The Narratives of Bible Books
Bible Lesson 1: How to interpret Narratives?

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Summary of the video on "How to interpret Narratives."

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Don't worry! It is not that difficult to interpret the Narratives in the Bible Books. The good news is that you use the same GPS method of Lessons 1-8 to interpret the Narratives. The only difference is in step A (analysis) of START of the First Process of Understanding.

You need to take the following in consideration when you analyze Narratives.

A. Characteristics of Narrative

_To interpret the narrative parts of Bible books, we need to understand the characteristics of Narratives. It has basically two characteristics.

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1. Chronological Framework
Events in a story happens in a time-line. (You get up in the morning, go to the bathroom, make coffee, say your prayers, have breakfast etc)

2. Non-prescriptive
Their are no direct instructions. The message (moral of the story) is implied.

B. Different kinds/genres of Narrative

_Stories
An account or recital of an event or a series of events, either true or fictitious. (Example: The birth of Moses as describe in Exodus 2:1-10)

Allegory
Characters and events are symbols of something else (Example: The Sower as describe in Mattew 13: 3-23 and the trees in Judges 9: 8-15)

Dramatic history
An account of things that happened in the past. (Example: The history of the birth and death of Jesus as describe in Luke 1: 26-45)

Parables
A story intended to teach a moral lesson or answer an ethical question. (Example: “The parable of The Good Samaritan” in Luke 10: 25-37)

Conversation
The use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information. (Example: Peter’s confession of Christ as describe in the Bible book of Luke 9: 18-27)

Apocalyptic text
Apocalyptic literature details the authors' visions of the end times as revealed by a heavenly messenger or Angel.(Example: The visions of John in Bible book of Revelation)

C. Plot Structure

_The plot is the way in which a story develops and serves to keep the interest of the audience. There are three general types of plot structures.

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Examples from the Bible

  • Plan – Execution structure:
The overall structure of the book of Acts is an example. In the first chapter Jesus instructs his disciples to be witnesses to the ends of the earth (plan) and the rest of the book describes how this plan was carried out (execution).

  • Mystery – Explanation structure:
The riddle of Samson is a good example. In Judges 14: 12-18 Samson tells his 30 wedding companions a riddle at a wedding (mystery), and eventually they find the answer to the riddle (explanation).

  • Problem – Resolution structure:

Pharaoh's order to kill all the newborn Hebrew boys (Exodus 1 and 2) is a good example. Moses' mom placed him in a basket and put it in the reeds along the bank of the Nile (problem). The Pharaoh's daughter showed up and decided to raise him (resolution).

The Plan, Mystery and Problem create the tension while the Execution, Explanation and Resolution serve to relieve the tension.

In The Bible as your GPS devotional shows this very clear where it deals with the narrative. Click here for an example from the Bible as Your GPS.

Lesson 1 of this free Bible study uses Genesis 37 as an example how to interpret the Narratives.


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