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5 - Rhetorical Features and Characteristics:

The Literary Function of Genealogies, Itineraries, and Other Etiologies in the Book of Genesis

from Part I - Composition and Structure of Genesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2022

By
Michaela Bauks
Edited by
Bill T. Arnold
Bill T. Arnold
Affiliation:
Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky
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Summary

The study of the rhetorical features and characteristics in Genesis was started by Hermann Gunkel at the beginning of the twentieth century.1 He demonstrated how the narratives originated in the folklore of Israelite and pre-Israelite cultures, and how they were transformed into larger collections and finally into the literary documents which formed the book of Genesis. Although today few believe we can illuminate the history of pre-literary traditions and identify any orally based subunits of minor literature (Kleinliteratur) according to their initial setting of genre (Sitz im Leben), we can focus on the setting of the primary readership of the final written form.2 In addition, Gunkel’s observations on formal criteria and comparisons with other ancient Near Eastern literature are still a valuable foundation for contemporary exegesis.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Genesis , pp. 99 - 118
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1981.Google Scholar
Bar-Efrat, Shimon. Narrative Art in the Bible. London: T & T Clark International, 2004.Google Scholar
Bauks, Michaela. “Intratextual Exegesis in the Primeval History: The Literary Function of the Genealogies in View of the Formation of Gen 1–11.” ZAW 131 (2019): 177–93.Google Scholar
Bauks, Michaela. Die Welt am Anfang: Zum Verhältnis von Vorwelt und Weltentstehung in Gen 1 und in der altorientalischen Literatur. WMANT 74. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1997.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. “Βίβλος γενέσεως Revisited: A Synchronic Analysis of Patterns in Genesis as Part of the Torah (Part One).” ZAW 110 (1998): 159–72.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. “Βίβλος γενέσεως Revisited: A Synchronic Analysis of Patterns in Genesis as Part of the Torah (Part Two).” ZAW 110 (1998): 327–47.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Coats, George W. Genesis, with an Introduction to Narrative Literature. FOTL 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983.Google Scholar
Finkelstein, Israel and Römer, Thomas. “Comments on the Historical Background of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis.” ZAW 126/3 (2014): 317–38.Google Scholar
Fokkelman, Jan P. “Genesis.” Pages 36–55 in The Literary Guide to the Bible. Edited by Alter, Robert and Kermode, Frank. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Gertz, Jan Christian. Das erste Buch Mose (Genesis 1–11). ATD 1/1. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018.Google Scholar
Gertz, Jan Christian. “The Formation of the Primeval History.” Pages 107–35 in The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. Edited by Craig, A. Evans, Lohr, Joel N., and Petersen, David L.. VTSup 152. Leiden: Brill, 2012.Google Scholar
Gunkel, Hermann. Genesis: Translated and Interpreted. Translated by Biddle, Mark E. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1997. Translation of Genesis übersetzt und erklärt. HKAT 1.1. 3rd revised edition. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1910.Google Scholar
Hieke, Thomas. Die Genealogien der Genesis. HBS 39. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2003.Google Scholar
Sasson, Jack M. “A Genealogical ‘Convention’ in Biblical Chronography?” ZAW 90/2 (1978): 171–85.Google Scholar
Seeligmann, Isaac Leo. “Ätiologische Elemente in der biblischen Geschichtsschreibung.” Pages 77–118 in Gesammelte Studien zur Hebräischen Bibel. Edited by Blum, Erhard. FAT 41. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004.Google Scholar
Sternberg, Meir. The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading. Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985.Google Scholar
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1981.Google Scholar
Bar-Efrat, Shimon. Narrative Art in the Bible. London: T & T Clark International, 2004.Google Scholar
Bauks, Michaela. “Intratextual Exegesis in the Primeval History: The Literary Function of the Genealogies in View of the Formation of Gen 1–11.” ZAW 131 (2019): 177–93.Google Scholar
