From: cms@dragon.com
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re:  Literary Forms of the Bible (was Re:  Simple Question)
Date: 28 Jan 93 08:29:42 GMT
Organization: Computer Projects Unlimited


 To understand any text in the Bible, you must first understand the 
form.  If you misunderstand the form, you misunderstand the meaning.  
Here are some forms found in the Bible:

	Prose

	Poetry (ex. Psalms, Isaiah, Ben Sira...2/3 of entire Bible)

	   parallelism

		synonymous parallelism:

 		I recognize my faults;
		I am always conscious of my sins. (Ps 51:3)

		antithetic parallelism:

		The righteous are guided and protected by the LORD, 
		but the evil are on the way to their doom. (Ps 1:6)

		cumulative or "staircase" parallelism:

	Praise the LORD, you heavenly beings;
	  praise his glory and power.
	Praise the LORD's glorious name;
	  bow down before the Holy One when he appears.  (Ps 29:1-2)

	   balance

	prayers (Tobit's prayer for death, Sarah's prayer for death,
		Moses's prayer, Samson's prayer, the Psalms,
	 	Isaiah's prayers, Mary's prayer (Magnificat), 
		the Our Father, Jesus's prayer in the Garden, etc.

	hymns/songs (Mary's Magnificat, Song of Miriam, Song of Songs,
			Psalms, Philippians hymn, 1 John hymn,
			Gospel of John 1:1, Hannah's song, etc.

	narratives (Ruth, Jonah, Judith)

	  direct address

	     prophetic speech (ex. Isaiah)
	     teaching (ex. Proverbs)

	discourses

	   farewell discourses (ex. Moses's farewell discourse)

	vocation narratives

	parables (Jesus's parables, Nathan's parable, God's parable in 
			Ezekiel 17, etc.)

	folktales (Jonah, Tobit, Genesis 1-3, Elijah/Elisha cycle, 
			David and Goliath, Samson, Jeptha's daughter,
			Ehud (actually a kind of joke), Bel and the
			Dragon, Susanna, Ruth, Esther, Job (prose 
			parts), the Flood, etc.

	dialogues (questions, answers, confessional statements of
			Abraham, Moses, and Christian disciples, etc.)

	letters

		letters included different forms, e.g.:

			prayers
			creeds
			homilies
			hymns
			liturgical greetings
			blessings

	history (Kings, Chronicles, Acts of the Apostles, Pentateuch,
		Joshua, Judges, Ezra, Nehemiah.

	   treaty/covenant

	myth (first eleven chapters of Genesis)

	Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)

		preaching
		teaching
		liturgy
		midrash
		midrash-in-reverse
		gospel proclamation
		eucharistic celebration
		hymns
		prayers
		reflection on meaning

 Of course, not everyone is going to agree with the way I've matched 
certain forms to certain texts.  There's room for debate.  We can 
begin by acknowledging the existence of forms.  If you say a 
particular text does not belong to a particular form, then what form 
do you say it belongs to?  It has to belong to something.  Then we can 
discuss what it means.

In Jesus Son of Mary,

Cindy Smith
cms@dragon.com

p.s.  The Bible is the living Word of God.  God speaks to us in many 
	different ways and many different forms, including parables, 
	poetry, folktales, myth, narrative, history, covenant 
	formulary, dialogues, creeds, hymns, Tradition, direct 
	address, discourse, preaching, teaching, prayers, etc.  

	If you want to know what God is saying, listen to the way God 
	is saying it.

p.p.s.  After we've determined the form, we can discuss whether a 
	particular text is literal or metaphorical.