Genres of the Bible

Michael D. McGehee, the author of The Bible Doesn't Have to Be Hard to Read, explains in his book that there are many different genres in the Bible. This means that readers cannot read all parts of the Bible in the same way; rather, the genre of that particular passage must be taken into account. McGehee explains this on the first page of his book by telling a story of someone reading a phone book as if it were a novel. This is not the purpose of the phone book, and it will be misunderstood and disliked if it is read that way. The Bible, McGehee explains, must also be read in the way it is meant to be read, and different parts of the Bible are meant to be read in different ways. While most people do not have trouble identifying the genre of things, it is often far more difficult to understand the purpose of something written a long time ago or in another language. The Bible was not written in English, but in Hebrew, and some of it was written more than 2000 years ago. Consequently, it is often extremely difficult to completely understand what the authors of the Bible are telling their readers. Knowing what genre that a particular section belongs in makes understanding the Bible much easier. For example, when Jesus told his disciples to bring him a donkey, he was not also telling people today that they must go find donkeys for Jesus to ride. Misinterpretation of this passage may not be very harmful, just odd, but many times misinterpreting a passage could have disastrous consequences.

Though it may be difficult to understand what genre a particular passage belongs to, it is important to learn so that what God is saying may be more fully understood. There are many different denominations within the Christian church, and all of them have different viewpoints on what particular verses in the Bible mean. There are only a very few sections in the Bible that all Christians agree on the meaning of. Because of these differing views, Christians often become involved in discussions in which they attempt to persuade the other person that their viewpoint is the correct one. However, many times when people do this they take verses out of context in order to fit them to their own meaning. This is often not done intentionally, as many people believe that each verse has its own meaning rather than simply being part of the meaning of an entire passage, or pericope. This is why it is so important to understand the passage's genre. If the genre is known, then the message of the passage can be better understood, allowing the person to use the verse correctly. Other people do not take verses out of context, but take every verse in the Bible literally. This also leads to problems as some verses are meant figuratively, such as the parables and when Jesus said invited the disciples to eat bred and drink wine, calling it his flesh and blood. People who take everything in the Bible literally are taking these passages out of their genre. Though it is sometimes difficult to interpret the genre of a passage correctly, internal clues within the passage can lead to the correct genre-designation.

Genesis 2-3 includes the seventh day of creation, when God rested. It then continues with a second description of the creation of the world, though in a different way than it was described the first time in Genesis 1. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is mentioned, as is the creation of woman. Chapter three describes the well-known story of the fall of mankind. It starts with the serpent convincing Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, telling her that she will not die from it, but instead become like God. Eve ate some of the fruit, and she gave some to Adam as well. Quickly, the pair realized that they were naked, so they made clothes of fig leaves, and when God came into the garden, they hid from him. God asked where they were, who had told them they were naked, and if they had eaten fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam explained that Eve gave him fruit that he ate, and Eve replied that the serpent had tricked her into eating the fruit. God cursed the serpent by making it slither on its belly.

Men would endlessly toil to produce food, and women would endlessly toil to produce children. God also stated that the offspring of the serpent would strike the heel of the woman's offspring, and he would crush the serpent's head. After these things, Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden, and cherubim were placed at the gate to guard the way to the tree of life. This passage should be placed in the genre of myth, as McGehee does. Both imagery and style of this passage justify this genre-designation. McGehee points out that if something happens in a story that isn't possible it is most likely a myth. One example of this would be the fact that the snake spoke to Eve. Another reason it could be myth is because it is a retelling of the Mesopotamian creation story. The way the passage is written implies that it is not meant to be a scientific explanation, but rather to startle the people who lived around the nation of Israel. If this genre designation were not accurate, the story of creation could be very misunderstood. Scientific-minded people could insist that this is the way the universe was created, and lose their faith in God if scientific evidence is found that does not mesh with the creation story. If, as another example, people think that it is advice, they may stay away from all snakes, and believe that they should wear fig leaves.

Another passage that could be misinterpreted is Exodus 15:1-18. This passage is a song sung by the Israelites to the Lord after they cross the sea. They praise God for destroying the Egyptians, and for instilling fear in the nations surrounding Israel. They also describe God, calling him 'majestic in holiness,' a 'warrior,' and 'awesome in splendor,' among other things. This passage would be considered a hymn, as it is expressing the thoughts and feelings of the people who wrote and sang it. For example, Exodus 15:8 says "At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up." God does not literally have nostrils, but the author of this song was using personification to describe God's might. The point of singing hymns is to join with others in remembrance of the past (McGehee 28). It is easy to see that the Israelites are doing this in the passage, as they are singing praises to God about the miracles that he had just performed. This passage is not meant to teach history, and interpreting it in that way could be dangerous. Because words such as 'nostrils,' 'hands,' and 'arm' are used, this genre-designation could cause someone to believe that God is shaped just like a human, putting a box around him. This would make it difficult for them to see God as all-powerful and without sin, and destroy their faith.

Just a few chapters later, in Exodus 20:12-17, the genre has changed drastically. This passage contains the last six laws of the Ten Commandments, which refer to honoring parents, murder, adultery, stealing, and coveting. These verses are clearly under the genre of ethical instructions. More specifically, they are law because they are instructions given to the Israelite society to follow for an extended amount of time. However, even more importantly than that, they are also commandments, because they apply to all people in all times. These verses are also seen as commandments because they are also mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. In Deueronomy, they are repeated in full, and Jesus and others of the New Testament often quote a particular part of the Ten Commandments.

