1. With his Genesis commentary Gunkel focused on literary matters, raising the question of how Genesis should be read if not as history.

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1 I. THE FOUNDATIONS: GUNKEL AND GRESSMAN 1 A. The Sagas of Genesis 2 1. With his Genesis commentary Gunkel focused on literary matters, raising the question of how Genesis should be read if not as history He considered Genesis to be a collection of sagas, rather than pure history writing. 3. The distinction between Saga and History a. Not simply the difference between true and false; sagas contain kernels of truth b. If one s concern is to extract those kernels of truth, one is taking a historical-critical approach. If one s concern is to appreciate the process by which historical kernels have been elaborated..., one is taking a literary-historical and esthetic approach. 4 c. 5 polarities distinguish historical writing from sagas 5 (1) Mode of Transmission: saga is oral; history is written (2) Subject Matter: saga, the private world of men; history, public and political events (3) Sources: saga, tradition; history, witnesses 1 Much of the following was taken from J. A. Wilcoxen, Narrative, in Old Testament Form Criticism, J. H. Hayes, ed. (San Antonio: Trinity, 1974), This first major section covers pp Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, 61. 1

2 (4) Action They Relate: saga, creduluous; history, credible (5) Purposes: saga, poetic, aim is to entertain and inspire; history, aim to inform 4. Gunkel distinguished also between mythical sagas (abb. ms; Gen 1-11) and patriarchal sagas (abb. ps; 12-50), which differed in several ways: 6 a. Subject Matter: ms, origins of world and men; ps, ancestors and origin of Israel b. Spatio-temporal Setting: ms, remote in time and space; ps, Canaan and neighbors c. Main Actors: ms, gods as actors; ps, men with an occasional theophony and/or epiphany d. Divine Orientation: ms, polytheisticly oriented; ps, monotheistically oriented 5. Quantitavely Genesis contains more patrarchial sagas then mythical sagas, which Gunkel subdivided even further: a. Historical; reflect some historical occurrence. 7 b. Ethnographic: portray life circumstances that actually existed for some people or between some peoples. 8 c. Etiological: are intended to explain something and can be subdivided according to what they seek to explain. 9 6 Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, 62. 2

3 6. Form critically, Gunkel determined that sagas: a. Were prose, though they contained some features of poetry 10 b. Derived from an original storyteller, but actually belonged to people, making them primarily folk traditions. 11 c. Properly may be defined by their self-sufficiency... and... brevity. 12 d. Gunkel may have missed the point, for Wilcoxen notes, The individual stories are not brief because ancient narrations were brief, but because these texts only present basic plots which in any actual narration would be expanded and elaborated according to the skill of the storyteller and the occasion of his performance Sagas could be linked together in chains to form larger units. Gunkel thought he recognized four stages in the so-called J material about Abraham. 14 a. Individual sagas b. Saga chain of Abraham and Lot c. Addition of further sagas d. Additions of other genres not sagas at all. 8. For the most part this process shows a progressive Israelitizing of the sagas. For most of them prove not to be Israelite in origin: there are Babylonian parallels to Joseph episodes, Greek parallels, and, in some 10 Wilcoxen also shows that Gunkel regarded the sagas as a deriving from earlier poetic composition. Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen,

4 cases, especially the sanctuary sagas, Canaanite antecedents can be reliably inferred Regarding Gunkel s use of saga and myth. B. The Märchen 18 a.... The term saga is used in two senses, generically, in applying to all prose tradition narratives that do not qualify as historical writing, and specifically, in the capacity for distinction, for example, from novella. The Genesis introduction is primarily interested in saga in the generic sense, and no particular attention is given to distinguishing it from other narrative forms such as legend, Märchen (tale), or fable. The Gattung `novella' is introduced only because the Joseph story exceeds by too much the characteristics of the saga as Gunkel had already described them. 16 b.... The strong historical aspect of Gunkel's approach.... Gunkel makes some attempt to interpret the original myths that can be identified behind the sagas.... For this reason, the characteristics of myth as a literary type are indirectly revelant to form criticism of the sagas. Given this strong historical perspective, the saga is not a static entity in Gunkel's conception; rather, it is a stage in the history of literature, succeeding myth making and leading to the novella and historical writing While Gunkel gave particular attention to saga and novella, he ultimately also gave special attention to Märchen (folk tale) 2. The primary distinction between Märchen and saga is that the first is a free-floating story not connected to any particular person, place, or time, while the saga is attached to actual persons, places, or situations. The 15 Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen

5 mode of the Märchen is, Once upon a time, there were two brothers, one a shepherd and the other a hunter. The mode of the saga is, And there was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down to the land of Egypt Major characteristics of Märchen include: a.... The element of fantasy, of make believe and dream worlds. 20 b. Anthropomorphism: Märchen tend to endow all kinds fo objects, animals, and spirits with human features c. Nameless heroes Märchen was used in the historical criticism of sagas. 23 a. Gressman distinguished between individual motifs and typical motifs in weighting the historical value of sagas. b. This required a comparison of folk literature of the surrounding peoples. c. Such a comparison of stories or story elements from widely diverse times and cultural contexts raises complex methodological difficulties and dangers (Eissfeldt, 1918). 24 C. Historical Sagas and Historical Writing Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen,

6 1. Gunkel labeled the sagas treating such figures as Moses and Elisha as historical sagas. 2. By doing so, Gunkel meant,... that they have a close and evident relation to actual persons, places, and events. Nevertheless, they remain sagas to the extent that the heroes are drawn larger than life and the magnitude of their deeds or sufferings is exagerated. The miraculuous and the improbable still play a role in enhancing the heroes The presence of such Märchen-like elements marks off historical sagas from actual historical narratives, though no sharp division between the two is possible This distinction between historical writing and historical documents was later elaborated by Gressman. 28 a. Historical documents (lists, royal annals, inscriptions, chronicles, etc) were common in the ANE, but were not, strictly speaking, historical writing. b. Genuine historical writing flourished only in Israel and, later, Greece. 29 c. Historical writing did not evolve from historical documents, but from the narrative art of sagas. Both [narrative saga and historical writing] follow the narrative law of putting the less important before the more important; both increase the suspense by retarding moments, by inserting extra incidents prior to the anticipated ending; both love to pair up their heroes, whether in friendship or enmity; both extend the action slowly to a high point, then 26 Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, 75. 6

7 move rapidly to the conclusion; both often leave certain things unclear for the hearer at first in order to later relieve [sic] the aroused curiosity; and both often use repetitions of an action, only slightly altered, in order to fully exploit [sic] the kind of situation involved Wilcoxen observes that while Gressmann may have been correct in the above he did not notice the difference between the two in choice of subject matter and manner of treating them. 31 a. History deals with the present or recent past while saga deals with the more distant past. b. History portrays what actually happened while saga treats the marvelous and the typical 6. Just as historical sagas must be distinguished from historical writing so must historical writing be distinguished from historical works. a. Historical writing refers to a single unified historical account of an event. b. "These as well as other pieces of historical writing have survived... only as they have been incorporated into more comprehensive and complex `historical works.'" The memoir or biography falls somewhere between the historical writing and the historical document. a. This includes writing in the first person, something common of the royal inscription of the ANE b. Similar materical can be seen in the "autobiographical" writings of the prophets. 30 Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, 76. 7

8 II. CONSOLIDATION 34 c. "What distinguishes the prophetic narratives from strict autobiography or biography is that they are not related simply out of interest in the personal life of these men; they are told for the sake of portraying God's work through the characters." 33 A. Gunkel and Gressmann s work was continually refined 1. The general boundaries of form criticsm of narratives was laid in the investigation of the larger "historical works." 2. The discussion of the various genres were regularly included in various investigations. B. Subsequent scholars did not try to hold these together On one side, narrative histories of Israelite came to be written which moved from a discussion of all the earliest literary types to a discussion of the latest ones. 2. On the other hand, the literary types were arranged systematically as poetry and prose, law and narrative, etc., regardless of their chronological appearance in Israelite history. C. Eissfeldt distinguished between poetic and historical" narratives:... poetic narratives are those which are shaped with an imaginative or purposeful attitude to the world and to life while historical narratives "set out to tell how things actually took place D. Subsequent investigations dialogued with both Eissfeldt and Gunkel. 33 Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, 81. 8

