- The Art of Biblical Narrative (Basic, 1983) by Robert Alter. This classic resembles a well-crafted Time magazine article.
- Biblical Sermons (Baker, 1989) edited by Haddon Robinson. Includes manuscripts of sermons by Haddon Robinson on Genesis 3:1-7, Jim Rose on 1 Samuel 17, and Donald Sunukjian on Esther.
- How to Read the Bible as Literature (Zondervan, 1984), especially Leland Ryken’s chapters on the stories of the Bible.
- The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text (Eerdmans, 1988). See especially Sidney Gredanus’s chapter on “Preaching Hebrew Narratives.”
- Narrative Art in the Bible (The Almond Press, 1989) by Shimon Bar-Efrat gives a more complete list of literary techniques and devices found in Old Testament narratives.
—Steven D. Mathewson
1997 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or contact us