McGehee says that the genre of ethical instruction occurs when the narrator speaks to his readers and tells them how God wants them to act (McGehee 57). McGehee reminds us that though it often seems obvious which ethical instructions should be followed today and which should not, other times it is not as easy. One must be careful to not persuade oneself that an ethical instruction does not apply today, simply because one does not want to follow it. Like the other biblical passages, Exodus 20:12-17 can also be dangerous if its genre is misinterpreted. If it is assumed to be history, one can simply believe that it was meant only for the Israelites, and that God does not mean for people today to follow the Ten Commandments. If someone thinks that it is ethical instruction but takes it as pieces of advice rather than commandments, they may try to follow them but will not be very concerned if they do not manage to.

In the next chapter, Exodus 21:28-36, God is continuing to give Moses ethical instructions. However, this time he is giving Moses laws, not commandments. These laws all involve rules about oxen. A large section, verses 28 through 32, states what should happen if an ox gores somebody. It also discusses what should happen if an ox or donkey falls into a pit, or if an ox hurts another ox belonging to somebody else. This section is law, because was intended for the Israelites. It was not intended for people of other cultures, because in other cultures often oxen are not a large part of their lives. McGehee explains that since societies today are often quite different than societies from Biblical times, many of the laws they followed no longer make sense for us today (McGehee 59). If somebody were to misinterpret the genre of this passage, they would most likely assume that it is a commandment, and therefore applies to people today just as much as it did to the Israelites. Of course, these laws are not followed today in the court system, so trying to obey them would prove nearly impossible.

Jeremiah 52:3b-34 does not tell the Israelites how they should live, but rather tells them a story of what happened in their past. This passage starts by mentioning Zekediah, a king who ruled Judah and was evil in the Lord's sight. Zedekiah rebelled against the ruler of Babylon, King Nebuchadrezzar. King Nebuchadrezzar laid siege on Jerusalem, and when there was no food left in the city, Zedekiah fled along with his army. When the Babylonian army pursued him, his army scattered and he was captured. His family and officers were killed in front of him; he was blinded, and then put in prison until he died. The temple, the king's house, and the houses of the Israelites were all burned and the city walls torn down, and thousands of the Israelites were taken back to Babylon. Many items from the temple, mostly things that were made of precious metals, were also carried back to Babylon. Many of the leaders of the Israelites, such as the chief priest and the commander of the Israelite army, were put to death.

After thirty-seven years, King Jehoiachin of Judah, who had been deposed by Zedekiah, was taken out of prison and was shown favor by the king of Babylon for the rest of his life. Since this passage tells the Israelites what happened in their past, its genre is most certainly history. Jeremiah, the author of this book, wrote it after he went to Egypt following the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem. He was most likely writing everything down so that the Israelites did not forget what had happened, as well as so that the Israelites would be reminded of what had gone wrong so that they did not make the same mistakes in the future. McGehee says that history is a narrative based on fact that tries to provide a realistic explanation of the past (McGehee 86, 87). No part of history can ever be completely explained as too many things happen, but the author writes down the parts that they believe are the most important ones. They also often explain in their writings why that particular fact is so important. Because each author chooses different facts to write down, and because they are often written so long after the actual event, there are sometimes discrepancies between to different accounts of the same event. McGehee explains that these discrepancies in the Bible should not decrease our faith, because human authors who were more concerned about the main picture of God than about small details wrote them. When the genre of history is misinterpreted, people may assume that God is giving advice on what decisions we should make. However, God is not saying through this passage that people should go into exile, or rebel, or anything else that is included in this passage. It is merely explaining the history of the Israelites.

Matthew 13:44-46 belongs to yet another genre. In this passage, Jesus is telling the parable of the kingdom of heaven. First, he says that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that a man finds, then goes and sells everything that he owns in order to buy the field where it is hidden. Next Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a pearl of great value. When a merchant saw it, he sold everything else that he owned so that he could buy the exquisite one. Jesus is not telling us in this passage that the kingdom of heaven is hidden in a field somewhere; nor is he telling us that the kingdom of heaven can be bought. He is telling a parable, a story that shows a truth in an unexpected way. Parables are not meant to be literal, but to help people understand a complex idea that is otherwise difficult to grasp.

This passage's genre is understood to be a parable because of the parallelism it uses between the kingdom of heaven and the treasure or pearl. The point of this parable is to point out that the kingdom of heaven is a very precious thing, and those who have seen it want it above everything else. Jesus is saying that people who love him should desire the kingdom of heaven above all earthly things. McGehee points out on page thirteen of his book that the explanation for a parable is not usually given; instead, the reader must think about the parable in order to understand it. He explains that usually, the point of a parable is to help people understand how they should be acting, help them understand something complex, or convey a message "to the wise that will be misunderstood by the simple" (McGehee 14). McGehee also states that another purpose of the 'Kingdom of Heaven' parable is to tell people earthly things that mattered before will not matter once they have found the kingdom of heaven. There are problems if a parable is not given the correct genre-designation. If somebody believes that all of the parables in the Bible are just stories, they will miss out on some extremely important truths of the Christian faith. Jesus used parables often, and it is necessary to understand that his stories were parables in order to completely understand his messages.

There are many different genres throughout the Bible, and it is very important to fully understand each of them. If a passage is read in the wrong genre, it may be completely misunderstood, leading to a twisted misconstruing of the Christian faith and of God himself. Because the genre-designation is so important, readers should always think through the biblical passage that they are reading and ensure that they are reading it correctly. A huge difference in what the passage means can be made through incorrect genre-designation. Oftentimes it is difficult to interpret genre in the Bible correctly, but internal clues can help one to determine the correct genre. If one wants to truly understand what God desires for them and of them, they will make this effort in order to have a closer relationship with God.