9 1. Leonard Rost distinguished between poetry and sayings in addition to prose Aage Bentzen emphasized that the types should be defined by stylistic and formal criteria rather than by content, and that the history or evolution of the literary types cannot often be reliably traced. The last point was in contrast to the historical side of Gunkel s treatment of literary types and was related to the anti-evolutionistic view of Israelite religion taken by some other Scandinavian scholars Edmond Jacob, essentially agreed with Gunkel, though he rejected the distinction made between sagas and legends Georg Fohrer introduced new terminology into the discussion: "`directive literary types' (laws, etc.), `requesting and wishing literary types' (blessings, etc.), `proclaiming and instructing literary types' (oracles, etc.), `communicating literary types' (speeches, letters, etc.), `narrative literary types,' and `reportorial literary types' (lists, history, etc.)...." 40 III. CURRENT ISSUES 41 A. What has occurred from the days of Wilcoxen to the present is a radical break with the whole method. B. Several reasons for this: 37 Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, Wilcoxen, 87. The rest (88-98) of Wilcoxen s discussion continues with discussions of various scholars to define narrative along form critical lines. 41 Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 1991), ; Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York: Basic Books, 1981), i-195; Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative (Sheffield: Almond Press, 1983),

10 1. Failure of form and redaction criticism to interpret the text Breaking the text into every smaller units for interpretation is perceived as counterproductive 3. With its insistence that the author, provenance, and purpose of the narrative be determined prior to the interpretation proper, the historicalcritical method tended to produce apart from an unacknowledged circularity in the argument a highly reductionist frame (the purpose or author s intention located in some supposed historical setting) which seriously constrained further reading Narrative criticism recognizes that strength of viewing the text as a whole. C. While this new approach enjoys widespread popularity, and has proven very popular to evangelicals because of its respect for the text as a whole, it is not a cure all. IV. PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS FOR NARRATIVE STUDY A. The major premise of narrative criticism is that narrative is art or poetry, thus centering upon the literary artistry of the author. While many would not deny the presence of a historical nucleus, the tendency is to treat the biblical stories as fiction. 44 B. This involves giving... attention to the artful use of language, to the shifting play of ideas, conventions, tone, sound, imagery, syntax, narrative viewpoint, compositional units, and much els; the kind of disciplined attention, in other words, which through a whole spectrum of critical approaches has illuminated, for example the poetry of Dante, the plays of Shakespeare, the novels of Tolstoy Osborne, D. M. Gunn, Hebrew Narrative, in Text in Context, A. D. H. Mayes, ed. (Oxford: University Press, 2000), Osborne, Alter,

11 C. This approach retains a high degree of respect for the Bible as literature, even though the text is designated prose fiction. The biblical authors are of course constantly, urgently conscious of telling a story in order to reveal the imperative truth of God's works in history and of Israel's hopes and failings. Close attention to the literary strategies through which that truth was expressed may actually help to understand it better, enable us to see the minute elements of complicating design in the Bible's sacred history. But it also seems to me important to emphasize that the operation of the literary imagination develops a momentum of its own, even for a tradition of writers so theologically intent as these. Genesis is not Pale Fire, but all fiction, including the Bible, is in some sense a form of play. Play in the sense I have in mind enlarges rather than limits the range of meanings of the text. For the classics of fiction, ancient and modern, embody in a vast variety of modes the most serious playfulness, endlessly discovering how the permutations of narrative conventions, linguistic properties, and imaginatively constructed personages and circumstances can crystalize subtle and abiding truths of experience in amusing or arresting or gratifying ways. The Bible presents a kind of literature in which the primary impulse would often seem to be to provide instruction or at leas necessary information, not merely to delight. If, however, we fail to see that the creators of biblical narrative were writers who, like writers elsewhere, took pleasure in exploring the formal and imaginative resouces of their fictional medium, perhaps sometimes unexpectedly capturing the fullness of their subject in the very play of exploration, we shall miss much that the biblical stories are meant to convey. 46 D. Certain qualifications validate this idea. 1. It is certainly true that there is little difference... between historical narrative and fiction, since both utilize the same methods to tell the story: plot, characters, dialogue, dramatic tension there is nothing inherently antihistorical in taking a `fictive' approach to biblical narrative.... [for] such a perspective simply wants to recognize the presence of the `story' genre in biblical history In the use of narrative we are studying a text and not recreating the event, which means that the meaning of the historical event which we are 46 Alter, Osborne, Osborne,

