ost books fall into one particular category of literature or another. An instruction booklet for making something uses technical language; a novel will probably use some kind of fictional narrative; a book of poetry may use rhymed or non-rhymed verse; and a book of history uses factual narrative writing. The type of book almost always determines the literary form used. The Bible is bound as one large book, but it is really made up of many different books using many different kinds of literature. This makes the Bible both challenging and exciting to read.
When studying the books of the Bible, it is important to look not only at the information a book contains but also at the literary form that the author has used. The kind of literature used can give clues about what the author was trying to say. For example, look at 1 Samuel 1.1-28 and compare it to 1 Samuel 2.1-10. These passages from the same book use two different kinds of writing. The first section is more like prose, or story, while the second section is a prayer or song in poetic form. Noticing the change from prose to poetry can give a reader more to think about regarding the text.
A brief example from the New Testament is the story of Jesus' birth. Luke 2.1-21 tells of the events of Jesus' birth and gives many details regarding the birth itself. In contrast, John does not use a story to tell about Jesus' birth. Instead, it begins with a poem (1.1-14), which refers to Jesus as “the Word” and “the true light” that became “a human being.” How do these different kinds of literature influence the way we think about who Jesus is? Why has the writer of each of these Gospels emphasized different aspects of Jesus' birth and identity? Looking at how a writer chooses to share information can open the way for new ways of understanding what the Bible has to say.
The Bible includes a great number of types of literature. Some forms of literature describe an entire book. In the Bible the most important of these forms are laws and rules, history, poetry and songs, wisdom sayings and proverbs, Gospels, letters, and apocalyptic writings. Other forms of literature describe sections within a book. The most important of these forms are prose narrative, prayers, parables, prophecies (oracles), and long family lists (genealogies).
Literary Forms for Whole Books
Laws and rules. Many ancient Near Eastern cultures developed law codes. One of the most famous was the Code developed by the Babylonian leader named Hammurabi (ruled from about 1792 to 1750 b.c.). The first five books of the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament) make up the section known as the Law, or Torah. Not all of the literature in these five books includes laws, but much does. These laws include both laws that forbid things (“Do not…”) and laws that encourage things (“Do…”), and were given to the people of Israel in order to help them worship correctly and treat one another with respect and care. The most well-known law literature in the Bible is the Ten Commandments (Exod 20.1-17; Deut 5.6-21; see also the mini-article called “The Ten Commandments,” ). Other examples are found in Exodus 21.1—23.19; Leviticus 1.1—7.36; Numbers 6.1-21; 35.16-34; Deuteronomy 14.3—17.7; and James 4.11,12.
History. In the Old Testament, history writings tell the story of Israel's history from the settlement of Canaan in 1250 b.c. to the fall of Jerusalem in 587 b.c. These books describe the activities of such important figures as the prophets Elijah and Elisha, and the kings of Israel and Judah, including King David and King Solomon. These books also include information about the events of the two Israelite kingdoms after the split in 931 b.c. Examples of history books in the Old Testament are Joshua and 1 and 2 Kings. In the New Testament, Acts tells the history of the early church.
Poetry and songs. This is a large category that includes different forms. Poetry is used especially in Psalms, Job, and the Song of Songs. But poetry can be found in many books of the Bible. Some poems in the Bible are examples of old hymns or songs. Many of the psalms were meant for use in worship and prayer. The speeches of the prophets include poetic forms of language. Translating Hebrew poetry into English is not simple, and sometimes special techniques that are effective in the original language cannot be meaningfully carried over into English. One important feature of Hebrew poetry is the repeating of a single idea in two similar but different ways. This is called “parallelism” and an example is Psalm 22.9,10. Other examples of poetry in the Old Testament include: Exodus 15.1-18; Job 22.21-30; Psalm 23; Isaiah 5.1-7; and Jonah 2.2-9. Poetry is also used in the New Testament. Some examples are Luke 1.46-55; Philippians 2.6-11; and Revelations 15.3,4.
Wisdom sayings and proverbs. The large division of the Old Testament called “Wisdom and Worship” literature includes poetry, psalms, stories, and more. Here, wisdom sayings and proverbs have a unique style which makes them read like common sense reflections about the world, God, and the place of human beings. Wisdom sayings fill a book like Proverbs, but they can also be found in other books. Books like Ecclesiastes and Job offer wisdom along with the kinds of philosophic reflections listed above. Wisdom writings usually do not give much direct information about Israel's history. Instead, they raise questions about moral issues, and ask hard questions about life. Some of these Wisdom writings are attributed to Solomon because he was known as Israel's wisest king, but were probably written after his time and credited to him as a way of honoring him. In addition to the books already mentioned, Psalm 1 and Psalm 37 are good examples of wisdom literature. Wisdom sayings are also an important part of the New Testament. Examples can be found in Jesus' “Sermon on the Mount” (Matt 5–7) and in James 3.2-8; and 4.13-17.
Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four books of the New Testament which tell about the life and teachings of Jesus. These books are called “Gospels.” The word “gospel” comes from the Old English word godspel, which is a strict translation of the Greek word euangelion, meaning “good news.” For more about this important and unique kind of literature see the Introduction to the Gospels and Acts,.
