The Need to Approach Any Book, Including the Bible, in Keeping with the Kind of Book It Is

Avoiding Reductionism

Meaning through Form

God’s Inspiration of the Literary Forms of the Bible

Reliving the Text

Making the Whole Bible Accessible

Everything that a Biblical Author Put into a Passage Is Important

Speaking to the Whole Person

Making the Bible a Source of Artistic Enrichment

Enjoyment of the Bible

Adding an Element of Freshness to Our Reading of the Bible

Seeing Unity in Bible Passages

Respecting Authorial Intention

Avoiding Misinterpretation

The Voice of Authentic Human Experience

Knowing What to Do with the Genres of the Bible

Seeing the Variety of Material in the Bible

Summary

Further Reading

Expository Writing as a Foil to Literary Writing

The Subject of Literature: Human Experience

Recognizable Human Experience

The Permanence of Literature

Showing vs. Telling

Right Brain Discourse

Literary Genres

The Interpretation of Human Experience

Special Resources of Language

Artistry and Beauty

Archetypes

Multilayered Quality

Summary

What Reading the Stories of the Bible Requires from Readers

The Basics of Narrative

Getting Started

The End

The Middle

The Subject of Every Story

From Story to Meaning

Summary

Defining Setting

The Pervasiveness of Setting in Stories

The Functions of Setting in a Story

Setting as the World of a Story

Rules for Analyzing Setting in Bible Stories

Overview of the Subject

Who or What Does the Characterizing?

How Characters Are Portrayed in Stories

The Ingredients of a Character in a Story

Tips for Analyzing Characters in a Bible Story

Plot Structure and Unity

Plot Conflict

Plot Devices and Conventions

Summary

Defining the Genre of Hero Story

Applying the Definition

Analyzing Hero Stories in the Bible