12 studying comes to us only through the extant text, and so Our task is to decipher the meaning of the historical-theological text in biblical narrative, not to reconstruct the original event. 49 E. This literary slant, so foundational to narrative criticism, implies several presuppositions. 1. To understand the text one must closely read it. 2. Narrative texts function like pictures, windows, and mirrors. 3. Interpretation of narrative involves poetics and meaning. F. Definition: Definitions of the term narrative are as elusive as the contexts of its use are many. Tentatively one might say that as a mode of discourse narrative communicates meaning through the imitation of human life, the temporal ordering of human speech and action. Time is important: narrative is distinguished from many other genres by plot, a sequence of actions, often (but not always) connected in terms of cause and effect, leading from an initial situation, through complication, to some sense of resolution or revelation. Narrative, then, is generally assumed by hearers and readers to interrelate distinct temporal events, involving several characters, in a coherent whole without extraneous incidents. What counts as coherence, however, may vary widely and counter-coherence may become part of narrative meaning. 50 V. THE METHODOLOGY OF NARRATIVE CRITICISM 51 A. Implied Author and Narrator 1. The reader never sees the real author. 49 Osborne, Gunn, CF. Osborne, 154ff. 12

13 2. We see him in "those concerns, values and theological perspectives which the original author has chosen to highlight in this particular text." This existence of this author/narrator, who is omniscient and is "often indistinguishable from God who inspires him," is necessary "in order to tie us to the historicality of the story, to keep central the original intended meaning of the text," and "forces the reader to look at the seams and editorial asides of the text as important indicators of its meaning." 53 B. Point of View, Ideology and Narrative World:...the perspective taken by various characters or aspects in the narrative. Most frequently it is connected to the narrator, who interacts with the action within the story in various ways and so 54 produces the effect that the story is to have on the reader. It determines the "shape" of the story. 1. Point of view is the position or perspective from which a story is told. 55 a. Hebrew narrative is like film in that stories are often told from various perspectives and like film is scenic--sequence of scenes where events dominate. b. The presentation of multiple points of view gives the narrative depth, and, to a large extent, makes it good narrative. Two major effects of the use of multiple points of view are ambiguity...and irony. 56 c. In biblical narrative the narrator moves constantly between external and internal presentations, sometimes stepping back for a 52 Osborne, Osborne, Osborne, Berlin, Berlin, Poetics,

14 panoramic view and then moving close in to a character to view things through his eyes, even reactions. 57 d. A character's point of view may be conveyed through his own words or through the words of the narrator. e. Point of view may also be indicated by naming, inner life, and repetition with a variation. 2. Scholars have identified five areas of point of view. a. Psychological Dimension: studies how the narrator provides `inside' information as to the thoughts and feelings of the characters. In this respect biblical narrative is omniscient ; it 58 gives the reader knowledge no one could possibly know. Cf. e.g., Lk 2:29,38; Jn 1:43; 2:23; 4:1. b. Evaluative or Ideological Point of View: denotes the concepts fo right and wrong that prevail in the narrative. The actors in the dram are often at odds with one another and with the narrator as to 59 the judgment of their deeds. Cf. Jn 2:23-25 with 6: c. Spatial Perspective: makes the narrator omnipresent; they have the ability to move from place to place freely and to relate the story 60 from various vantage points. Cf. Jesus walking on the water where the narrator simultaneously is with Jesus on the water and the disciples in the boat. d. Temporal Perspective: can consider the action from within the story (from a present point of view) or from the future"; Cf. the call of Jeremiah where "the voice of God reaches into the past (v. 5) 57 Berlin, Poetics, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne,

