Narrative and Narratology in Rabbinic Judaism (original) (raw)

2022, Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception

AI-generated Abstract

This work explores the intersection of narrative and narratology within Rabbinic Judaism, tracing historical developments from Homeric allegory through to modern literary analysis techniques. By analyzing the evolution of biblical interpretation from a theological approach to a more literary perspective, it highlights significant contributions from figures like Johann David Michaelis, Hermann Gunkel, and Robert Alter. Various narratological concepts, such as the distinction between 'story' and 'plot,' narrative time versus narration time, and the intricacies of characterization and focalization, are assessed in the context of biblical texts, offering insights into the narrative techniques employed and their implications for understanding biblical stories.

NARRATOLOGY IN BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION AND ITS CONCEPT OF TIME

As a book, the Holy Bible includes a variety of genres. These ranges from apocalyptic to correspondences, poetry to prophecy, theology to a host of others and as a literature of different genres, it is largely made up of narrative. That explains why an overview of the structure of the Bible shows that it is mostly narrative in character, starting with the creation account, moving to the fall and culminating to the passion narrative and its consummation with the resurrection and ascension. All these brings us to the relative new field of narratology and now more than ever before than in recent times, few words have enjoyed so much use and suffered so much abuse as narratology and its partial synonym story. This work using the expository interpretive method brought to the fore a clear definition of the term using various narratological scholars and theorists. An analysis of it is conducted in the Bible within the purview of time and from whence a conclusion is made that more needs to be done to make narratology relevant in biblical studies.

Before and After the Art of Biblical Narrative

Prooftexts, 2008

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. This content downloaded from 165.123.34.86 on Tue, 09 Jun 2015 09:46:46 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions y 191 PROOFTEXTS 27 (2007): 191-210. S t e v e n W e i t z m A n A B S t r A c t What has become of the so-called literary approach to the Bible since Robert Alter published The Art of Biblical Narrative in 1981? What gave rise to this approach in the first place? How has it been influenced by recent trends in biblical studies and literary scholarship? And what is its future, both in general and as part of the particular project that Prooftexts represents? The essay addresses these questions as a way of introducing what is at stake in the present volume.

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From scripture to literature Modern ways of reading the Bible

Interpreting Scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Overlapping Inquiries. Edited by Mordechai Z. Cohen and Adele Berlin, with the assistance of Meir M. Bar-Asher, Rita Copeland, and Jon Whitman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Pp. 326-335., 2016