How Bible Stories Work: A Guided Study of Biblical Narrative

by Leland Ryken

This is the first of a projected six-volume series called Reading the Bible as Literature (the second volume being Sweeter Than Honey, Richer Than Gold). An expert at exploring the intersection of the Bible and literature, Ryken shows pastors and students and teachers of the Bible how to appreciate the craftsmanship and beauty of biblical narrative and how to interpret it correctly. Dr. Ryken goes one step further than merely explaining the genre of story-he includes exercises to help students master this rich literary treasure.

Genres: Reference, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Christian, Theology

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2015

About the author

Dr. Ryken has served on the faculty of Wheaton College since 1968. He has published over thirty books and more than one hundred articles and essays, devoting much of his scholarship to Bible translations and the study of the Bible as literature. He served as Literary Chairman for the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible and in 2003 received the distinguished Gutenberg Award for his contributions to education, writing, and the understanding of the Bible.

He is the father of Philip Graham Ryken

Reviews

[Christopher Gow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a helpful introduction? Not quite technical and not quite theoretical, idk.

[Jason Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful in learning how to do literary analysis on Scriptural narrative. Useless—even dangerous—in learning how to understand the meaning of biblical narrative and preach it. This is because, ironically, it fails to place biblical stories into the broader redemptive story of the Bible itself.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a series of books that seek to apply literary analysis to different portions of Scripture. This book gives a rational and methodology for applying literary analysis to the Biblical text.

This book is valuable because it helps us see that part of the power in the various Biblical stories is that they embody universal human experience. We can look at the Cain and Able story and see a tragic fall that happens as sin dominates Cain and see our own experiences in the story.

Dr. Ryken is trying to help the reader see that the Bible not only contains true ideas but that the Bible is also true to life. As we read the Bible we come to better understand our own experiences and the nature of reality because it gives us a true lens by which to see it.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are interested in literature and how story telling works then this would be a good book. It seems to me to be designed to function as a classroom tool with examples and exercises. It would probably be great to do in a group setting. As a non-literary person I struggled a bit coming up with themes and categories for bible stories (if you read this you'll know what I mean). I would read the other books in this series.

[ME · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an expansion on the genre from his great book "How to Read the Bible as Literature". I did like this and it will be a resource I return to, but I wonder if maybe we have moved past his interpretational methods? I mean... who am I? But it seemed there was a missing Theological component there from my purely subjective perspective. I would still recommend it. One of the few resources available to the Bible reader who wants to read "rightly".

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely helpful book. Ryken gives tools and methodology to use in analyzing biblical narratives. This is considered literary analysis, so it is not a full hermeneutical treatment. It's short and very practical, which is positive and negative. It doesn't give you everything you will need to analyze biblical narratives, but it will get you well underway.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource for understanding how story works within the Bible. It's also a workbook because it gives examples of how to apply the principles found within its pages. An excellent help for the beginning or even those who need a review on how to use story to understand the Bible and use it better in their ministries.

[Christopher Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical instruction for approaching/defamiliarizing familiar biblical narratives into something resembling our own experiences. Good for one read through to get a broad overview but will use it in the future as a reference tool to guide my study rather than a book to continually read through end to end.

[Laurent Dv · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, more selective and structured than Robert Alter's "The art of biblical narrative"

[David Couch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful exercise for learning to preach Bible stories.

[Chris Hulshof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides the “keys” for unlocking the largest genre in the Bible. A valuable tool.

[Vinícius Luz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ótima leitura. Aprendi muito!

[Audrey]

My English nerd brain loved this. It's a good introduction, nothing too deep or too complicated to understand, but had good concepts to keep in mind when reading Biblical storytelling

[Jeannine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informational for new ways of looking at Bible stories to draw more out.