15 and future (vv. 7010) in prophesying Jeremiah s significance for the divine plan. 61 e. Phraseological Point of View: relates to the dialogue or sppeches in a narrative," so that "The reader is able to listen in to dialogue one would never hear in the normal world, for instance, the personal conversation between Hamanand his wife and friends (Esther 5:12-14) or the private dialogue between Festus and Agrippa regarding Paul's innocence (Acts 26:31-32). 62 C. Narrative and Story Time: 1. This refers to the order of the events within the story and the way they are related to one another. Narrative time is distinct from chronology because it has to do with literary arrangement rather than with historical sequence. The concept is very important when studying ancient history because sequential order was not as important as dramatic portrayal to chronicles then The author will cause a gap in the story by shifting events and will create suspense by providing incomplete knowledge of the future Such gaps may be designated minimal representation a. The suggestion of a thing may be more convincing than a detailed portrayal of it, creating conditions of illusion. Surrounding information guides perception as the reader fills out the portrait. The Bible excels in this technique. 65 b. Leaving gaps allows the reader to construct a picture that is more real than if it were drawn in detail. 61 Osborne, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne, Berlin,

16 c. Minimal representation can give maximum illusion. In many cases a minimal description of a character, especially of one outstanding trait, is that magic line of suggestion around which the reader fills in the picture. E.g., Saul s height and David s good looks. 66 d. There is little embellishment or explicit commentary in Hebrew narrative The space given to narrative events will vary depending on the writer's purposes. 68 D. Plot: 1. The plot encompasses the united acquiesce of events that follow a causeeffect order; these build to a climax and involve the reader in the narrative world of the story The basic element of the plot is conflict, and every biblical narrative centers upon such God vs. Satan, good vs. evil, discipleship vs. rebellion. Plot can function at either the macro (the whole book) or micro (a single section) level The reader must study carefully the plot and miniplots within narrative books in order to determine the developing themes and characterizations 71 of the author, in order to determine the meaning of the passage. 66 Berlin, Alter, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne,

17 E. Characterization: The narrator uses many techniques to portray the characters and to lead 73 the readers to a proper understanding of their roles. These include: a. Physical: e.g., a man of good presence, 1 Sam 1:18. b. Social: e.g., a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, 1 Sam 1:18. c. Singular or concretizing: e.g., skillful in playing, 1 Sam 1:18 d. Moral and ideological: the Lord was with him, 1 Sam 1:18 e. Psychological: able in deed, a man ofwar, wise in counsel, 1 Sam 1:18 2. Character also types include full fledged characters and agents who are important only for purposes of plot. 3. Characters are in part developed through: a. Character description, speech and actions, inner life, and character contrasts. 74 b. Contrast with another character, with earlier actions of the same character, or perhaps with the expected norm Characterization is carried out with a depth and subtlety that makes them very realistic and thus applicable to those with similar problems in every age Alter, ; Berlin, Osborne, Berlin, Berlin, 40, Osborne,

18 F. Setting: can be geographical, temporal, social or historical; it will provide the 77 basic context within which plot and characters develop, including, according to Rhoads and Michie, generating atmosphere, determining conflict, revealing traits in the characters who must deal with problems or threats caused by the settings, offering commentary (sometimes ironic) on action, and evoking association and nuances of meaning present in the culture of the readers Geographical: the physical area of the world in which the story takes place. E.g., the Emmaus Road, Lk Temporal: the time frame in which the story occurs. E.g., the three Passovers in John, 2:13; 6:4; 11:55 3. Social: The social atmosphere of the story, including mores, habits, customs, etc. E.g., the banquet settings of Luke, 5:27-32; 15:1-32; 19:1-18 (God's forgiveness); 14:7-24; 22:31-32 (Light of the gospel); 9:10-17; 22:24-30; 24:36-49 (missions). 4. Historical: the historical period in which the story occurs. G. Implicit Commentary: 1. Narrative analogy/oblique commentary, where one part of a story provides commentary on another, is a commonly used technique By utilizing irony, comedy, symbolism and other literary devices the writer guides the reader through the drama of his story. 3. Repetition: Osborne, David Rhoads and Donal Michie, Mark as Story: An Introduction to the Narrative of a Gospel (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1982), 63, cited by Osborne, Alter, 21, Alter,

