Bible Interpretation, Student Workbook, SW05

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B I B L E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

3. A biblical genre is a particular kind of literary form which communicates truth and must be interpreted according to the rules of that form .

4. Special hermeneutics is that branch of biblical interpretation committed to understanding and applying the specific rules of interpretation that relate to each form as it seeks to communicate its message.

B. Narrative (stories) in literature

1. A narrative in its literary form is distinguished by “the presence of a story and a storyteller” (Robert Scholes and Robert Kellogg, The Nature of Narrative , London: Oxford University Press, 1966, p. 4).

2. “A story . . . [is] an account of characters and events in a plot moving over time and space through conflict toward resolution” (Gabriel Fackre, “Narrative Theology”).

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3. Narratives are stories , whether historical ( stories about things that actually happened ) or imaginative ( fictional stories that God or people in Scripture tell, usually to illustrate a spiritual truth or challenge with a spiritual lesson ). Parables are the prime example.

C. General assumptions of Story Theology

1. God has provided a record of his character and acts primarily in the story accounts of the Bible.

a. The majority of the text in his Word is in the form of story.