Biblical narrative
Genesis 1:1–5 provides a concrete example of a biblical narrative that recounts God creating light.
At a Bible reading, one passage says God made light. A few minutes later, another says God wraps himself in light like a coat. Both are about light, so why do they sound so different?
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What you'll learn4 ideas
- Two passages can share a subject, like light, but use it differently, so a passage's subject doesn't tell you what its words are doing.
- Biblical narrative is writing in the Bible that tells events, like Genesis 1:3 telling that God spoke and there was light.
- To say what a narrative tells, name the action, like God separating light and darkness, not just the subject.
- A rule like Exodus 20:15, You shall not steal, tells people how to act and doesn't tell an event.
Chapter 5: Reading biblical narrative8 lessons · 29 min
- 1Biblical narrative3 min
- 2Setting and figures in biblical narrative4 min
- 3Sequence in biblical narrative4 min
- 4Narration and speech3 min
- 5Repetition in biblical narrative3 min
- 6Literary context in the Bible3 min
- 7Textual evidence in biblical interpretation3 min
- 8Challenge: Reading biblical narrative6 min