The Art of Biblical Narrative Summary Review Alter

I finished The Art of Biblical Narrative by Robert Alter.

Genre Conventions

Modify argues understanding of the Hebrew Bible is incommunicable without agreement the literary conventions that its human being authors and audience were used to. Modify gives a funny analogy, of a future world in which only 10 surviving Westerns remained. 9 featured a gunslinger who could also draw earlier this enemy. A tenth featured a gunslinger with a broken right arm, who uses a burglarize with his left. In that future earth, "scholars" of Westerns would conclude, either

1. in the Old Due west, a hereditary caste of gunslingers (With a genetic predisposition for quick drawing) were given political office, or
2. Westerns are actually garbled retellings of an ancient Aztek legend of a animal that shot burn from its arms

and that all scholars would concord the tenth Western (the sheriff with the lame right arm) came from a different tradition and was inadvertently included equally a "Western"

Of course, all those interpretations would be nonsense. A fast-describe gunslinger is a genre convention of a Western. Information technology provides important information most the identity of the hero the audience is supposed to follow. It demonstrates the protective masculinity of the hero. And in the 10th story, the genre convention is there by its absence: the hero overcomes adversity to protect the boondocks in spite of his lameness.

Types of Conventions

Alter breaks down Biblical conventions into a few categories, including

1. lead words — repeated words of word-routes that provide information about a character at a particular fourth dimension, similar heavy employ of "rock" after Jacob flees Esau
ii. starting time words – the commencement straight quote of a grapheme provides special insight into their concerns or personality
3. themes — a design repeated situations with one or more characters, like the firstborn's loss of inheritance in Genesis
4. type scenes — specific complicated scenes that repeat with different characters, like the meeting of future spouses (the "betrothal type-scene") or the hope of a son by God

Type scenes are the nigh interesting because by seeing modest (or large!) variations we become more insight into characters. Abraham'due south betrothal type-scene with Sarah is diplomatic, long-winded, formal, and intentional, befitting his grapheme. In Isaac's type-scene with Rebecca, Isaac is passive while Rebecca is running the throw, like in their marriage. And in Saul's type-scene with the young women — the scene is broken off, while Saul runs after Samuel… a tragic annotate on a tragic king.

The tragedy of Saul is compounded by his first words — searching for his flock, he is overcome with concern for his family, and asks his servant if they should simply get back. A practiced, just weak, man, Saul will be overcome and is completely unfit for kingship.

A Minor Complaint

Change elsewhere stated that the Volume of Samuel (one Samuel ane thru i Kings one) is the all-time story in the Hebrew Bible. Having read his translations, I agree. Merely in Samuel he sees two contradictions/inexplicable duplications that to me are not only consistent simply are vital to understanding Saul.

In chronological club, these are

A1. As a examination of his futurity Kingship, Samuel observes that Saul strips off his clothes and writes on the ground. Thus the old saying, "Is Saul, too, among the prophets?"
B1. Saul meets David for the first time, as a lute player who soothes Saul's madness
B2. Saul asks who David is subsequently David slays Goliath
A2. As the state of war between Saul and David rages, Saul goes to Samuel. But during the meeting, he stripes off his wearing apparel and writhes on the ground. Thus the old saying, "Is Saul, too, among the prophets?"

1. Samuel uses the "examination of prophecy" to confirm Saul is a fit king.
2. The reader sees the first hint of madness, that Saul is emotionally unstable
3. The reader sees an even greater sign of madness, that Saul's memory is impacted
4. The reader realizes the "test of prophecy" was misinterpreted: Saul was mad from the offset and Samuel is a terrible judge of kingship

Change repeatedly uses analogies to film or Western literature, but completely misses the near-perfect analogy to Roman Polanski's Repulsion. Repulsion is shocking because the main character (a sympathetic young adult female) is mad for the entire duration of the whole fourth dimension. But (unlike The Sixth Sense) this does non depend on a graphic symbol forgetting the past and (dissimilar Turn of the Spiral) the narrator is reliable. The "first hints" of madness are not this or that quirk in the middle of the film: the first hints of madness are the very activities that seemed to confirm the main graphic symbol was worth rooting for.

The same seems to be true of Saul.

The Narrator

Alter concludes the book not with a dry out summary, just an absorbing observation: the Narrator of the Hebrew Bible is omniscient (and even knows God's internal dialog with Himself!) simply repeatedly excludes critical information from united states of america. Why don't we accept access to David's thoughts until the death of his son? Why don't nosotros know if David promised the kingship to Solomon (all we know is that Bathsheba and Nathan told him he had)? Why don't we know if David massacred Israelite villages for the Moab king?

Because if we did — suggests Alter — we would know which characters are good and which are evil, like God. Nosotros would exist able to meet with the heart. We would know the truth.

Instead, we see with our optics. Like young Saul nosotros are forced with multiple alien priorities — the flock nosotros are responsible for, our loved ones at home, the young women at the well, the prophet somewhere in the distance — and we must choose where to walk, knowing that God has a plan He has not shared with u.s.a..
I read Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative in the Kindle edition.

kierexal1999.blogspot.com

Source: http://alectionary.com/archive/2015/02/28/review-of-the-art-of-biblical-narrative-by-robert-alter.html

Share this post