The Stories
Stories are 40% of the OT & OT is 75% of the Bible
15 Books Totally/Mostly Stories:
Genesis
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1&2 Samuel
1&2 Kings
1&2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Daniel
Jonah
Hagai
6 Books Lots of Stories:
Exodus
Numbers
Jeremiah
Ezekial
Isaiah
Job
NT has Stories:
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
3 Layers in a Story
1. Top Layer: God
2. Middle Layer: Redemption
3. Bottom Layer: The Stories
Stories are not…
…Fables filled with hidden meanings.
…Intended to teach moral lessons.
5 Characteristics of Hebrew Stories
1. Repetition of key words/phrase
2. Circle story approach
3. Oral never read
4. Change of scenery like a play
5. Designed to be remembered
9 Things to Avoid
1. Treating the story as pathway to another text.
2. Taking the story out of context ignoring the full historical & literary contexts.
3. Picking & choosing specific words & phrases to concentrate on while ignoring the others and ignoring the overall sweep of the narrative being studied.
4. Assuming that principles for living can be derived from all passages.
5. Supposing that any or all parts apply to you or your group in a way that they don’t apply to others.
6. Using the story to do something it originally was not intending to recommend e.g., casting fleeces before the Lord.
7. To read into the story today’s issues e.g., to read into David’s love for Jonathan a homosexual relationship.
8. Tying two stories from different books together as if they are speaking of the same thing.
9. Changing meanings, e.g., using language of Zion as if it always applies to the church, or language of temple as defining your body.
10 Principles for Interpreting Stories
1. An OT story usually does not directly teach a rule.
2. An OT story usually illustrates a rule or rules taught elsewhere.
3. Stories record what happened—not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time. Therefore, not every story has an individual identifiable moral application.
4. What people do in stories is not necessarily a good example for us. Frequently, it is just the opposite.
5. Most of the characters in OT stories are far from perfect—as are their actions as well.
6. We are not always told at the end of a story whether what happened was good or bad. We are expected to be able to judge this on the basis of what God has taught us elsewhere in the Bible.
7. All stories are incomplete. Not all the details are always given. What does appear in the story is everything that the author thought important for us to know.
8. Stories are not written to answer all our questions. They have particular, specific, limited purposes and deal with certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere in other ways.
9. Stories may teach either by clearly stating something or by clearly implying something without actually stating it.
10. God is the hero of all biblical stories.
15 Books Totally/Mostly Stories:
Genesis
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1&2 Samuel
1&2 Kings
1&2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Daniel
Jonah
Hagai
6 Books Lots of Stories:
Exodus
Numbers
Jeremiah
Ezekial
Isaiah
Job
NT has Stories:
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
3 Layers in a Story
1. Top Layer: God
2. Middle Layer: Redemption
3. Bottom Layer: The Stories
Stories are not…
…Fables filled with hidden meanings.
…Intended to teach moral lessons.
5 Characteristics of Hebrew Stories
1. Repetition of key words/phrase
2. Circle story approach
3. Oral never read
4. Change of scenery like a play
5. Designed to be remembered
9 Things to Avoid
1. Treating the story as pathway to another text.
2. Taking the story out of context ignoring the full historical & literary contexts.
3. Picking & choosing specific words & phrases to concentrate on while ignoring the others and ignoring the overall sweep of the narrative being studied.
4. Assuming that principles for living can be derived from all passages.
5. Supposing that any or all parts apply to you or your group in a way that they don’t apply to others.
6. Using the story to do something it originally was not intending to recommend e.g., casting fleeces before the Lord.
7. To read into the story today’s issues e.g., to read into David’s love for Jonathan a homosexual relationship.
8. Tying two stories from different books together as if they are speaking of the same thing.
9. Changing meanings, e.g., using language of Zion as if it always applies to the church, or language of temple as defining your body.
10 Principles for Interpreting Stories
1. An OT story usually does not directly teach a rule.
2. An OT story usually illustrates a rule or rules taught elsewhere.
3. Stories record what happened—not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time. Therefore, not every story has an individual identifiable moral application.
4. What people do in stories is not necessarily a good example for us. Frequently, it is just the opposite.
5. Most of the characters in OT stories are far from perfect—as are their actions as well.
6. We are not always told at the end of a story whether what happened was good or bad. We are expected to be able to judge this on the basis of what God has taught us elsewhere in the Bible.
7. All stories are incomplete. Not all the details are always given. What does appear in the story is everything that the author thought important for us to know.
8. Stories are not written to answer all our questions. They have particular, specific, limited purposes and deal with certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere in other ways.
9. Stories may teach either by clearly stating something or by clearly implying something without actually stating it.
10. God is the hero of all biblical stories.
posted by Dr. Glenn E. Malone at 9:08 PM
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