?”
                                    C: God speaks = “Why have they provoked Me to anger
                                                With their carved images—
                                                With foreign idols?”
                        B’: The people cry = ²⁰ “The harvest is past,
                                                The summer is ended,
                                                And we are not saved!”
            A’: Jeremiah grieves = ²¹ For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.
                        I am mourning;
                        Astonishment has taken hold of me.

“The three questions here [in verse 19] are quite in keeping with Jeremiah’s method elsewhere. In the context, the first two questions are asked by the people while the third is introduced as Yahweh’s own question, as though to say, ‘Yes, Yahweh is in Zion. Yes, Israel’s king is there. But why have the people vexed me with their images and with their foreign vanities?”²⁵

The overall structure is very consistent with a formula that is frequently found in the Book of Jeremiah where an argument is constructed with a series of questions like this: “Is Fact A true? Is Fact B true? If the answer is yes to both A and B, then why is Fact C being considered?” (e.g., see 8:4-5 and 8:22 for similar arguments).

As we can see, the people’s cry for help (in verses 19a and 20) is starkly interrupted by God. God’s answer is positioned in the center of the chiasm, highlighting its importance. Yet, the people continue to cry for help and the prophet continues to grieve because the people have become so apostate that they do not recognize God’s voice or know him (cf. 9:3b).

Historical narrative contains real history and it communicates theological truth. The truthfulness of message is linked to the reliability of the events reported:

“In many cases, the theology taught in a text rests squarely on the reality of the events occurring as they were depicted there. Should the events prove not to be true, the theology that rests on them would consequently not be true either.”²⁶

But historical narrative is much more than just a historical report, as if it was just like a newspaper article. Historical narrative is not (and does not claim to be) an “impartial, objective reporting” of the facts. Rather, the Bible presents a point of view that is partial to God and his kingdom. The main difference between modern presentations of history and those provided in the Bible is that the Bible includes interpretations of the events and people it describes from a divine perspective.²⁷

Footnotes

1
Hamilton, James M. Typology: Understanding the Bible’s Promise-Shaped Patterns: How Old Testament Expectations Are Fulfilled in Christ. Zondervan Academic, 2022, p. 28.
2
When I use the word “stories,” I am in no way insinuating that the accounts are fictional.
3
Large sections of historical narrative span Genesis to 2 Kings, and from the Gospels to the Book of Acts. It also includes some sections of the prophets (especially some sections of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and Daniel), as well as other major parts of the Old Testament (such as Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, Easter, and Chronicles).
4
Sometimes scenes do not follow the usual chapter cut-offs. The modern chapter divisions that we use today were introduced by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury around A.D. 1227. These division, though very useful, are not divinely inspired. It is more useful to divide up narratives according to their scenes rather than chapter breaks.
5
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, pp. 126-127.
6
Ibid, p. 127.
7
“… judging by the way [Eve] interprets and sharpens the commandment, [she] has already learned to know this commandment as a troublesome restriction of her freedom.” Bavinck, Herman. Biblical and Religious Psychology. Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2024, p. 101.
8
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 124.
9
For example, why does the Bible directly speak about the birth of Cain and Abel, but not Cain’s wife? Why does the Bible inform us that Cain built a city, but not tell us where the inhabitants of the city came from (Genesis 4:17)? It is because the author’s primary motivation is to highlight the line of Cain (in contrast to the line of Seth)—not to divert our attention to other historical details.
10
It is not possible to be completely unbiased. Nobody is completely neutral. The writers of the Bible were “biased” for the truth.
11
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 131.
12
Ibid, p. 129.
13
Ibid.
14
Some people make the fine distinction between an inclusio, which “bookends” an episode, and a sandwich, which interrupts an episode. Strauss, Mark L. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series on the New Testament. Zondervan, 2014, p. 47.
15
Lane, William L. The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel According to Mark. Eerdmans, 1974, pp. 309-400.
16
“Just as the leaves of the tree concealed the fact that there was no fruit to enjoy, so the magnificence of the temple and its ceremony conceals the fact that Israel has not brought forth the fruit of repentance demanded by God. Both incidents have the character of a prophetic sign which warns of judgment to fall upon Israel for honoring God with their lips when their heart was far from him (cf. 7:6).” Ibid, p. 400.
17
“God’s presence is associated with mountains… So, the ‘mountain’ here in 11:23 should be understood as Israel’s physical temple in Jerusalem. Jesus orders his disciples to embrace what has transpired—the spiritual destruction of Israel’s temple (11:15-17).” Gladd, Benjamin L. Handbook on the Gospels. Baker Academic, 2021, pp. 174-175.
18
I have even heard it said that the entire Bible is a chiasm. It begins and ends with God’s people dwelling with him in a garden-temple. Adam, the protological son of God, leads his people to death in contrast to Jesus, the eschatological Son of God, who leads his people to eternal life. Global judgment in the form of a flood drowns the earth after the fall, and anticipates the global judgment of final judgment when fire will sweep the world near the end. The people are scattered with the confusion of languages at Babel after the flood, whereas God gathers his people back with a gift of languages on the Day of Pentecost. God calls Abraham and constitutes a nation for himself out of the 12 tribes of Israel who are then dispersed throughout the nations for disobedience; God reconstitutes a people for himself from all the nations of the earth on the foundation of the 12 Apostles and calls them to obedience. At the center of the chiasm, we have the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which serves as the focal point of history.
19
Beale, Gregory K. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. W.B. Eerdmans, 1999, pp. 226-227.
20
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, pp. 130-131.
21
“Such an analysis does not compromise the unity of the book of Daniel or imply that the first seven chapters were separated from chapters 8-12. Daniel is written in two languages: Aramaic, the lingua franca of the day, was used for Daniel 2-7, and Hebrew was used in the rest of the book. This fact tends to corroborate the line of evidence that comes from the chiastic formulation. In fact, the shift in languages may well be a hermeneutical signal that the primary audience to whom each section is addresses also shifts at precisely those same points: Jewish, then Gentile, then back to Jewish audience again.” Ibid. Emphasis mine.
22
Wilcock, Michael. Jeremiah & Lamentations: The Death of a Dream, and What Came After. Christian Focus, 2013, p. 58.
23
Ibid.
24
Thompson, John Arthur. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Jeremiah. W.B. Eerdmans, 1980, pp. 304-305.
25
Ibid, p. 305.
26
Kaiser, Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning (Revised and Expanded Edition). Zondervan, 2007, p. 134.
27
Ibid, p. 137.

Footnotes

Related Articles

1. Introduction to Hermeneutics

2. Meaning and Significance

4. Literary Genres and Features (Wisdom and Poetry)

5. Literary Genres and Features (Prophecy)