Modern Genre Theory: An Introduction for Biblical Studies
Zondervan Academic
Due out July 2024
Genre theory has experienced a renaissance in the last thirty years, but biblical studies has been left in the dark ages of rigid taxonomies and stubborn essentialism. The Bible deserves better. This book offers students in biblical studies an accessible but comprehensive introduction to modern genre theory, providing access to literary tools for understanding how writers and readers use genre to make meaning. In one convenient package, this book first describes the current state of biblical genre theory, what form criticism is, and why it needs to die. It then presents a better alternative based on. the best developments in secular literary theory, linguistics, and rhetorical studies.
Drawing on modern genre theory, I propose a working definition of genre for biblical studies as relatively stable conventions that writers and readers use to make meaning in certain contexts but not others. He identifies twelve tenets of modern genre theory that follow from seeing genres in their historical and social context.
The Bible, with its gloriously rich diversity of ancient genres, demands this kind of flexible and historically aware approach to genre. I then offer eight case studies in biblical exegesis to show how a better understanding of genre leads to a better understanding of the Bible. Different conceptions of narrative, poetry, gospel, epistle, wisdom and apocalyptic texts lead to vastly different readings. Our disagreements about what the Bible means often boil down to different assumptions about what the biblical text is. From the creation accounts of Genesis to the visions of Revelation, it is important to get a handle on genre.