Bauks, Michaela. Die Welt am Anfang: Zum Verhältnis von Vorwelt und Weltentstehung in Gen 1 und in der altorientalischen Literatur. WMANT 74. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1997.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. “Βίβλος γενέσεως Revisited: A Synchronic Analysis of Patterns in Genesis as Part of the Torah (Part One).” ZAW 110 (1998): 159–72.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. “Βίβλος γενέσεως Revisited: A Synchronic Analysis of Patterns in Genesis as Part of the Torah (Part Two).” ZAW 110 (1998): 327–47.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Coats, George W. Genesis, with an Introduction to Narrative Literature. FOTL 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983.Google Scholar
Finkelstein, Israel and Römer, Thomas. “Comments on the Historical Background of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis.” ZAW 126/3 (2014): 317–38.Google Scholar
Fokkelman, Jan P. “Genesis.” Pages 36–55 in The Literary Guide to the Bible. Edited by Alter, Robert and Kermode, Frank. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Gertz, Jan Christian. Das erste Buch Mose (Genesis 1–11). ATD 1/1. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018.Google Scholar
Gertz, Jan Christian. “The Formation of the Primeval History.” Pages 107–35 in The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. Edited by Craig, A. Evans, Lohr, Joel N., and Petersen, David L.. VTSup 152. Leiden: Brill, 2012.Google Scholar
Gunkel, Hermann. Genesis: Translated and Interpreted. Translated by Biddle, Mark E. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1997. Translation of Genesis übersetzt und erklärt. HKAT 1.1. 3rd revised edition. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1910.Google Scholar
Hieke, Thomas. Die Genealogien der Genesis. HBS 39. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2003.Google Scholar
Sasson, Jack M. “A Genealogical ‘Convention’ in Biblical Chronography?” ZAW 90/2 (1978): 171–85.Google Scholar
Seeligmann, Isaac Leo. “Ätiologische Elemente in der biblischen Geschichtsschreibung.” Pages 77–118 in Gesammelte Studien zur Hebräischen Bibel. Edited by Blum, Erhard. FAT 41. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004.Google Scholar
Sternberg, Meir. The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading. Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985.Google Scholar
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1981.Google Scholar
Bar-Efrat, Shimon. Narrative Art in the Bible. London: T & T Clark International, 2004.Google Scholar
Bauks, Michaela. “Intratextual Exegesis in the Primeval History: The Literary Function of the Genealogies in View of the Formation of Gen 1–11.” ZAW 131 (2019): 177–93.Google Scholar
Bauks, Michaela. Die Welt am Anfang: Zum Verhältnis von Vorwelt und Weltentstehung in Gen 1 und in der altorientalischen Literatur. WMANT 74. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1997.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. “Βίβλος γενέσεως Revisited: A Synchronic Analysis of Patterns in Genesis as Part of the Torah (Part One).” ZAW 110 (1998): 159–72.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. “Βίβλος γενέσεως Revisited: A Synchronic Analysis of Patterns in Genesis as Part of the Torah (Part Two).” ZAW 110 (1998): 327–47.Google Scholar
Carr, David M. Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Coats, George W. Genesis, with an Introduction to Narrative Literature. FOTL 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983.Google Scholar
Finkelstein, Israel and Römer, Thomas. “Comments on the Historical Background of the Jacob Narrative in Genesis.” ZAW 126/3 (2014): 317–38.Google Scholar
Fokkelman, Jan P. “Genesis.” Pages 36–55 in The Literary Guide to the Bible. Edited by Alter, Robert and Kermode, Frank. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Gertz, Jan Christian. Das erste Buch Mose (Genesis 1–11). ATD 1/1. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018.Google Scholar
Gertz, Jan Christian. “The Formation of the Primeval History.” Pages 107–35 in The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation. Edited by Craig, A. Evans, Lohr, Joel N., and Petersen, David L.. VTSup 152. Leiden: Brill, 2012.Google Scholar
Gunkel, Hermann. Genesis: Translated and Interpreted. Translated by Biddle, Mark E. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1997. Translation of Genesis übersetzt und erklärt. HKAT 1.1. 3rd revised edition. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1910.Google Scholar
Hieke, Thomas. Die Genealogien der Genesis. HBS 39. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 2003.Google Scholar
Sasson, Jack M. “A Genealogical ‘Convention’ in Biblical Chronography?” ZAW 90/2 (1978): 171–85.Google Scholar
Seeligmann, Isaac Leo. “Ätiologische Elemente in der biblischen Geschichtsschreibung.” Pages 77–118 in Gesammelte Studien zur Hebräischen Bibel. Edited by Blum, Erhard. FAT 41. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004.Google Scholar
Sternberg, Meir. The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading. Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985.Google Scholar

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