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Historical Narrative

Historical Narrative. J. Brown. Historical Narrative. a. Definition: History told with a theological purpose. b. Goal: Holistic interpretation of narratives. Historical Narrative. c. Dangers in Interpreting Biblical Narrative. (1) Moralizing the narrative.

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Historical Narrative

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  1. Historical Narrative J. Brown

  2. Historical Narrative a. Definition: History told with a theological purpose b. Goal: Holistic interpretation of narratives

  3. Historical Narrative c. Dangers in Interpreting Biblical Narrative (1) Moralizing the narrative (2) Reading our cultural context(s) into the biblical narrative (3) Chopping up the narrative into individual stories and treating them as unrelated to their contexts (4) Never moving from the plot of the story to its meaning

  4. (4) Plot/Meaning Distinction (a) Plot: Movement of the Story (includes characters, setting, and action) (b) Meaning: Themes What the author of a narrative intended to convey is found in the themes that are woven throughout the narrative plot.

  5. d. Some Guidelines for Interpreting Historical Narrative (1) Analyze the plot and flow of the narrative (e.g., identify the climactic points of the story) (2) Note stylistic devices used. e.g. Genesis 2:15; 3:24 inclusio (and irony) e.g. Acts 10-11 repetition (3) Pay close attention to the dialogue. e.g. Acts 16:30-31; Mark 4:41

  6. d. Some Guidelines for Interpreting Historical Narrative (4) Note particularly what is spoken by the ‘authoritative speakers’ in the narrative. (5) Look for author’s comments (repeated expressions; summaries, etc.). e.g., Acts 5:11; 6:7—Summaries e.g., Luke/Acts—“repent/repentance;” Matt—fulfillment quotations (6) Using the information gathered, identify themes in the broader narrative that are developed in the immediate passage.

  7. Is Narrative Normative? • “Worldviews, and the stories which characterize them, are in principle normative: that is, they claim to make sense of the whole of reality” (Wright, NTPG, 41). • Our Goal: To ask interpretive questions that “matter theologically,” that get at the normative thrust of the story (Moritz).

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