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A. Literary AnalysisThe literary material of the Hebrew Bible is some of the most ancient of the Western literary tradition, but this does not mean it is primitive or artless. Its writers were often masterful in utilizing a rich repertoire of literary techniques, including hyperbole, metaphor, symbolism, allegory, personification, irony, wordplay, and parallelism.
Conventions differ depending on the type of literature, so we will need to develop a sensitivity to different types and styles of writing. For example, writing styles and reader expectations for historical narrative differ considerably from those of poetic hymns, and these in turn are different from the conventions of apocalyptic literature. Each type of literature, such as those just mentioned, is called a genre. The major genres found in the Hebrew Bible include narrative, prophecy, law, hymn, proverb, chronicle, and genealogy. We have to be become "literarily literate" and alert to the conventions of these genres. |
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