The Old Testament: Reading the Narratives

Background

The narratives comprise over 40% of the Old Testament. In fact, the narrative is the most common genre in the entire Bible.

Narrative books include: Genesis, Joshua, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Jonah and Haggai.

There are narratives in Exodus, Numbers, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isiah and Job along with Matthew, Mark, Luke John and Acts.

Hebrew Narratives

Not understanding the reason for the writing of the Hebrew narrative or it’s unique literary characteristics will cause and has most certainly caused it to be misread and misunderstood by many Christians who replace their intended meaning with external ideas.

One thing is certain, as a Christian, the Old Testament is your “spiritual history” as Gordon Fee puts it.

All of the promises and callings of God to Israel are your historical promises and calling. But only if they are read, interpreted and applied correctly.

What is a narrative.

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth What Narratives Are

Narratives are stories—purposeful stories retelling the historical events of the past that are intended to give meaning and direction for a given people in the present.

The narratives tell us what happened in the past and like any story the have 3 basic parts.

1. Characters

2. Plot - a conflict or tension the needs resolving

3. Plot resolution - the resolution of that conflict or tension.

They

Who are the characters of the story?

1. Protagonist (the main character) - God

2. Antagonist (the person who brings about the conflict or tension of the plot) - Satan or those opposing Him

3. Agonist (any other major characters that move the story or are involved in the tension of the plot) - God’s People

At their core the Hebrew Narratives are God’s story not our story. It becomes ours only when God makes us a part of it.

What is the Plot?

Creator God has created a people for his name bearing his image who were intended to care for the world that He created for them. But something happened. An enemy of Creator God lied and persuaded those people to betray God and bear his image and become God’s enemy as well. But because of His love for His people God rescues them from the clutches of the evil enemy and brings them back into His family and restores His creation in a “new heaven and new earth”.

It is a long story of redemption, in fact, it is still being written.

Three Levels

The story of redemption is actually told at 3 levels.

The Top Level (Third) - is the metanarrative - God’s universal plan of redemption working through His creation and focusing primarily on His chosen people.

Primarily - Creation, the fall, the power and implications of sin, the need for redemption and Christ’s incarnation, sacrifice, and victory - You’ve heard me call it the redemptive story or the story of redemption.

The Second Level - God redeeming a people for His name by the Old then New Covenant. This is how God uses his people as a whole. We focus on the old covenant in our conversations.

The bottom or “first” level - all of the individual narratives that make up the whole. The stories about the hundreds of individuals in the greater story.

So when Jesus says that all of the scriptures (the Old Testament) testify about him in he was speaking to the Top Level or the metanarrative not each individual story that make up the whole.

When we read the first level stories we must ask ourselves “how does this fit into the second and third level stories”

because that is why they are there, they serve the metanarrative.

What they are not

Old Testament narratives are not allegories - they do not have hidden meanings.

- David’s 3 stones, the walls of Jericho, Moses going up and down Mount Sinai, Abraham securing a bride for Isaac

Old Testament narratives are not parables - they are not meant to teach moral lessons

- They are intended to tell what God did in the history of His people to to show examples of right or wrong behavior

- We can recognize right and wrong behavior and see it’s consequence but that isn’t the reason for the narrative. For instance we can see right and wrong behavior in Abraham or Jacob and Esau, but that isn’t the intent of the text. The intention is to show how God made His promise to Abraham and carried it on through Jacob and not Esau. The point of that story is that God didn’t carry his promise through the “right” way of the first born. By the way we see that narrative displayed throughout Jesus’ family line.

Old Testament narratives are not systematic teachings of God moral law.

- Again we can recognize the importance of God’s moral law and the consequence of breaking it, but you, generally speaking won’t see In doing this, this person was wrong, those are seen and implied by God’s reaction or the consequence of the action. So we can use them as examples of right and wrong behavior and the potential consequence of it, but it shouldn’t serve as the sole scriptural basis of that lesson.

- When it does serve that purpose typically the characters say it outright. For instance Samuel condemning Saul from the grave or Nathan condemning David for his adultery and murder.

Characteristics of Hebrew Narratives

We will look at the the characteristics of hebrew Narratives by the longest single-focused narrative in the OT.

The Story of Joseph found in the book of Genesis.

In the narrative the divinely inspired Moses skillfully narrates the story of Joseph and his journey to become the second most powerful man in Egypt.

Where to begin?

The Narrator

The narrator, while not mentioned in the story itself, is crucial to our understanding of the story and ultimately it’s intent.

The narrator is omniscient - since he is the one that is telling the story, he determines what we will ultimately know, therefore he knows everything about the story he is telling.

