Guiding Question: How does the Bible communicate as literature?
1. Determine the Literary Genre [1]
Three features of genre that should be taken into consideration:
A. Form – the framework (e.g., narrative, poetry, gospel, letter, apocalypse)
B. Content – subject matter
C. Function – the author’s purpose (i.e. to inform, persuade, criticize, praise, etc.)
a. Determine then define the literary genre of the book.
b. Determine then define the literary genre of the selected passage.
2. Apply interpretive principles appropriate for each respective genre. [2]
3. Observe the Text
A. Sentence analysis
- Observe the passage at the sentence level. Look for repetition of words, contrasts, comparisons, lists, cause and effect, figures of speech, conjunctions, verbs, and pronouns.
- Comment on important features of individual verses.
- Decisions to be made concerning the relevance of important features in the passage:
a. Relevance of the observations for determining the meaning of the passage. Repetition does not always point to relevance. Sometimes the relevant items are mentioned only once in a passage.
b. Relevance for application? How does repetition of items contribute to understanding the author’s intent and any action to be taken by the audience?
c. Key words or concepts for further study
B. Paragraph Analysis
- Divide the selected passage into paragraphs then provide reasons for your paragraph divisions. Comment briefly on the important features in the overall structure of the passage.
- Observe the selected passage at the paragraph level looking for questions and answers, dialogue, means, purpose/result statements, general to specific and specific to general, conditional clauses, actions/roles of God, actions/roles of people, emotional terms, and the tone of the passage.
- Identify the theme of each paragraph then state the theme in one sentence followed by any necessary justification, explanation of illustration. The theme may be a key sentence taken directly from the text or a statement in your own words summarizing an implied theme.
C. Determine the major themes in the book in which the selected passage appears.
- Determine then list the major themes of the book in which the selected passage appears?
- Determine the theme of the selected passage.
- Determine how the themes of the selected passage relates to the major theme(s) of the book.
D. Discourse and Literary Analyses
Observe the passage at the discourse level. Using three or more detailed outlines of the book, look for connections to other paragraphs and episodes, shifts in the story/pivots, interchange between scenes or characters, chiasm, inclusion, etc. You may choose an existing outline, modify an existing outline, or compose an outline of the book for further study. Answer the following:
- What is the selected passage’s role, function, or purpose in the book?
- What would happen if we removed this section from the book?
- Why did the author include this section as a crucial part of the whole?
- Comment on important features of the discourse.
E. Evaluate the placement of the selected passage in its immediate and larger contexts within the book in a 2-4 sentence paragraph.
4. Provide a synthesis of the meaning of the text for the biblical audience using past tense verbs and refer to the biblical audience.
[1] David E. Aune, The New Testament in Its literary Environment. Wayne Meeks, ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 1987), 32-6.
[2] Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All its Worth, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014). William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, revised and updated edition (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers).
