Is the Bible a good story or a collection of good stories? Maybe you share the experience with me: you have been conditioned to bristle at the thought of calling God’s Word “stories,” as in merely fairy tale fancy. To read Shimon Bar-Efrat’s Narrative Art in the Bible is not to prove that God’s Word is elevated in form or meaning beyond conventional storytelling (narrative). Rather, Efrat seeks (and succeeds) to deliver a picture of what makes structured, styled, strong narrative, as well as explain how the examples from the Bible fulfill these features. These features are not treated casually or accidentally. Instead, Biblical narrative achieves its goals with form and flow that follow what is acknowledged as good narrative construction, good literary work, good art; and yes, good story.
Efrat’s explanation of the elements of narrative comes directly, succinctly, and clearly. The elements include Narrator, Characters, Plot, Time and Space, and Style. Subsections to these elements explore key distinctions and devices that the reader will see appear in nearly any Biblical narrative (“Overt Narrator” vs. “Covert Narrator”; “Direct Shaping of Characters” vs. “Indirect Shaping of Characters”). What are the effects of a narrator’s omniscient point of view on their cognition, emotion and volition? How are “Plot Units” distinct from “Plot Stages”? Efrat pursues all these points efficiently and nearly exhaustively with extensive use of biblical examples.
His conclusions are sound. Regarding types of Narrator: observe the narrator’s knowledge of God in Genesis 6, Exodus 2, or 2 Samuel 11. That narrator is clearly omniscient. Regarding the shaping of characters: look to Abishag and David in 1 Kings 1, Tamar in 2 Samuel 13, or the messenger’s speech in 1 Samuel 4. Those descriptions form the audience’s understanding of characters. Regarding plot points Efrat claims the Bible contains chiastic arrangements, symmetry, and matching themes. He then proves these with Genesis 3, Genesis 27, and the “sexual transgression giving rise to murder” trend from Uriah to Adonijah. Each of these theses, backed by biblical proof, are demonstrated with a tight and logical exposition that approaches irrefutability. Time spent on the abstract concepts of narrative receive due treatment through the lens of actual biblical accounts. The conclusion that the Bible is the best literary work by narrative form? This is not Efrat’s conclusion to make, but he sure gives enough evidence for the case!
Though Efrat is “direct, succinct, and clear” in his writing, that does not prevent him from dealing with some very intricate and detailed material. Efrat’s explanation of narrative concepts and his use of biblical examples leads the reader to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Bible’s stories.
Take the first pair of sentences of his chapter on “Time and Space,” which might just take the crown for my favorite way to introduce a chapter in any expositional book: “A narrative cannot exist without time, to which it has a twofold relationship: it unfolds within time, and time passes within it. The narrative needs the time which is outside it in order to unravel itself by stages before the reader (141).” I grant that some readers may be able to understand the point and implications of those two sentences at first reading. For me personally, however, the ideas proposed drove me to keep reading. “How on earth can narrative time be ‘two-fold’? Does time really ‘unravel’ as a reader dives into a text?” I read further to see how Efrat could make the point clearer and back it up with biblical examples. He did just that. I was not sorry.
Efrat’s explanations of the conventional categories of narrative, elucidated by biblical accounts the entire way, does not get tired or dry. They clip along and move through the concepts elegantly. This further equips the reader to think about Biblical narrative objectively as good art with a strong message and style. Notably and respectfully, Efrat changes his own categorical style of describing these concepts for the sake of hitting a different thought zone for the reader. That is, in sections near the end of the work under the title “Style,” Efrat maps out all the occurring conventional narrative concepts within the strict examples of Adonijah in 1 Kings 1 and Hushai with his masterful rhetorical speech in 2 Samuel 17. These narrative units draw their sense of style from the combination or exclusion of the devices Efrat has already listed. If Adonijah and Hushai were not convincing enough, Efrat dedicates the last 40 pages to studying and revealing these devices as they appear in the account of Amnon and Tamar.
Efrat’s work is an expositional gem rather than a workbook or textbook. Still, in his preface, he mentions an intentional withdrawal from utilizing examples from the Book of Ruth and the Joseph narrative. Basically, he casts the gauntlet early: see these conventional narrative principles explained and then go test if they appear in Ruth and Joseph’s life. It is an intriguing challenge that is about as close as Efrat gets to creating an interactive learning exercise.
As a guide to handling the clear employment of narrative principles in the biblical corpus, I found Efrat accessible, well-paced, and knowledgeable. His descriptions are undistracted and purposeful. His biblical evidence is pervasive and convincing. I emphatically recommend Efrat’s work for all those curious or concerned about the topics of “What is good storytelling?” and “Does the Bible do it?” Exploring these questions through Efrat, the pastor, teacher, or general Bible reader will be further helped to connecting listeners/readers to God’s Word for not just “a good story” but the truth of salvation in Jesus.