He never shares all he knows nor does he comment or evaluate what he is telling - He leaves that up to the characters.

He tells the story in such a way that you would be drawn into it and see everything for yourself - you would put yourself in the middle of the story - not the plot, but that you could see the story happening around you.

The narrator is responsible for the “point of view” - The narrator determines the perspective from which we hear/see the story. Because we believe that he is divinely inspired ultimately it is the divine point of view.

What does that look like practically - , , , repeats the phrase “The Lord was with Joseph” the narrator is revealing the divine perspective.

Sometimes it is revealed through the characters - in Joseph says that what was intended to harm him God intended for good

The Scene(s)

Instead of the story being built around a person or character it is more scene based. The story moves from moment to moment, scene to scene and the scenes fit together to make up the whole narrative.

Each scene can exist on it’s own but it is the combination of the scenes that make up the whole story.

Let’s look at the example listed in the “text”

Gen 37

Genesis 37 ESV

Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.

Scene 1 Joseph rats our his brothers and they hate him

Scene 2 Joseph recounts a dream

Scene 3 Joseph recounts another dream

Scene 4 Joseph searches for his brothers - break in the action to show the divine nature of what happens next.

Scene 5 Joseph is captured and sold

Scenes 6-8 The plot to kill Reuben’s intercession and Judah’s role in rescuing Joseph with all moving the story along to Joseph in Egypt.

The Characters

Each of the scenes of course are built around the individual characters. While the characters don’t drive the story-the moments do, the characters are central to the scene.

The characterization of each individual relies very little on appearance. So if the text does mention a physical trait, it would be wise to take note of it.

Instead they will pay closer attention to status (wealthy, poor, alien, wise, etc) profession or tribal or national identity.

Two features of characterization

1. Characters appear in contrast or in parallel.

- if in contrast (most often) they must be understood in relationship to each other for example in our text the contrast between Joseph and his brothers is at the center of the section of the narrative in 42-45

- if in parallel it is usually significant to the 2nd level narrative like John the Baptist being the reenactment of Elijah and Mary’s story echoing Hannah.

2. The characterization happens within the words and actions of the characters and not by the descriptions of the narrator. We see their characterizations by what they say and do rather than an explicit statement from the narrator.

The Dialogue

Since the characterization happens within the words and actions of the characters in the story dialogue is extremely important. There is a sort of back and forth between the narration and dialogue.

Three things to look for in the dialogue.

1. The first piece of dialogue plays a significant role in the story and the plot

- in Chapter 37 we see and exchange between Joseph and his brothers regarding his dreams. The characterization of Joseph here is arrogant , his brothers response is hatred and his father’s response kept the matter in mind. We are to remember these responses and what set the story in motion when we come to the end of the story in chapter 50

2. Contrastive (comparing to see the differences) dialogue serves characterization as well.

2.

- Potiphar’s wife’s brief invitation vs. Joseph’s lengthy response

- Joseph’s and Judah’s speeches in Chapter 44 and 45

3. Summarization or repetition of the narrative in a speech by one the characters in order to emphasize important aspects of the story.

- Take your time in these moments even though they are repeating details they are repeating them for a reason.

The Plot

The narrative cannot exist without the plot and the plot resolution.

The plot must have a beginning, middle and end , each used together to build up a tension that is eventually released.

It is usually moved forward by some sort of conflict which in turn creates investment in inevitable resolution.

Most of Hebrew narratives move at a very fast pace so when the narrator slows the story down by elaborating on a detail or repetition it often to point out the narrator’s focus or point of view so pay special attention because it is there to focus on the point of the story.

Features of the Structure

Hebrew narratives use various structural features to capture the hearer’s attention and keep them interested in the story.

You’ll notice we said hearer and that is intentional.

We must be aware that that the narratives were firstly designed for hearers and not readers.

Structures used in the Hebrew Narrative

Repetition - Repeating words or themes to emphasize or focus the hearers attention

Repeating words like brother in Chapter 37 and 15 times by the end of the narrative

Repeating words - Ch 37 “brothers” also 15 times by the end of the narrative

For instance the word brother is repeated 3 or 4 times in Chapter 37 and 15 times in the whole narrative.

Repeating moments - Repeating a moment in the narrative after a brief interruption

Repeating moments to pick the story back up after and interruption or detour

Repeating cycles we see that in judges, where the people sin, God punishes, the people repent God sends a judge.

Repeating cycles we see that in judges, where the people sin, God punishes, the people repent God sends a judge.

