1st Attempt
One of the things I’ve learned as I’ve practiced acrylic painting is that the beauty and depth of a painting is often dependent on the variety of colours and layers of colour used. If I compare my early attempts at painting to more recent and practiced attempts the earlier paintings appear one dimensional and flat. I used a basic palette of colour. The sky is blue, the grass is green, the trees a different shade of green, etc. Along the way I’ve learned that if I add shadows and highlights my painting will have greater depth and be more interesting to look at. I’ve also discovered that the amount of time it takes to do a painting has changed. I finished my early paintings in an hour. My more recent paintings have taken six to eight hours. And I’m sure that the more I practice and the better I get, the longer it will take to complete future paintings.
The early morning sunrise suggests that God is a painter. He paints the sunrise with his brush using a little bit of yellow, some orange, more pink than expected and just a touch of purple. Throw in some grey and dark blue in the clouds and His glory is on display for all to see as they awake from the darkness of sleep. All of creation shouts the creativity and complexity of God.
It should not surprise us, then, that when it comes to the Bible, God’s word to us, that his creativity and complexity would also shine through. One way that God’s creativity is evident in the Bible is the use of a variety of genres. He doesn’t communicate in just one way. He uses stories, law codes, genealogies, poetry, parables, prophecy, wisdom literature, gospels, histories, letters, apocalyptic literature, sermons and hymns. The variety of genres adds beauty, depth and complexity to the Bible. Like the colours and shades of a painting the genres of the Bible highlight various aspects of God’s word to humanity. The stories of the Bible illustrate how God works in people’s lives. The law codes show us what it looks like to reflect a holy God. The genealogies remind us of our place in the human family. Poetry communicates to our emotional self. Prophecy confronts and convicts. Wisdom provides guidance for life. Parables teach a lesson or confront an issue. Gospels present God’s salvific work. Letters instruct and encourage. Apocalyptic literature broadens our perspective of the world. Together it paints the picture of God’s glory and his rescue plan for humanity.
The variety of genres in the Bible add a degree of complexity to understanding and studying the Bible. Especially since they are genres of the ancient world and generally unfamiliar to the modern reader. Some are less a mystery than others. For example, we understand the concept of a letter. We have all written letters before or received a letter in the mail. We understand that with a letter that the sender intends to communicate something to the recipient and does so in a particular way. Usually a letter begins by addressing the recipient and then offers a general greeting. It might look something like “Hello Jennifer, How are you? Hope you are doing well…” Then the letter moves on to address the specific issue that the author wants to address. It concludes with final salutations and then the name of the sender: “All the best, Sally.”
2nd Attempt
An ancient letter is similar but the structure is a little different. Instead of ending the letter with the name of the sender, an ancient Greek letter begins the letter with the name of the sender followed by the recipient. For example, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved son.” (2 Tim 1:1-2a). What follows is a general greeting such as “Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (1:2b) and then a more extended prayer of blessing for the recipient (1:3-7). After this the author gets into the main concern of the letter (1:8-4:8) before finishing it off with some final greetings (4:9-22). This is the basic structure of an ancient Greek letter but if we study ancient Greek letters further, we discover that there are various types of letters that were used for a variety of purposes. Some letters were intended to teach. Others were intended to bring attention and praise to something or someone. Don’t worry, I’m not going to get into the particulars of each sub-genre. My point is that as we become familiar with the peculiarities and characteristics of each genre we discover more of the depth and beauty of scripture. We discover that there are layers in the painting that weren’t obvious at first glance.
We are familiar with letters so it’s not too much of a stretch to understand an ancient Greek letter. Apocalyptic literature, on the other hand, is something very foreign to us. It’s hard to find something to compare it too. That means that it takes a bit more work to understand. The only way to understand it is to compare it to other ancient apocalyptic writings to find the common elements and primary concerns of the literature. Symbolism is a key characteristic of apocalyptic literature. It seeks to give a heavenly perspective of what’s going in the world and seems to be particularly focused on offering encouragement and perspective in the midst of persecution. It too adds depth and complexity to the painting that is God’s word.
Understanding the use of a particular genre helps us to understand the intention of the author and to interpret the Bible appropriately. Studying the Bible without an understanding of genre would be like me looking at a painting without my glasses on. All I would see is a blur of color. Distinct shapes or elements of the painting would be lost on me and I’d have no idea what it was meant to portray. What a shame it would be to go into an art gallery without glasses on! I’d miss out on all the beauty that the artist intended me to see. We need to approach the Bible with the understanding that it uses a variety of genres and each genre adds a new layer or color to the masterpiece that is God’s Word.
If you want to learn more about genres in the Bible check out “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth” by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. They identify the key elements and focus of each genre so that the modern reader can understand how the biblical authors communicated their message and why they chose to use the particular genre they did.