There can be no doubt that poetry is the oldest and historically most important form of literature; as much as it may be an afterthought for most of us today, throughout most of human history, poetry was king. While more of a stylistic approach to language than a 'genre,' it’s helpful to understand how biblical … Continue reading Understanding Biblical Genres: Poetry
There’s an old saying that history is written by the victors. While this isn’t always the case, the saying speaks to a big problem about the nature of history and historicity. At its most basic level, what we call 'history; is nothing more or less than a story about the past. But, historicity is the … Continue reading Understanding Biblical Genres: History
Today’s post in this series on understanding the literary genres of the Bible is going to talk about Law, or Commandments. This is one that’s particularly challenging to talk about as a Christian, since Christian revelation ends up marginalizing the Hebrew Bible’s legal stipulations. There has, therefore, been a lot of misunderstanding among Christians about … Continue reading Understanding Biblical Genres: Law
Some of the oddest pieces of the Bible to many of us today are the long sections taken up with genealogies. We can be excused for asking why, considering the great expense of writing materials in the ancient world, biblical authors felt the need to include this content at all. Moreover, thinking of the Bible … Continue reading Understanding Biblical Genres: Genealogies
I’m starting this series on understanding Biblical genres with what is most certainly the most controversial category: Myth. To many people of faith today, even the hint that the Bible could contain ‘myth’ is tantamount to the worst kind of unbelief and disrespect for the text. But that concern is based on a faulty understanding … Continue reading Understanding Biblical Genres: Myth
Matthew Root 