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Understanding The Literary Forms And The Inductive Techniques

The Bible is written using three literary forms:

• Story Forms (Narratives)
• Instructional and Exhortive Forms (Epistles)
• Poetic, Parable, and the Prophetic Revelation Forms

Story Form Examples
Historical accounts of events in such books as:

• The Gospels
• Acts
• Genesis
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Exodus
• The records of the Old Testament Kings

The Main Features of the Story Forms

• People
• Places
• Events
• Emotions

Basic Tools For Observing The Story Forms

• Ask: Who, What, When, Where, How
• Retell the event in your own words
• Find the relationship between the people
• Try to feel the emotions
• Place yourself in the shoes of each person
• Ask yourself what do you... see? feel? think?

Instructional and Exhortive Form Examples
The logical development of a subject in books such as:

• Paul's Epistles
• Peter's Epistles
• John's Epistles
• James
• Jude
• Some accounts of Jesus' teachings

The Main Features of the Instructional Forms

• Ideas
• Words
• Verbs
• Objects
• Arrangements of the passage

Keys for Observing the Instructional Forms
Outline the development of the ideas in the passage.
Note things like repeated words.
Look for:

• Comparisons
• Contrasts
• Transition words such as: therefore, because, for, but, etc.

Poetic Form Examples
Non-literal language
Figurative language
The arrangement of ideas into patterns.
The use of symbols to express the idea, such as in:

• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Job

The Main Features of the Poetic Forms

• Symbolism
• Parallels
• Analogies

Keys for Observing Poetic Forms

• Determine the type of parallelism used by the poet.
• Make a basic outline of the passage.
• Look for all the different figurative language.
• Note the things that are repetitive.

Keys For Interpretation
Attempt to determine what the passage meant to the people who originally heard it.

• What does the author mean to make him write this way?
• What does he see?
• What does he feel?
• What does he think?
• Why does he write this?
• What would it have meant to the people who had heard it in Biblical time and culture?

Keys for Application

• Appeal to the Holy Spirit for teaching.
• Apply the main point to your life.
• Is there an example I should follow?
• Is there a sin I should forsake?
• Is there an error I should forsake?
• Is there a promise I should obey?
• Is there a command I should obey?

So what?

• What do I plan to do about it?
• What difference will this make in my life?
• What plans can I make?
• What will I do?
• How will I do it?