Narratives

The Bible contains several genres of literature: poetry, letters, law, prophecy and narrative. The
narratives are the stories in the Bible. Most of the Bible is narrative writing. In the Old Testament, most
of the Law and the Historical books, as well as much of the Prophets is narrative. In the New Testament,
the Gospels and Acts are largely narrative.

So now, let's look at a bad interpretation of narrative.

Narrative Interpretation
Joseph found favor in his master's sight and became his God blesses slave owners
personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his through their godly slaves.
household and placed all that he owned under his authority.
From the time that he put him in charge of his household
and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's
house because of Joseph. The LORD's blessing was on all
that he owned, in his house and in his fields. (Gen 39.4-5)

The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph's If a godly person is willing
authority, because the LORD was with him, and the LORD to do your job for you, let
made everything that he did successful. (Gen 39.23) them. It will go well.

So, what's wrong with those interpretations?

Principle #1 for interpreting narratives: Interpret narrative passages by teaching passages.

Don't expect narratives to teach doctrines. Narratives are not intended to teach doctrine. They illustrate
doctrines taught in other parts of the Bible. Narratives in the Bible are intended to tell the story of the
Bible. And remember, the entire Bible is intended to:
1) show our need for a savior
2) show how God works out our salvation and his judgment
3) lead us to worship our savior

Principle #2 for interpreting narratives: Interpret narratives according to the author's intent.

What is the author's intended message in Genesis?

1) Genesis has two major parts:
a) history before Abraham (Gen 1-11)
b) Abraham's family (Gen 12-50)

2) Genesis is a book of genealogies and repeats “these are the generations of...” (2.4; 5.2; 6.9; 10.1;
11.10; 11.27; 25.12; 25.19; 36.1; 36.9; 37.2)

3) Genesis is showing the story of God's plan of redemption, from the fall of Adam through the
choosing of Abraham and the 12 tribes of Israel. “Covenant” is a major theme.
Now, look at Joseph again. Consider the author's point in telling these parts of the story.

Joseph found favor in his master's sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also
put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority. From
the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD
blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph. The LORD's blessing was on all that he
owned, in his house and in his fields.” (Gen 39.4-5)

The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was
with him, and the LORD made everything that he did successful. (Gen 39.23)

God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you
alive by a great deliverance. Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has
made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of
Egypt. (Gen 45.7-8)

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph
is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the wrong we caused him."
So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command: 'Say this
to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers' transgression and their sin—the wrong they caused
you.' Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.”
Joseph wept when their message came to him. Then his brothers also came to him, bowed
down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!” But Joseph said to them, “Don't be afraid.
Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring
about the present result—the survival of many people.” (Gen 50.15-20)

How does the story of Joseph:

1) show our need for a savior?

2) show how God works out our salvation and/or his judgment?

3) lead us to worship our savior?

When we interpret narratives according to the author's intent and the story of God's redemption, we need
to avoid personalizing the stories or turning historical events into spiritual symbols.

• The story of Jericho's walls falling is the story of God's faithfulness to his promise to bring the
people to the Promised Land and defeat their enemies (Dt 31.3,8). It is not about the faith of
Joshua. And, it is not a moral about how through faith we can tackle the “walls” in our own lives.
• The story of David and Goliath is about God's promise to defeat the enemies of Israel (Dt 31.3,8,
the same promise given to Joshua). It is not about the great faith of David. And it is not about
how, if we just have faith, we can defeat the Goliaths in our own lives.

If Jericho or Goliath were about us and our faith, then what could we say about Christian martyrs? Who
failed, them or God?
Let's consider another narrative, the book of Ruth.
• A famine strikes Israel, so Elimelech takes his wife and two sons from Bethlehem and moves
them to Moab, a pagan country.
• He moves there for safety, but he dies soon after.
• His sons marry Moabite women, and the sons die too.
• The family now consists of widowed Naomi and her two childless Moabite daughters-in-law.
• Naomi hears that life has improved in Israel because “the LORD had paid attention to His people's
[need] by providing them food” (Ruth 1.6).
• Naomi decides to return to Israel and her daughter-in-law Ruth insists on coming, too. She says,
“your people will be my people, and your God will be my God” (1.16).
• When Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem “the whole town was excited about their arrival...”
(1.19).
• Naomi feels abandoned by God. “'Don't call me Naomi. Call me Mara,' she answered, 'for the
Almighty has made me very bitter. I left full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do
you call me Naomi, since the LORD has pronounced [judgment] on me, and the Almighty has
afflicted me?'” Naomi means “pleasant,” but Mara means “bitter.”
• Boaz, a relative of Naomi's protects the women and says to Ruth, “May the LORD reward you for
what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the LORD God of Israel, under
whose wings you have come for refuge” (2.12).
• Boaz fulfills the role of “redeemer” by marrying Ruth. Boaz calls Ruth “a woman of noble
character.” She is the only woman in the Bible who is described with the words of Prov 31.10.
• Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of David.

How does the story of Ruth:

1) show our need for a savior?
a) Why did a famine strike Israel?

b) How did Elimelech respond to the famine?

2) show how God works out our salvation and/or his judgment?
a) What about Naomi's belief that she was being punished by God?

b) During the time of the judges (before David), Israel was frequently judged for their
idolatry. What does this story tell us about God's faithfulness to his promises, even
during judgment?

c) What does it mean that the great-grandmother of David was a Moabite?

3) lead us to worship our savior?

Principle #3 for interpreting narratives: Interpret genealogies in light of the Bible's story.

Consider the genealogies in Genesis.

From the ESV Study Bible

The focus of biblical genealogies is to show how God has worked in history to bless his people. Genesis
genealogies go from Adam through the 12 tribes of Israel.

There are several small genealogies that describe a few generations, such as the sons of Ismael (25.12-
15). And there are two long genealogies, which describe Adam to Noah (Gen 5) and Shem to Abraham
(Gen 11.10-26).
While the narratives are all there as part of the unified Bible, they do have unique emphases.

Principle #4 for interpreting narratives: Look for repeated words, phrases or ideas, or
narrator's comments about the focus of the story.

Example 1: Genesis repeats some version of “these are the generations of....” 11 times, and the term
“covenant” is used 20 times.

Example 2: Judges repeats “The Israelites did what was evil in the LORD's sight” 7 times (2.11; 3.7; 3.12;
4.1; 6.1; 10.6; 13.1). That is often followed by judgment, which results in the repeated
phrase that the people “cried out to the LORD.” And that is often followed by “The Lord
raised up” a judge who brought peace, for a time.
The last part of Judges focuses on the need for a godly king. “In those days there was no
king in Israel” appears 4 times in the last 4 chapters (17.6; 18.1; 19.1; 21.25).

Principle #5 for interpreting narratives: Look for introductions to the stories.

The book of Acts begins with this:

So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, at this time are You restoring the
kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the
Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and
to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1.6-8)

The rest of Acts can be basically divided into two sections:

1. Peter's leadership as the Church spreads from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria (Acts 2-12)
2. Paul's leadership as the Church spreads from Antioch to Rome (Acts 13-28).

So, interpreting:
• Genesis means seeing the process of God fulfilling his covenant with his chosen people.
• Judges means seeing a) human sinfulness and rejection of God's authority, b) God's compassion
and mercy on his people, and c) the people's need for God's anointed one.
• Acts means looking for how God fulfills his covenant promise to bless all nations through
Abraham's offspring.

What did you learn today?

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