19 a. Key words/motifs tie scenes together and carry with them meanings acquired in earlier texts. b. This is one of the most common narrative techniques in the OT. 81 c. Even small changes in repeated dialogue may be significant Special types of repetition include: a. Leitwort: or word-root, in which cognates of a root word are repeated for effect ( go and return in the book of Ruth. 83 b. Motif: the repetition of a concrete image used symbolically (fire in the Samson story or water in the Moses cycle). 84 c. Theme: a certain idea or value becomes the focus (obedience vs. rebellion in the wilderness wanderings). 85 d. Sequence of Actions: often in a threefold pattern (the three captains and their companies warned of fiery destruction in 2 Kings 1). 86 e. Type-scene: a key event in the life of a hero that is repeated more than once (the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000 or the three commissions of Paul to the Gentiles in Acts 22:21; 23:11; 26:17-18) Alter, 91, 93-94, Alter, 97, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne,

20 H. Representation through dialogue As a rule, when a narrative event in the Bible seems important, the writer will render it mainly through dialogue Contrastive dialogue, i.e., short vs. long, simple vs. elaborate, etc The reader is led with dialogue by oblique hints rather than explicit statements Narration often provides a chronicle or summarizing overview of actions essential to the plot. It may also convey information ancillary to the plot or may confirm statements made in direct discourse Smaller pieces of information may be withheld for an appropriate moment in the narrative. 6. The Scale of Means 93 a. Narrator's voice - certainty b. Inward speech - relative certainty c. Dialogue - weighing claims d. Actions or appearance - inference I. Implied Reader:... is one of the most practical of the tools for the average reader. This theory is grounded in the supposition that every book has a group of 88 Alter, Alter, Alter, Alter, Alter, Alter,

21 readers in mind. These original readers are no longer available to the `real reader' (the persona actually reading it today), and so the text yields only an `implied reader' behind the message. The actual reader is called upon by the text to read it from the stand point of these `implied readers' and to identify with the problems and message intended for them. This process will help the actual readers to associate with the feelings and responses indicated by the text rather than with the meanings that mthey might read into the text The implied reader enables a person to detect the ordinal intended message of a text rather than an elusive entity that allows one to play with multiple meanings in the text When the actual reader identifies with the text in this way he or she must respond to it and reorder his or conduct accordingly. J. Application of the Implied Reader: There are several areas in which actual readers may identify with the implied reader and interact with the text, producing changes in his life Finding Enjoyment in the Story a. We derive a great deal of pleasure from a good story which is well told. b. If Robert Alter is right in saying that our religious tradition has by and large encouraged us to take the Bible seriously rather than to enjoy it, he is also right to add that the paradoxical truth of the matter may well be that by learning to enjoy the biblical stories more fully as stories, we shall also come to see more clearly what they mean to tell us about God, man, and the perilously momentous realm of history. 94 Osborne, Osborne, Paul Rieman, An Outline for an Exegetical Essay (with hints on how to proceed) (Drew University, 1983),

22 c. Is there enjoyment to be derived from this story as story? Have you observed anything about the artful way it is told which would help others to enjoy it more fully? 2. Finding Confirmation in the Story a. Often something about a story, perhaps many things about it, evokes in us a sense of recognition. b. This is the world as we know it, this is a situation people find themselves in, this is the way they respond to it and to each other, this is the way things turn out. c. Realistic stories about ordinary people and everyday situations evoke this sense of recognition in us--we see ourselves an our world reflected in stories of many kinds (including myths and science fiction!). d. Our sense of what is real and possible is confirmed in this way, and we revel in it, perhaps all the more so if the situation is extraordinary, the persons and setting exotic, the time and culture different from our own. e. By sharing a story and our responses to it we confirm our common sense of what is real and possible in this perilously momentous realm of history. 3. Practicing Living with the Story a. We continually practice living in our imaginations, and stories provide us with grist for the mill. b. They are important to us because the range of our personal experience is necessarily narrow and our own capacity to generate new imaginative situations is limited. c. They are important to us also because stories can be shared, and this allows us to compare our responses to those of others, and how we may expect others to deal with us. 22