Letters. A number of books in the New Testament are letters written by the apostle Paul or others. These letters are written in the formal Greek letter-writing style of the first century a.d. The person writing a letter is identified first (Rom 1.1-6). This is followed by the name of the persons being written to, and a greeting (Rom 1.7). The largest section of a letter is the “body” (Rom 1.16—15.35). In most of Paul's letters, a prayer of thanksgiving follows the greeting (Rom 1.8-15), and a final greeting and blessing closes the letter (Rom 16.1-27). Within each letter a number of different kinds of literature can be found, including prayers, instructions, teaching, wisdom, warnings, hymns or songs, and personal news.
Some writings in the New Testament that have also been called “letters” deal with more general questions that would be of concern to Christian communities almost anywhere. Hebrews is an example of this type. Brief letters to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor appear in Revelation 2,3. The Bible books that are letters or written in the style of letters can be found after Acts and before Revelation. For more about letters, see the Introduction to the Letters of Paul,, and the Introduction to the General Letters and Revelation,.
Apocalyptic writings. “Apocalyptic” comes from the Greek word apokalypsis, meaning “a revealing or an unveiling.” This type of literature is sometimes called prophecy (see [same article, 2 sections later] for more about prophecies). Like prophecy, apocalyptic writings deal with future events, but apocalyptic writings have certain other features that make them unique. For instance, apocalyptic literature contains visions from God, people appearing in the shape of animals or beasts, colors and numbers that have secret meanings, and predictions about a coming Day of the Lord. They were usually written during times of trouble and speak of a time when God will bring in a new creation, and everyone who has been faithful will live with God forever. Daniel and Revelation are two books most commonly identified as apocalyptic literature.
Literary Forms for Sections in Books
Prose narrative. Prose is a term that describes many forms of narrative and descriptive literature. Prose is often used when telling stories about people and historical events. It can include dialogue. Most of the Bible is written in prose. A very common form of prose in the Bible is the story. Some stories are short and are told in a few chapters within a book like the stories of Noah (Gen 6–10) and Joseph (Gen 37.1—47.26). Other stories take up a whole book, like Ruth, or Esther. As described earlier, the Gospels tell the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. But the Gospels contain other stories as well, such as the story of John the Baptist (Matt 3.1-17; 11.1-19; 14.1-12). Acts tells many stories about Peter, Paul, and other followers of Jesus who preached the good news about Jesus Christ.
Prayers. Prayers appear in the Bible in both prose and poetry. What makes “prayer” a unique category of literature is that it expresses direct communication between people and their God. Psalms contains many prayers that are written in poetic form. Some psalm prayers were written for group worship when all the people came together to ask for God's help (Ps 79; 80), to give thanks to God at the time of harvest (Ps 126), or to celebrate the crowning of a new king (Ps 21). Other psalm prayers are more personal. They were used as individual prayers expressing sadness, asking for help, giving thanks, or asking for forgiveness, (see Ps 12; 51; 120; 138). Prayers can be found throughout the Bible. (Some examples are Gen 18.27,28; Exod 17.4; Judg 5.2-31; 1 Sam 2.1-10; 1 Kgs 3.6-9; Jon 2.2-9; Luke 11.2-4; 22.42; John 17.1-26; Rom 16.25-27; and Heb 13.21.) Perhaps the most famous prayer in the Bible is the one Jesus taught his disciples (Matt 6.9-13).
Prophecies. Prophecies, or prophetic speeches, make up a large portion of the Old Testament. Many prophetic speeches (also called oracles) begin with the phrase “The Lord has said” or “The Lord God says.” This phrase makes it clear that the message given by the prophets is not their own, but comes from God. Prophetic speeches often look like Hebrew poetry and even use some of the features of poetry, such as parallelism. The books of prophecy in the Old Testament often combine a story giving information about the prophet and his work along with his prophetic messages from God. Vivid examples of prophecies in the Old Testament include: Isa 1.2-31; 10.24-27; Jer 2; Ezek 36.22-32; Amos 5.4-27; and Zech 9.1-17. The New Testament includes examples of prophetic speeches as well, especially when telling the stories of John the Baptist and Jesus (Matt 3.1-12; 24.1-31). See also 2 Pet 3.8-13. For more about this type of literature see the Introduction to the Prophetic Books,.
Parables. Parables are stories about familiar, everyday things that were told in order to teach an important truth about God and life in God's kingdom. The Gospels show that Jesus used parables frequently when talking to his disciples and to the crowd who came to hear him speak. Parables can be very short (Matt 13.44-48 is made up of three very short parables); or they can be somewhat longer, involving several characters or images (Luke 10.30-37; 15.11-32). For more about parables and for some examples from the Old Testament see the mini-article called “Stories (Parables),”.
Long family lists (genealogies). A number of long family lists appear in the Bible. They trace the family background of important figures in Israel's history and show how people are related to one another. One particularly important list found at the beginning of Matthew traces Jesus' family line back to King David (Matt 1.1-17). The author of Matthew included this genealogy in his Gospel to show that Jesus was descended from King David and that he was the Messiah that the prophets said would come to save the people. Although it is not always clear why a list of a person's ancestors is given in the Bible, it is clear that for the people of Israel, and other people in the ancient Near East, family connections were important. Some other genealogies and lists of names are found in Genesis 5.1-32; 1 Chronicles 1–8; and Ezra 8.2-14.