SPECIAL TOPIC: GENRE AND INTERPRETATION: OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVE

I. OPENING STATEMENTS

A. The relationship between the OT and other ways of chronicling
events

1. Other Ancient Near Eastern literature is mythological

a. polytheistic (usually humanistic gods reflecting
the powers of nature but using interpersonal conflict motifs)

b. based on the cycles of nature (dying and rising
gods)

2. Greco-Roman is for entertainment and encouragement rather
than the recording of historical events per se (Homer in many ways reflects
Mesopotamian motifs)

B. Possibly the use of three German terms illustrates the difference
in types or definitions of history

1. “Historie,” the recording of events (bare facts)

2. “Geschichte,” the interpretation of events showing their
significance to mankind

3. “Heilsgeschichte” refers uniquely to God’s redemptive
plan and activity within the historical process

C. The OT and NT narratives are “Geschichte,” which leads to an
understanding of Heilgeschichte. They are selected theologically-oriented
historical events.

1. selected events only

2. chronology not as significant as theology

3. events shared to reveal truth

D. Narrative is the most common genre in the OT. It has been
estimated that 40% of the OT is narrative. Therefore, this genre is useful to
the Spirit in communicating God’s message and character to fallen mankind. But,
it is done, not propositionally (like the NT Epistles), but by implication,
summation, or selected dialog/monolog. One must continue to ask why this is
recorded. What is it trying to emphasize? What is its theological purpose?

This in no way is meant to depreciate the history. But, it is history as the
servant and channel of revelation.

II. Biblical Narratives

A. God is active in His world. Inspired Bible authors chose certain
events to reveal God. God is the major character of the OT.

B. Every narrative functions in several ways:

1. who is God and what is He doing in His world

2. mankind is revealed through God’s dealing with
individuals and national entities

3. as an example, specifically notice Joshua’s military
victory linked to covenant performance (cf. Jos. 1:7-8; 8:30-35).

C. Narratives are often strung together to make a larger literary
unit which reveals a single theological truth.

III. Interpretive principles of OT narratives

A. The best discussion I have seen about interpreting OT narratives
is by Douglas Stuart in How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth, pp. 83-84

1. An OT narrative usually does not directly teach a
doctrine.

2. An OT narrative usually illustrates a doctrine or
doctrines taught propositionally elsewhere.

3. Narratives record what happened—not necessarily what
should have happened or what ought to happen every time. Therefore, not every
narrative has an individual identifiable moral of the story.

4. What people do in narratives is not necessarily a good
example for us. Frequently, it is just the opposite.

5. Most of the characters in OT narratives are far from
perfect, and their actions also.

6. We are not always told at the end of a narrative whether
what happened was good or bad. We are expected to be able to judge that on the
basis of what God has taught us directly and categorically elsewhere in the
Scripture.

7. All narratives are selective and incomplete. Not all the
relevant details are always given (cf. John 21:25). What does appear in the
narrative is everything that the inspired author thought important for us to
know.

8. Narratives are not written to answer all our theological
questions. They have particular, specific, limited purposes and deal with
certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere, in other ways.

9. Narratives may teach either explicitly (by clearly
stating something) or implicitly (by clearly implying something without actually
stating it).

10. In the final analysis, God is the hero of all biblical
narratives.

B. Another good discussion on interpreting narratives is in Walter
Kaiser’s Toward Exegetical Theology.

“The unique aspect of the narrative portions of Scripture is that the writer
usually allows the words and actions of the people in his narrative to convey
the main thrust of his message. Thus, instead of addressing us through direct
statements, such as are found in doctrinal or teaching portions of Scripture,
the writer tends to remain instead somewhat in the background as far as direct
teaching or evaluative statements are concerned. Consequently, it becomes
critically important to recognize the larger context in which the narrative fits
and to ask why the writer used the specific selection of events in the precise
sequence in which he placed them. The twin clues to meaning now will be
arrangement of episodes and selection of detail from a welter of possible
speeches, persons, or episodes. Furthermore, the divine reaction to and estimate
of these people and events must often be determined from the way the author
allows one person or a group of people to respond at the climax of the selected
sequence of events; that is, if he has not interrupted the narration to give his
own (in this instance, God’s) estimate of what has taken place” (p. 205).

C. In narratives the truth is found in the whole literary unit and
not the details. Beware of proof-texting or using OT narratives as a precedent
for your life.

IV. Two levels of interpretation

A. YHWH’s redemptive, revelatory acts for Abraham’s seed

B. YHWH’s will for every believer’s life (in every age)

C.The first focuses on “knowing God” (salvation), the second on “serving Him” (the
Christian life of faith, cf. Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:6,11)