23 d. For the most part we do this immediately and intuitively, but it is possible to do it self-consciously and intentionally. e. This would mean placing ourselves in imagination in the role of each of the characters, and perhaps in the role of the narrator as well. f. Does your passage invite imaginative participation in this way? If it does, what could be learned from it? 4. Finding a Moral in the Story a. There are few stories in the Bible which explicitly moralize, but many biblical stories have been used at one time or another for moralizing. b. Perhaps the simplest...way to do this is to read the narrative as an example story which provides a norm for conduct, modeling good behavior to be emulated or bad conduct to be avoided (or both). c. Does your passage present itself as an example story? What would happen if someone responded to it as though it were? Does it involve you in making moral judgments yourself? Of what sort? 5. Finding Oneself Disconcerted by the Story a. Stories may leave us unsatisfied, bewildered, or perplexed. b. They may even leave us disconcerted and confounded. c. There is no reason to think that stories in the Bible will be exempt from this, and when it happens no good purpose is served by denying it or by hiding it from others with whom we are sharing the story. d. Of course we may not have done all our homework; in that case we need to identify the problem and dig more deeply. 23

24 e. Our distance from the story may make color some crucial fact or problem in the text, assumed by the story, and necessary for a proper understanding of it. f. Such a problem leaves us with an enigma to ponder, or confronts us with an essential paradox, or raises for us some possibility we do not wish to acknowledge. g. Stories which do this do not necessarily prompt us to growth, but they may. h. Have you found this passage disconcerting in some way? If you have what is it that disconcerts you, and what do you think is the reason? 6. Finding Oneself Changed by the Story a. Stories--perhaps especially those which are at least initially disconcerting--have a potential for inducing change. b. They may call to our attention what we have never really noticed, crystalize for us what had been only vague and diffuse impressions, bring to awareness what had been below the level of consciousness, make us face what we had not been willing to acknowledge, force us to reconsider what we had previously rejected, or open us to possibilities we had never allowed. c. These may touch our deepest hopes and fears, our most basic sense of identity and reality, our sense of what is most fundamentally true of God, ourselves, and the world in which we live. d. Can you image your passage functioning in this way? Has it functioned in this way for you? VI. THE WEAKNESSES OF NARRATIVE CRITICISM 97 A. A Dehistoricizing Tendency: 97 Osborne, 164ff. 24

25 1. The failures of the Historical Critical Method has caused some to be so enamored with this new method they have denied the historical background behind the text. Indeed, the Bible has been cast adrift from its moorings and left to float on a sea of modern relativity. The play of meanings in the stories is seen to be open ended, and modern readers must reconstruct their own interpretation In reality the literary and historical exist side-by-side and are independent. As a literal representation of event and its significance, both text and its background are essential components of meaning. 99 B. Setting Aside the Author: 1. Reader-response hermeneutical techniques give much more emphasis to the reader than the author. 2. Reader-response criticism is the final stage of a length movement away from the author in the author-text-reader schema, which is at the hear of the hermeneutical debate.... Most proponents of this school attempt some form of the autotomy theory, that a text becomes autonomous from its author as soon as it is written down. Therefore, delineation of a text's meaning stems from the present reader rather than from the past author or text This procedure relativizes the text, much in the same way that the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution has by making interpretations that probably go way beyond what the framers intended. 4. The reader should use hermeneutical techniques to understand and identify with the intended meaning of a text. There is no need to banish the biblical author from his work Osborne, Osborne, Osborne, Osborne,

26 C. A Denial of Intended or Referential Meaning: 1. Since for radical critics the implied author replaces the real author behind the text, and fiction replaces history, the words as well as the text as a whole become autonomous from their original reference or meaning, and the readers produce their own meanings in the text. Many literary critics reject the possibility of detecting the referential meaning of an utterance, that is, the original reality behind the words of the text In each case this is an unnecessary and dangerous step, leading potentially to a radical relativism in which each person s meanin ' is as correct as another's and validation of `truth' becomes an impossibility. 103 D. Reductionistic and Disjunctive Thinking: 1. Narrative criticism has done much toward establishing a holistic view of and respect for the integrity of the text. 2. But to go to the extreme of denying that the text has no original, intended meaning is to place the method in contradiction with itself. E. Imposition of Modern Literary Categories on Ancient Genres: 1. We must always remember that the text was created in a world that existed then. 2. To impose modern literary terminology on the ancient text is an improper bridge of the cultural-historical gap. 3. Other methods must be used to anchor the text in its original Sitz im Leben. F. Preoccupation with Obscure Theories: 102 Osborne, Osborne,

