Statistical Determination of Genre in Biblical Hebrew - Institute for ...

Evidence for an Historical Reading of Genesis 1:1–2:3 649Biblical Hebrew poetry) exhibit four elements: a narrator (point of view),characters, plot and setting; thus, supporting the above distinctionsmade by Scholes and Klaus [1971]. The narrator, his characters, theplot and time and space are interrelated. Fokkelman [1999] discussesall four. 34Narratives have a narrator, who usually writes in the third person (thefirst person sections of Jeremiah, Daniel, and Nehemiah are exceptions).The narrator is omniscient, able to tell us of details about the moment ofthe creation of the universe (Genesis 1:1); to tell us the thoughts of hischaracters; and even to tell us if his characters are speaking the truth.He is selective and presents his story with great skill. For the most parthe is quite laconic in his presentation: he rarely includes unnecessarydetails.Also according to Fokkelman [1999], every Biblical narrative has a“hero.” He defines a “hero” as the subject of a quest, which he undertakes“in order to solve or cancel the problem or deficit presented at the outset”of the story. But there are different kinds of “heroes.” Some heroes aremore heroic than others—like Joshua, Caleb, and David (before hissin with Bathsheba). Some are more goat than hero—can we reallycall Samson a hero? And some, so-called heroes, are scoundrels—orat least—not very admirable. Abraham was decidedly un-heroic whenhe passed off his wife as his sister in order to save himself. In pursuitof the patriarchal blessing, Jacob stooped to deceiving his own father,Isaac. Even though Rebecca, Isaac’s wife and Jacob’s mother suggested,assisted and enabled the prevarication, we cannot exonerate Jacob, whofollowed through with the charade. And what of Joseph? At what pointin his story is he clearly unambiguously admirable? These caveatsnotwithstanding, we can identify the main character in a Biblicalnarrative.The third element is plot. Plot is arguably the most important:inclusions of details are driven by the plot. 35 The reader is drawn to theaction. The characters encounter a situation that involves some kind ofsuspense building to a climax and then to a final resolution. 36 And theaction unfolds in an evolving setting, the fourth element. The “hero”and his supporting cast march through time and space. The sequence