Form Criticism of the Old Testament

by Gene Milton Tucker, J. Coert Rylaasdam (foreword)

Because of its long oral tradition the Old Testament includes a great variety of types of literature--narrative, poetry, proverbs, hymns. Form criticism analyzes these genres within the biblical material in terms of structure, intention & setting. Gene Tucker clearly defines the basic principles & methods of form criticism & outlines its relation to other disciplines.
1. The form critical method: The beginning of Old Testament form criticism; Basic principles & aims of form criticism; The methods of Old Testament form criticism; Form criticism & other Old Testament criticisms
2. Form criticism at work: some representative genres & texts: Narrative genres: Myths & folktales. Saga. History. Legend & novelette. An example: Jacob's struggle at the Jabbok (Gen 32:22-32); Prophetic literature: Gunkel's contributions. A general view. Messenger speech. The prophetic word as announcement. Other genres. Setting. Some examples.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Religion, Theology, Academic, Old Testament, Reference

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1971

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Form criticism is often identified with the work of Rudolph Bultmann on the Christian Scriptures. The idea is to identify a textual segment, a pericope, with a type of writing. For instance, "NOW! NEW AND IMPROVED ..." we'd immediately recognize as advertising copy while "Dearest X" we'd recognize as the start of a love letter. So, given enough knowledge of an ancient culture, a specialist might recognize types of writing or address and, with that in mind, be able to better interpret a text under consideration or, indeed, be able to discern a jump from one kind of writing to another.

The "Guides to Biblical Scholarship" include short works on form, redaction, source and structural criticism such as Miller's The Old Testament and the Historian. All apply as much to ancient literatures in general as they do to the canons and all are useful.

[Timothy Klob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readable and well written summary of form criticism and various types of genres used in Old Testament study. This book is part of an older series of accessible summaries of biblical study methods for both the Old and New Testaments and I have found them helpful in my understanding and reading of scripture. There may be newer editions of a few of the books in this series, but the older ones that I am currently reading through are more than adequate to provide a helpful framework for further study.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concise book about Form Criticism crams quite a bit in for such a short work. It provides both the theoretical and historical foundations of Form Criticism, pulled largely from Gunkel, as well as a handful of examples where Form Criticism is applied. It provides a great base to work from and is surprisingly accessible, especially given its age.