27 1. Many exegetes, so focused on the reader rather than the original meaning, continue to create new terminology that en effect centers more on the method than the text. 2. The current fad is a preoccupation with the social sciences, and as a result works begin appearing in biblical studies about a decade after they have become popular in the social sciences.... Everyone wants to be a part of the latest movement; we are repeating the error of the Athenians who spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas (Acts 17:21).... there is nothing wrong with new ideas, and every field... has its own jargon.... However, when a field of thought claims to offer a pragmatic method that will be usefult to the average person, it must avoid overly technical language and must unify its theories. 104 G. Ignoring the Understanding of the Early Church: 1. The early church and its hermeneutic cannot be determinative of what a passage means. 2. At the same time the church's earliest exegetes considered the text as historical those closest to the actual events did not conceive that they could be purely literary creations. Since a referential approach was utalized from the beginning, we would need far better evidence than has heretofore been presented before we would jettison it. 105 H. Rejection of the Sources Behind the Books: 1. Narrative criticism is a reaction to the most extreme interpretations of the historical critical method 2. We should not eliminate the advances made by the more level headed proponents of the older methods. 104 Osborne, 167. Osborne lists some of these terms: actantial, aporia, narratee, implied reader, etc. 105 Osborne,

28 3. Actually narrative criticism should be used in conjunction with the older methodologies to uncover the meaning of the text. I. Indeterminacy and ethics: If meaning is to be located in the text, as the New Critics and structuralists, for example, were inclined to argue (or assume), was that meaning determinate?... [The question was raised] whether a critic must strive to encapsulate a narrative s meaning in terms of a single theme, or whether narrative might give expression to multiple, perhaps even contradictory, themes. (Gunn, 245). 2. If irony and ambiguity were intrinsic to biblical narrative, how was a critic to determine irony and resolve ambiguity? (Gunn, 245). 3. So some form of hermeneutics must be invoked to anchor the system; the philosophical question is which of these are acceptable. 4. Further, Even indeterminate (strictly speaking, undecidable) readings must be negotiated with the interpretative community and that means serious commitment to at least some common rules and rhetoric (Gunn, 247). 5. Discussions of indeterminancy and undecidability of a text raises the question of ethics (Gunn, 247), which is akin to the old problem of presuppositions as one approaches the text. 6. All-in-all the indeterminancy allows to grow the idea of the relativity of truth. VII. METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES FOR STUDY NARRATIVE TEXTS 107 A. Structural Analysis: 1. Note the development of the work as a whole 106 Gunn, Osborne, 168ff. 28

29 2. Analyze the individual pericopes, or stories "are charted to determine how the characters interact and how the conflict ebbs and flows within both the single story and the larger narrative of which it is a part." 3. Examine the setting upon the plot line and put the story back together. B. Stylistic Analysis: 1. Identify the various literary devices to see how these techniques deepen the plot structure and higlight certain aspects within the narrative look for chiasm or inclusio (framing techniques), repetition, gaps, antitheses, symbol, irony and other literary traits. Each will add a different nuance to the passage. 109 C. Redactional Analysis: 1. This determines the distinctive emphases and guards agains subjective interpretation 2. Look for how the writer used his sources as well as attempt to identify additions, omissions and expansions in parallel accounts. 3. Externally, look for changes in how the author altered his sources; while, internally, look for threads and reoccuring patterns. 4. In short,... the interpreter studies the way the writer has arranged his materials, noting how he has utilized his sources as a control to see more clearly the specific message of the whole narrative. In other words, we combine source and redaction techniques with narrative criticism, allowing these... methods to interact and correct one another in order to understand the author's intended story and theological message Osborne, Osborne, Osborne,

30 D. Exegetical Analysis: 1. Grammatical study will explain the exact relationship of the words and how the add the various nuances to the passage. 2. Socio-political-geographical comparisons will furnish meaning as to the culture out of which the passage sprang. E. F. Theological Analysis: Separate the particular emphases of the text from the major theological threads of the larger pericope and book as a whole. Contextualization: 1. Application of the lessons to the readers own situation narrative demands a reaction to the drama itself. Therefore, we cannot read it without reliving and applying the conflicts and lessons Osborne,