Reading Biblical Narratives: Literary Criticism and the Hebrew Bible

by Yairah Amit (Editor)

Based on a series of lectures given in Israel, Amit introduces the reader to the subtle ways of the biblical narrators. Covering issues of character, plot development, catchword association, narration and dialogue, she brings the biblical text to life, helping the reader enter the stories from new vantage points.

Genres: Old Testament, Theology, Biblical Studies, Judaica

200 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

Reviews

[Glorious · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this to inspire me for my musical but hasn't helped that much practically for brainstorming, although I think I've learned to consider the bible differently and therefore it was worthwhile. Lots of examples with Samson, but I need to do much more thinking on my own.

[Emelie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid introduction to the subject. You could definitely get a solid grasp of the ideas in this book from an overview of considerably less pages, but the in-depth case studies help to really examine the ideas in a more nuanced and comprehensive way. On that topic, I like that the same example stories are used several times without there being so few example stories that it gets boring because of the repetitiveness. Overall this is the kind of book that takes you by the hand and guides you through the subject, as opposed to just providing the information and letting you make sense of it on your own, so it's a great pick for people who are new to the subject and maybe new to biblical studies in general.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

General and specific. Broad and precise. Amit covers a significant amount of material in a detailed, concise, and readable manner. Her thesis: The bible must be interpreted with its own set of interpretive tools and methodological considerations. The narrators of scripture tell their stories in a specific way; picking up on these patterns aids the reader in interpreting its meaning. The particular and distinct nature of the biblical stories must be observed before an accurate, close, and faithful interpretation can be applied to them. Her task: to trace the categories of biblical narrative systematically, in light of literary theory and narrative criticism.

[Biel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. I found the book very enlightening on interpreting Biblical text and it's encouraged me to learn more Hebrew to understand the Bible better. Amit's book is more of an introduction to a type of Biblical study, and not meant to be exhaustive, though, I will say it is a little bit lofty in language.
I disagreed with her characterization of Judah and Tamar (I would fall under the traditionalist opinion according to her), but her observations are well developed and supported by evidence.

I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to dive into Biblical studies. :)

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Introduction to narratology. Great examples throughout. Makes the approach very do-able.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eat the meat; spit out the bones.