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Bible Study Toolbox: Understanding Bible Genre part 2
Bible Study Toolbox
Understanding Bible Genre part 2
We’ve been discussing how genre affects interpretation. Genre is the style or form of literature, and each genre performs a specific function. If we don’t understand a genre’s function, we’ll misuse it. Last time, we examined the functions of 5 Biblical genres. Let’s examine 3 more.
Parables - Jesus was the Master of parables. The word “parable” means “to lay down beside.” A parable is an earthly story laid down beside a spiritual truth. If Jesus tried to describe the spiritual realm literally, we wouldn’t get it. Instead, He used earthly stories and analogies to clarify heavenly concepts. Some parables were full stories like the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) or the Vineyard keepers (Matt. 21:33-41). Others were comparisons: “the kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil…how it grows, he does not know.” (Mark 4:26). Though they are rich in application, typically each parable has one main point in context.
Letters - Most of the New Testament, from Romans through Revelation, is composed of letters written to churches and individuals. As such, they generally contain an introduction of the author and recipients, a greeting, a section of thanksgiving for the relationship between author and recipient, a main body, then closing greetings. We see all of that modeled perfectly in the letter of 1 Corinthians. The fact that they were letters means they were each written to a specific audience with a specific purpose in mind. The Bible was written for us, not to us, so in order to properly interpret what it means for us, we always have to ask, “What did it mean to the original audience?”
Apocalyptic - Ezekiel, the latter part of Daniel, Zechariah, and Revelation are all apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic means “an uncovering or revealing.” It pulls back the curtain and reveals that what’s happening on earth is directly impacted by what’s happening in the spiritual realm. Apocalyptic literature was always written during a time of crisis to explain to God’s people that their suffering is a result of spiritual warfare behind the scenes. The main theme of apocalyptic literature is that God sees what we’re going through, and He’ll reverse everything in the end so the righteous will triumph! It tells vivid stories using heavy imagery to capture the drama. Instead of saying, “You are suffering because the Romans are evil and are following Satan,” apocalyptic literature says it this way: “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.” (Rev. 13:1). This genre is not a chronological map, secret code, or prediction about the presidential election in 2016. It was written to let suffering saints know that God wins in the end, so “stay faithful until death and you will be given the crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10).