Inclusion - A form of composition of the narrative where the narrator begins the narrative and ends the narrative in the same way. We see in Ch 37 the dream where Joseph’s brothers bow, we see at the end them actually bowing. We also see it in the entire book of Deuteronomy. We also call the foreshadowing.

Explicit vs. Implicit - reading between the lines.

We are going to look at the book of Ruth to illustrate a couple of principles.

Explicit teaching- a concept or principles that is clearly and distinctly stated in the narrative

“the Lord was with Joseph”

Implicit teaching- A teaching or principle that is clearly present in the story but not directly stated

It is not a hidden meaning. The narrator and hearer share some presuppositions and therefore he doesn’t need to make explicit statements.

We shouldn’t waste our time looking for hidden meanings, but rather try to discover the shared assumptions that would have been clear to them but to us being so far removed from the context doesn’t relate as well.

It takes care, patience, prayer, skill and caution.

The goal is to exegete the text not eisagete the text.

Summary of Ruth

Ruth a widow and a moabite emigrates from Moab to Bethlehem with here Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi who is also a widow. Ruth reaps leftover grain from the fields owned by Boaz, who later befriends her because of her (Ruth’s) kindness to Naomi. Ruth lets Boaz know that she hopes he would be willing to marry her at the suggestion of Naomi. Boaz goes through the necessary steps to marry Ruth and protect the property rights of her late husband. The couple give birth to a son Obed and carry on the line which leads to David and ultimately to Christ (Obed is David’s grandfather.

What is implied?

1. Ruth converted - genuinely

2. Boaz was righteous and kept to Mosaic law

3. That a foreign woman belongs to the ancestry of David and by extension, Jesus (David being the focus of this part of scripture)

4. The city of Bethlehem was an exceptional town with very faithful citizens, which is in contrast to much of Israel at the time of the judges. For this story and the set up to David, that is important because clan-ship and citizenry is an important characterization in Hebrew culture and narrative.

Those are not hidden meanings they are plain if you know the culture and read the text and give more insight into the narrative.

Review

Principles for interpreting the Hebrew Narratives

1. It does not usually directly teach doctrine

2. It illustrates doctrine through the actions of the characters in the story

3. They record what happened, not what should have happened, or what we would like to have happened so not every narrative with have an identifiable moral application.

4. What people do in the narratives isn’t necessarily what we should do in our lives, in fact it is probably the opposite in most cases.

5. Hardly any of the characters in the narratives are perfect or even close

6. We are not always told whether something is good or bad even at the end. We are expected to read or hear and judge those merits on the basis of what God has taught us elsewhere in the scriptures.

7. All narrative are selective and incomplete meaning that they don’t give all the details but we are given everything we need.

8. Narratives are not written to answer all our theological questions. They exist for a specific limited purpose.

9. They may teach either explicitly or implicitly.

10. In the end God is the hero of all biblical narratives and at least in the metanarrative the main character.

Do Not

1. Allegorize- they are not allegory

2. Decontextualize - don’t remove the story from the full historical and literary context

3. Read and interpret selectively - don’t pick and chose what you are going to focus on and ignor what you think is unimportant

4. Moralize - don’t assume that principles for living can be derived from all the passages. Sometimes there is no moral to the story.

5. Personalize - don’t presume that all the text have to do with you.

6. Misappropriate - don’t use the actions of the characters for something that they were not intended. We can see this in laying out a fleece. Which is fine, but understand the plot of the story was that Gideon was not trusting God when he laid out a fleece - It would not be appropriate to use this as an example of how you are “supposed” to find out the will of God.

7. False appropriate - reading into the narrative ideas that come from contemporary culture.

8. Use false combination - pulls parts from other texts to misinterpret the text because we don’t know cultural specifics.

9. Redefine - redefine the plain meaning of the text in order to make it say something it doesn’t say to satisfy our curiosity or doctrinal bent.

- We see this in a very famous passage of . The promise of this passage is very clearly centered on the “this place” the temple in Jerusalem and “ their land” (the land of Israel). We want it to be true for our land “america” but we tend to ignore the covenantal aspect of the Old and New Covenants. The land was the only earthly land that belonged to Israel in the Old Covenant - God was reminding them of His promise of the land, however in the new covenant we don’t have a land, America is not our land as Christians, Our land is not of this world it is a heavenly one which we see in .

Yeah but can’t we apply the principle, no and I will tell you why - because it presumes that the goal is to make this nation a morally acceptable nation as if that will stop God’s hand of judgement. But that is outward. What the lost need is a revelation from God, a heart transformation, not for this world, but so that they to can transfer the citizenship to heaven rather than focus on this world which will fade away.

10. God is alway

10. Don’t do or say something just because a character in the bible did it or said it.