1. Understanding Bible Stories
The Basics I

2. The Experience of Salvation
Fundamental Belief no. 10
And Jesus said,
… Led by the Holy Spirit we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ, as Substitute and Example. … Through Christ we are justified, adopted as God’s sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin. …
‘There was a certain man who had two sons. …’

3. Our breakfast-table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his dressing-gown for the promised interview. Our clients were punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet. The latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed suit and had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated the gentleman. ‘This is Sir Henry Baskerville,’ said Dr. Mortimer. ‘Why, yes,’ said he, ‘and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to you this morning I should have come on my own account. I understand that you think out little puzzles, and I’ve had one this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give it.’

4. Our breakfast-table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his dressing-gown for the promised interview. Our clients were punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet. The latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed suit and had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated the gentleman. ‘This is Sir Henry Baskerville,’ said Dr. Mortimer. ‘Why, yes,’ said he, ‘and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to you this morning I should have come on my own account. I understand that you think out little puzzles, and I’ve had one this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give it.’

5. Our breakfast-table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his dressing-gown for the promised interview. Our clients were punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet. The latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed suit and had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated the gentleman. ‘This is Sir Henry Baskerville,’ said Dr. Mortimer. ‘Why, yes,’ said he, ‘and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to you this morning I should have come on my own account. I understand that you think out little puzzles, and I’ve had one this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give it.’

6. Our breakfast-table was cleared early, and Holmes waited in his dressing-gown for the promised interview. Our clients were punctual to their appointment, for the clock had just struck ten when Dr. Mortimer was shown up, followed by the young baronet. The latter was a small, alert, dark-eyed man about thirty years of age, very sturdily built, with thick black eyebrows and a strong, pugnacious face. He wore a ruddy-tinted tweed suit and had the weather-beaten appearance of one who has spent most of his time in the open air, and yet there was something in his steady eye and the quiet assurance of his bearing which indicated the gentleman. ‘This is Sir Henry Baskerville,’ said Dr. Mortimer. ‘Why, yes,’ said he, ‘and the strange thing is, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, that if my friend here had not proposed coming round to you this morning I should have come on my own account. I understand that you think out little puzzles, and I’ve had one this morning which wants more thinking out than I am able to give it.’

7. Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, … He … went a day's journey into the wilderness, and … he asked that he might die: 'It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life,' … He got up, and … went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.' He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. … Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.'

8. Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, … He … went a day's journey into the wilderness, and … he asked that he might die: 'It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life,' … He got up, and … went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.' He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. … Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.'

9. Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, … He … went a day's journey into the wilderness, and … he asked that he might die: 'It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life,' … He got up, and … went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.' He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. … Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.'

10. Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, … He … went a day's journey into the wilderness, and … he asked that he might die: 'It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life,' … He got up, and … went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.' He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. … Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.'

11. Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, … He … went a day's journey into the wilderness, and … he asked that he might die: 'It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life,' … He got up, and … went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.' He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. … Then there came a voice to him that said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He answered, 'I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.'

12. Biblical stories typically provide:
Little explicit insight regarding significance of actions or speech
Little explicit insight into what characters are thinking
Little physical description
A great deal of repetition

13. Physical description
When [Absalom] cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king's weight. (2 Sam )
Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. (2 Sam 18.9)

14. What a character thinks or knows
Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.“ (Gen )

15. Play on words: Gen 2.7, 23
Then the LORD God formed man (‘adam) from the dust of the ground (‘adamah).
This one shall be called Woman (‘ishah), for out of Man (‘ish) this one was taken.

16. Multiple Meanings: 2 Samuel 7
The king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house (bayit) of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’ … Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Would you build a house (bayit) for Me to dwell in?”’ … ‘Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house (bayit). When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.

17. Repetition in Daniel 3
And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (v. 2)
So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (v. 3)

18. Repetition in Daniel 3
At the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. (v. 5)
So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (v. 7)
You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image. (v. 9)

19. Repetition in Daniel 3
Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? (v. 15)

20. Repetition in Daniel 3
O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. "If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (vv )

21. Repetition between Stories: Moses and Elijah
Exodus
1 Kings
Then Moses went up to [Mount Sinai] (19.3)
Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. (24.18)
I will put you in the cleft of the rock (33.22)
While my glory passes by (33.22)
And Elijah went … as far as Horeb [i.e. Sinai] (19.8)
‘forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb’ (19.8)
And there he went into the cave (19.9)
The Lord is about to pass by (19.11)

22. Repetition between Stories : Moses and Elijah
Exodus
1 Kings
the whole mountain shook violently (19.14)
the LORD descended upon it in fire (19.18)
Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder (19.19)
… an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake (19.11)
after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire (19.12)
and after the fire a sound of sheer silence (19.12)

23. Understanding Bible Stories: The Basics I
Note what is usual
What do characters say?
What do characters do?
Is anything repeated?
Is a pattern of repetition broken?
(Check footnotes for plays on words or multiple meanings)
Note what is unusual
Is there any physical description?
Are we told what characters ‘think’, ‘know’, etc?

24. Judges 16.4-22: Usual Elements
Repetition
Please tell me … how you could be bound (vv. 6, 10, 13)
The Philistines are upon you, Samson! (vv 9, 12, 14, 20)
You have mocked me … (vv 10, 13, 15)
… and told me lies (vv. 10, 13)
etc

25. Judges 16.4-22: Unusual Elements
Physical Description
‘What makes his strength so great?’ (5)
‘The seven locks of my head’ (13)
‘A razor has never come upon my head’ (17)
She called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head (19)
But the hair of his head began to grow again (22)
Psychological Insight
He was tired to death (16)
He thought, "I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him (20)

26. Typical Elements: Repetition between Episodes
Judges 14
Judges 16
Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman (1)
Coax your husband … (15)
‘you do not really love me’ (16)
and because she nagged him … (17)
… on the seventh day he told her (17)
He fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah (4)
Coax him … (5)
‘How can you say, "I love you"’ (15)
Finally, after she had nagged him with her words … (16)
… he told her his whole secret (17)